Rhinoplasty for Tuttle Patients: The Drive, the Consult, the Aftercare

The drive from Tuttle

Tuttle is about 22 miles from our Oklahoma City office at 12400 Saint Andrew's Drive, measured in a straight line. Drive time will depend on your route and the hour. Parking is free and on-site. On surgery day, your driver pulls directly to the entrance for drop-off and pick-up.

Rhinoplasty requires several visits: a consultation, a pre-operative appointment, surgery day, and a series of post-operative checks — the first at about one week when the splint comes off. That drive becomes familiar. We schedule your arrival time for your specific case, not a general clinic opening, so your time in the car is not wasted in a waiting room.

What rhinoplasty actually does

Rhinoplasty reshapes the nose — the bone and cartilage that give it its structure — so it sits in proportion with the rest of your face. It can make the nose smaller, straighter, or more balanced. When a blocked airway is part of the problem, functional correction such as septum straightening or turbinate reduction can happen in the same operation.

The nose and the chin set each other's proportions. Chin augmentation is one of the most common companions to rhinoplasty. Whether one procedure, the other, or both makes sense is a consultation conversation — not something decided from a photograph alone.

A second surgery to correct a previous nose job is called a revision. It is harder and planned more carefully. Dr. Cuzalina has published peer-reviewed work specifically on revision rhinoplasty techniques [3], and the practice sees revision cases regularly.

The surgeons who perform rhinoplasty here

Rhinoplasty at Oklahoma Surgical Arts is performed by Dr. Angelo Cuzalina and Dr. Chase Nelson. Dr. Cuzalina is the practice's founder, a past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and a published rhinoplasty author with peer-reviewed chapters spanning primary rhinoplasty, revision rhinoplasty, and complex cleft nasal reconstruction [0][1][2][3][4]. Dr. Nelson is a cosmetic otorhinolaryngologist (ENT) who completed his fellowship at Tulsa Surgical Arts.

Consultations are available in person at the Oklahoma City office or virtual from anywhere. You choose your surgeon when you book. Surgery is performed in the practice's AAAHC-accredited surgery center, with general anesthesia administered by a board-certified anesthesia provider. Most patients return home the same day with an adult to help.

What happens in the operating room

You are fully asleep under general anesthesia. A small incision is made in the columella — the strip of skin between the nostrils — and just inside the nostrils. The skin is lifted off the underlying cartilage and bone. The framework is then refined: judicious removal, repositioning with sutures, and grafts placed for support and contour where needed.

Functional issues such as a deviated septum or turbinate hypertrophy are addressed at the same time. The skin is laid back into place, incisions are closed with fine suture, and internal splints are placed followed by external tape and a splint. Surgery usually takes two to three hours.

Recovery, honestly

The first few days bring a stuffy nose, bruising under the eyes, and mild aching. Keep your head raised. Do not blow your nose. At one week the splint comes off and most bruising fades over the following week. Most people return to work or school around two weeks. Avoid glasses resting on the bridge unless cleared by your surgeon.

At six weeks the bones are stable and contact sports or heavy lifting can restart. The tip continues to refine for up to a year. Swelling hides the final shape for months, so judgment waits. Every surgery has risks — bleeding, infection, numbness at the tip, uneven results, or the need for a revision — and we review all of them with you in person before you decide.

If you experience spreading redness, warmth, pus, fever, or any sign of a blood clot such as leg swelling or sudden shortness of breath, go to the nearest emergency room or call 911 immediately.

Starting the conversation from Tuttle

The consultation is where the plan begins. You meet the surgeon, you are examined, and you describe what bothers you in your own words. You leave with a written plan and a written, all-in number — both yours to keep, to decide on your own time. There is no pressure in the room and none after you leave it. Virtual consultations let you have a thorough initial conversation without making the drive first.

To schedule a consultation, call 405-751-0042 or book through our website. Ask for a specific surgeon or share your goals and the team will match you. We look forward to the conversation.

Individual results vary. This article is general education, not medical advice.