Rhinoseptoplasty in a Blind Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

Vision seems to be the first to recognize a potential threat, subconsciously recording and processing the image. Visual discrimination happens at a subcortical level after an environmental image is recorded in midbrain tissues. Aesthetics and beauty have been found to be decoded subconsciously in the amygdala, similar to a frightening threat. Therefore, blind patients can detect beauty by embodied primal senses other than vision. It could be processed without conscious thought, in the same way, that an immediate threat is. Here, we present a case of a 55-year-old male who has had bilateral blindness for 15 years and came to a rhinoplasty clinic seeking help for nasal obstruction and difficulty breathing due to an old history of trauma since adolescence, causing nasal deviation. He asked for both aesthetic and functional corrections. Rhinoseptoplasty was done successfully, significantly impacting the quality of life and psychosocial distress.