If you or someone you know has sustained a nose injury due to domestic violence or a work accident, septoplasty may be an option and is quite popular in metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC. While some of the country’s top plastic surgeons reside in these cities, they may not always be accessible. Septoplasty surgery DC-based patients, for instance, may wish to enlist the services of the best plastic surgeons in DC. However, those surgeons may not accept a patient’s personal health insurance plan, and even if they do, if the nose injury is due to a work accident, a workers compensation insurance provider may provide a very finite list of doctors from which to choose. Septoplasty can therefore be tricky.
There are different kinds of nose surgery and these differences can determine whether an insurance provider is willing to pay for the procedure. The three kinds of nose surgeries are septoplasty, rhinoplasty and septorhinoplasty.
- Septoplasty is meant to fix a deviated septum. The septum is the cartilage structure that separates the nasal passages. This structure is normally straight. However, severe trauma to the face and nose can misalign the septum which in turn affects one’s ability to breathe. If you notice difficulty breathing after getting hit in the nose, you would be wise to speak to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. That doctor may be able to help you or refer you to a surgeon who can perform septoplasty surgery.
- Rhinoplasty, unlike septoplasty is purely cosmetic. Perhaps your injury has affected the shape of your nose, though your breathing is normal. This is very rarely the case, but if it is– if your desire for surgery is purely aesthetic– you will not be covered by insurance for the procedure.
- Often the outer change in nasal structure is accompanied by an inner one. When this is the case, patients may desire septorhinoplasty, surgery designed to correct both the health and the appearance of the nose. Health insurance typically covers septoplasty only, to help with the deviated septum. However, sometimes a septoplasty procedure can incidentally make slight changes to the nose shape. In this case, you will be covered for septoplasty. Mind you, more often than not, septoplasty does not affect the nose’s outer appearance.
If you are interested in nose surgery following your accident, you would be wise to speak to a workers compensation attorney and determine what treatments are within your rights. All 50 United States have some form of workers compensation in place and most workers compensation lawyers work for free. It is always good to seek free professional advice and see if plastic surgery is an option, depending on your injury’s unique circumstances.