Can there be anyone left on planet Earth who remains unaware of what a nose job is? It's hardly likely: over the past fifty-odd years, the news of who has and who hasn't had cosmetic rhinoplasty (aka nose surgery, aka a nose job) has been breathlessly trumpeted throughout the popular media; from pulp movie magazines to the wireless Web, nose jobs were once big news.

And that's because nose jobs are important. The nose is, after all, the ?front? of the face, the first part of the body that most people encounter when they meet another person. While a crooked eye or lopsided mouth is usually considered a cosmetic flaw, a broken, bent, or oversized nose is often admired as a sign of character in both men and women, especially when the rest of the face of the person in question is handsome.

Unfortunately, sometimes the distinctive nature of an abnormally-shaped, crooked or disproportionate nose is a net negative for the person who bears it. Some people simply do not have a face that is pretty enough to create a pleasant contrast with an unlovely nose; others suffer genuine pain, loss of function, and other health effects due to misshapen noses. For those in both groups, cosmetic rhinoplasty offers hope.

Because the truth is that cosmetic rhinoplasty is no longer a hot topic in the gossip rags. Although cosmetic surgery was once seen as something for the vain and effete, today there's no shame in having one's honker reshaped, refigured, or pared down to less-than-elephantine dimensions by a surgical artist. Rhinoplasty is surgical procedure performed to improve the aesthetic look of the nose or to reconstruct it and restore it to proper function.

Two primary types of nose surgery are generally performed:

Reconstructive Rhinoplasty is the surgical restoration of the nose to its normal contour and function due to loss as a result of physical injury, disease, or birth defect. Anatomic defects (e.g. deviated septum) can make breathing difficult for the patient; nasal reconstruction can repair this fault and restore the nose to full function.

Revision Rhinoplasty: A sort of surgical ?reset button?, reversion rhinoplasty is performed in cases where the patient is unsatisfied with the appearance and/or function of their nose resulting from a previous surgical procedure.

The nose job itself is a familiar procedure for most plastic surgeons. The patient is placed under anesthesia (general or local, depending upon the particulars of the case) and sedated if necessary. The surgeon then makes the necessary incisions, removes and/or reshapes the bone and tissue of the patient's nose to create the desired effect, affixes implants if necessary, and closes the wounds. He or she may elect to perform additional facial surgery (e.g. chin augmentation) at this time as well. Since rhinoplasty is generally performed as an outpatient procedure, patients are spared the hospital experience in most cases and may recover at home

Recovery is straightforward. A splint over the patient's nose is usually applied, and stents placed in the nose to insure proper wound drainage. Although these items can produce a certain level of discomfort for the patient, the pain is of brief duration and the patient will almost certainly recover fully within 14 days. The nose's new shape will not be fully apparent for 6 months to a year, due to internal swelling as the tissues heal.