One week of rhinoplasty observership in Brazil.

What a rhinoplasty observership in Brazil actually means

An observership is a period spent inside a working practice, watching how decisions are made and how they translate into the operating room. You are not registered to operate in Brazil, so you do not scrub as the primary surgeon. What you gain is access to the full chain of reasoning: the consultation, the photographic and ultrasound analysis, the surgical plan, the execution, the dressing protocol and the follow-up visits of patients operated months earlier.

Brazil is a relevant destination for this kind of training. The country has a long surgical tradition in facial plastic surgery and appears among the nations with the highest volume of aesthetic procedures in international surveys such as those published by ISAPS. For a rhinoplasty surgeon, that means exposure to a wide range of skin thicknesses, cartilage qualities and ethnic nasal anatomy within a short period.

The weekly mentorship format at the Sella Learning Center

The weekly mentorship hosts one visiting physician at a time. That single detail changes the experience. You stand where you can see, you ask questions during the case, and you discuss the plan before the patient enters the room.

A typical week includes around five rhinoplasties and four outpatient periods at Clínica Renassance, in Maringá. More than 50 physicians from Brazil and abroad have already taken part. Surgeries are performed at a private hospital in the city, with the visiting surgeon inside the operating room for the entire case.

Dr. Sella is an otolaryngologist with a direct doctorate in morphophysiology of facial structures at HCFMRP-USP, certification by the European Board in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and published papers on dorsal preservation in Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America. He has lectured as invited faculty in more than ten countries. The teaching style in the operating room follows the same logic as those papers: indications first, technique second.

An indicative week

The real calendar follows the surgical schedule of that specific week, so the grid below is illustrative rather than fixed.

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Monday	Welcome, review of the week's cases, outpatient clinic	Outpatient clinic, photography and digital simulation
Tuesday	Operating room, one to two rhinoplasties	Continuation of the surgical program
Wednesday	Outpatient clinic, post-operative follow-ups	Nasal and skin ultrasound, surgical planning
Thursday	Operating room, one to two rhinoplasties	Case discussion and review of operative videos
Friday	Operating room or clinic	Closing discussion, references and reading list

Follow-up visits are part of the value. Seeing a patient at day seven, at three months and at one year, in the same week, gives a sense of timeline that photographs alone do not convey.

What you are likely to see in the operating room

The case mix depends on the week, yet the technical repertoire is consistent:

• Dorsal preservation with push down and let down manoeuvres, the subject of several of the surgeon's publications on preservation rhinoplasty.
• Ultrasonic rhinoplasty with piezoelectric instruments for bone work, discussed in detail on the ultrasonic technique page.
• Structural grafting with septal, auricular and costal cartilage, including rib rhinoplasty when the septum is insufficient.
• Secondary and revision cases, which demand a different planning discipline.
• Functional work: septoplasty, turbinoplasty and valve correction, since the surgeon is an ENT who operates both function and shape.
• Pre-operative high-frequency skin ultrasound, used to assess skin thickness, previous fillers, old grafts, columellar vascularisation and rib selection.
• Use of the projectometer for intraoperative measurement.

Who the program is for

The weekly format is designed for qualified physicians: otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons and maxillofacial surgeons who already perform or are starting to perform rhinoplasty. Residents and fellows in their final years are considered case by case.

You do not need to speak Portuguese. Discussion happens in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Documentation of attendance can be issued in English or Spanish on request, which matters for surgeons who need proof of continuing education for their local boards.

How the formats compare

Program	Duration	Participants	Hands-on dissection	Best suited for
Weekly mentorship	1 week	1 surgeon	No	Surgeons who want one-to-one observation and real clinic exposure
Preservation Week	4 to 5 days	5 to 6 surgeons	Yes, fresh cadaver and anatomical model	Surgeons who want live surgery plus a dissection lab
Annual fellowship	12 months	Limited	Progressive	ENT surgeons building a rhinoplasty practice from the ground up
Mastering Preservation online	Self-paced	Open	No	Preparing before travelling or reviewing afterwards

Preservation Week has already run six editions. The sixth, in November 2025, included surgeries every day, dissection on an anatomical model and a practice management module. Many visiting surgeons combine the online platform first, whose opening lesson is free in Portuguese, English and Spanish, then travel for the observership.

Practical logistics in Maringá

Maringá is in the north of Paraná state, southern Brazil. The city has an airport, MGF, with direct flights from São Paulo and Curitiba. Connections from Europe, North America and Latin America are usually made through São Paulo. Road access from the interior of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraguay is straightforward.

Plan to arrive the day before the program starts. The clinic is at Av. Cidade de Leiria, 600, Zona 01, with parking next door. The team can indicate hotels within a short drive. Visa requirements depend on your nationality and should be checked with the Brazilian consulate in your country, since an observership is an educational visit rather than professional practice in Brazil.

Dates are limited because only one physician is hosted per week. Requests are usually made a few months in advance.

Getting in touch with Dr. Sella's team

If you want to confirm available weeks, eligibility and the documentation you will receive, contact the Sella Learning Center through WhatsApp at (44) 99167-2023 or by email at drguilhermesella@gmail.com. You can also read more about the surgeon's background on the profile page or browse the full teaching program. Each application is reviewed individually, and the final schedule depends on the surgical calendar of the chosen week.