Are some rhinoplasties medically approved?

Question:
Are some rhinoplasties medically approved? My daughter just turned 13. She plays every sport that she can, both in school and out. Her nose has been broken twice and I notice that she breathes very noisily now. She didn’t used to. Her nose drips a lot, but she doesn’t have allergies. If she undergoes a medically approved (therefore covered by insurance) rhinoplasty to help her with the breathing and stop the dripping, can she get the hump on her nose removed at the same time?

Answer:
Over half of the rhinoplasties that I perform have a functional component involved in the surgical procedure. Airway obstruction is quite common in noses that have been deformed either with or without trauma. Repair of the nasal septum, reduction of the nasal turbinates, and even repair of the nasal valve area are all airway procedures that I perform in conjunction with rhinoplasty. Reimbursement for a cosmetic rhinoplasty is extremely rare. The airway portion can be billed to your insurance company and will generally discount my fee for the cosmetic rhinoplasty portion of the surgery if I am performing a functional nasal surgery at the same time. To be clear, any cosmetic changes to the external appearance of the nose are usually not covered by insurance. I have seen insurance claims denied for the functional portions of the surgery when cosmetic work is performed concurrently.

Posted by Dr. Philip Schoenfeld