Notes from a Nose Surgeon’s diary

Good Results

“You can see the results of good surgery in the patient’s eyes, the very day you take off the nose splint. That’s when the patient sees the result for the first time.”

You can’t pretend

“Plastic surgery of the nose is millimetre by millimetre surgery. If you take off too much, it will show. If you take off too little, it will show. You can’t pretend in this business. Either a surgeon is good, has talent and experience or the surgeon is just another ‘middle of the road’  technician.”

The most rewarding

“I’ve specialised on just one form of surgery all my life – nose surgery. Although it is the most complex of all forms of surgery, it is the most rewarding. Looking back, I would not change a single moment of my professional life.”

The more you practice the better you become

“Nose surgery is a little like golf. I’ve heard this said many times by colleagues. And this is indeed my own experience. The more you practice, the better you become.”

Ask to see the pictures first

“You wouldn’t commission a painter to paint your portrait until you’d seen his portfolio. The same applies to plastic nose surgery. Before consenting to surgery ask to see the surgeon’s ‘Before and After’  pictures. A line-up of good results is one of the safest guides to a surgeon’s competence in this complex field.”

I often detect anger

“It saddens me when a patient arrives at the Nose Clinic to see me about revision surgery to correct the disappointing result of surgery done elsewhere by another, obviously, incompetent surgeon; usually a general cosmetic surgeon . Looking at these patients I often detect anger, disappointment and scepticism.”