Arrive at the Surgery Center
We ask each patient to call the surgery center the day before surgery. They will tell you what time to arrive. When you arrive on the day of surgery, you will check in at the registration desk. You will be taken back to the pre-surgery area by one of the nurses. You will be taken to a private room, where you will be able to change into a surgical gown.
Meet the Surgeon
Dr. Becker will meet you in the pre-surgery area, to say hello, to review a final checklist of items (do you have any last-minute questions? Do you have your prescriptions filled? Etc…) He may see you before you have had the IV and met the anesthesiologist, or after.
Meet the Anesthesiologist
An anesthesiologist will meet with you, review your medical history, examine you, and discuss your anesthesia with you.
Placement of the IV
A nurse will place your IV. If you are afraid of needles, our skillful nurses take special measures to make you comfortable in this essential step.
Anesthesia
Sedation v. General
Dr. Becker performs rhinoplasty with the patient under general or sedation anesthesia. These days, he is finding that more patients seem to prefer general anesthesia, but either way is fine with Dr. Becker. Under sedation, your nose and surrounding areas will be numb and you will drift in and out of sleep. With general anesthesia, you will be asleep for the entire procedure.
Monitoring During Anesthesia: Regardless of the type of anesthesia used, you are carefully and thoroughly monitored before, during and after your surgery.
THE SURGERY
Question: What kind of advanced technology and modern techniques do you use to achieve faster healing and more precise surgery?
Answer: I have designed a number of specialty instruments for rhinoplasty. These instruments are smaller to allow me to perform more exact surgery.
For example, the "standard" osteotome (bone knife) for cutting the nasal bones is relatively large – too large in my opinion. We were able to measure the thickness of the nasal bones (only 2.5 to 3 mm) and have introduced a 2.5 mm and 3.0 mm guarded osteotome (manufactured by Microfrance), that we now use exclusively. We find that there is the least amount of trauma when these small instruments are used, and subjectively patients seem to have less bruising and heal faster.
In the operating room, I use the Becker/Toriumi Rhinoplasty Instrument Set, manufactured by Medtronic Corporation and especially designed for minimally traumatic rhinoplasty surgery.
The Bandage
A small nasal bandage is placed at the end of surgery, that you will wear for 5 or 6 days. An example is shown here.
Packing
Dr. Becker has not found packing necessary in any rhinoplasty patient. So, you can expect that you will not have nasal packing.
Recovery Room
After surgery, you will be taken by stretcher to the recovery room, where a team of nurses and the anesthesia team will monitor you and oversee your continued, rapid recovery from anesthesia.
Leaving the Surgery Center
When you have met all recovery room requirements, you will be allowed to leave the Surgery Center. You will need to have normal vital signs, be without significant pain or bleeding, be able to eat or drink something, and go to the bathroom. This recovery process usually takes about an hour.
Question: What kind of planning does Dr. Becker do for each rhinoplasty?
Answer: Careful pre-surgical planning is an important part of rhinoplasty. Dr. Becker typically "performs" each surgery at least 6 times:
- first (mentally) during the patient’s first office visit,
- again upon additional reflection,
- a third time after careful review of the preoperative photography,
- a fourth time just prior to the actual surgery,
- a fifth time is the ACTUAL surgery, and then
- the sixth (and more) times after the surgery as review, "post-surgery analysis."