For ISM this past week, I decided to focus my research assessment on yet another popular aspect of facial plastic surgery: surgical rhinoplasty.
While the rhinoplasty procedure is very popular in the plastic surgery realm, I decided to expand my knowledge into a different area of description and interpretation. For my research assessment, I chose to study an article that described how fixing septal deviation could potentially improve the sense of smell of certain patients who underwent the procedure.
This was one of the first articles that focused on a facial plastic surgery procedure through an experimental standpoint and I had made some hypotheses before completing the article. I logically deduced that improving septal deviation would thereby improve the olfactory function of the nose. In the end, the article created this conclusion as well but also cited previous experiments that did not reach similar conclusions. While this piece of information definitely came as a surprise, it reiterated the variability that can come as a result of multiple experiments and variations in septal efficiency and performance.
Furthermore, I also had my first virtual visit with Dr. Cain and discussed the basics of our mentor visits this year. My first in-person mentor visit is this Thursday and I am extremely excited to get back to the office and observe more procedures in person. This year, my goal is to watch more procedures in order to create a good base for my original work and I am thrilled to see where my research can take me!