Posted May 15, 2015 in Blog, Uncategorized
Oren Friedman, MD (Philadelphia, PA) brilliantly discussed the nose, it’s functions, and how to improve breathing and air flow through your nose entitled, “Nasal Valve in Depth” at The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery’s Advances in Rhinoplasty 2015. The function of the nose is multi-faceted. Everyday, 14,000 liters of warm humidified air passes through a normal nose. It filters air, it improves our immune system ability to fight off disease, and for those of you who enjoy a nice glass of wine every now and then, our olfactory (sense of smell) system is right there in the nose. As we all know from experiencing the dreaded cold bug (nose stuffed and virally infected), when the nose is not sensing smells, the tongue stops tasting too.
Dr. Friedman presented data showing that the quality of life improvement was very high when patients with nasal obstruction (difficulty breathing through the nose) had their nasal breathing improved. These studies validate his and our own experience with patients over the years.
The panel discussion that followed was entitled, “Look Better, Breath Better.” Drs. Saleh, Younes, and Friedman study, “Cosmetic and Functional Survey, Quality of Life Changes After Rhinoplasty Surgery” addresses both breathing and aesthetic aspects of septo-rhinoplasty when patients also have a cosmetic change of their nose; you know those people who say,”While you’re in there anyway Doc, how about fixing my deviated septum?”
There are elegant and effective surgical treatments that address and correct the many causes of nasal airway obstruction. At Persky Sunder Facial Plastic Surgery we always first recommend a non-surgical option to patients who want to breath better, without any cosmetic changes. Creating more room in the critical “nasal valve” area allows life changing nasal breathing improvement. We use radio-frequency waves to permanently shrink the inferior nasal turbinates in a 30 minute in-office local (topical) anesthetic treatment called Somnoplasty of the turbinates. Since offering this treatment, over 2/3 of our patients who would have otherwise been taken to the operating room in the past to correct their breathing problem, avoided surgery, anesthesia, and downtime. A great option for those with a blocked nasal passage who don’t care to change their appearance. “Breath Better, Look the Same!” Be well.
Dr. Michael Persky and Dr. Sarmela Sunder are located in Encino, California and Beverly Hills, California but service all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Including, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, La Canada, Pasadena, and more. Please subscribe to our blog by clicking the link above, right, and “Like” us on Facebook. Thank you! + Michael Persky
