As graduating residents in plastic surgery our hands-on experience with rhinoplasty varies. Insufficiencies include number of cases performed, apportionment of responsibility for pre-operative planning and surgical execution, as well as long-term resident management autonomy. Attributable factors may include the aesthetic nature of traditional rhinoplasty cases, declining faculty surgeon participation, and the inherent difficulties of self-evaluation of postoperative results. Failure to recognize clinic patients with functional/traumatic nasal problems as opportunities for resident rhinoplasty may represent a major oversight.

Herein I present basic analysis, anatomy, planning, execution, management and aesthetic adjuncts of 18 clinic patients with functional nasal problems where resident rhinoplasty was performed.

Consistent functional improvement, conservative aesthetic goals/outcomes, and referral physician satisfaction confirmed our protocol of meticulous pre-operative planning, scripted operative intervention and standardize postoperative care.

It will behoove young, often under-trained, plastic surgeons interested in developing a cosmetic rhinoplasty practice to embrace functional rhinoplasty as a profile to include in their maturing cosmetic rhinoplasty portfolio.