Has there ever been a time or a culture where women did not want to look their best? If so, historians, anthropologists and archaelogists have not yet found it. There have always been beauty aids in use, whether paint for the eyes, shells for the hair or hoops and beads for the ears.

But all the makeup, hairstyling and jewelry in the world cannot address problems which are structural in nature. Cosmetic surgery has become a worldwide, multi-billion dollar industry because it can do just that. It is not a new industry either.

Plastic surgery beginnings have been traced to ancient India, where the Ayurvedic surgeon Sushrutha around 500 B.C. described surgeries to rebuild the nose and ears. This was a valuable service at the time because amputation of the nose and ears was a punishment for traitors and unfaithful women. It was intended to stigmatise those offenders for life.

There must have been many of those offenders, or at least enough to stimulate surgeons to develop reconstructive procedures. Forehead and cheek skin was used and it was grafted to the nose and ear stubs to build a replacement structure. Luckily for us, surgical techniques have improved since then, anesthetics have been introduced, and the reason people want nose and ear reconstruction has changed.

Rhinoplasty

Dallas Rhinoplasty (a nose job) can be customized to address both cosmetic and breathing problems. It can use the Open method of two incisions or the Closed method of one incision, depending on what needs to be done. You can have the nose reduced in size, straightened, flattened, raised, upturned, or made narrower. Almost any size or shape issue can be addressed in this outpatient treatment, using only local anesthetic and a sedative.

Otoplasty

Otoplasty (ear surgery) can be done on children and often is, to save them having to endure endless teasing at school. The ears can be flattened against the head, reduced in size, or given missing creases or a new shape. This is an outpatient procedure like rhinoplasty and uses local anesthesia for adults, although for children a general anesthesia is more common.

To learn more about how your facial features can be cosmetically enhanced, please call or email our office for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.