Avs' Laperriere Hopes To Straighten Nose
(from CBS4, Denver)
By Reggie Rivers
CBS4 Sports
February 19, 2007 - Colorado Avalanche forward Ian Laperriere is known for his on-ice fights and the crooked nose that has come with all those bouts with opposing players. Laperriere recently visited a local plastic surgeon to find out if his damaged face could be straightened out after he retires from the NHL.
Laperriere said he's had a broken nose six or seven times. He can't remember exactly because it has happened so many times. The first break of his nose came at age 17.
"I was at the doctor with my trainer and a little girl looked at me like I had three heads," he said. "I remember I turned around and said 'don't worry, I'm good looking usually, I'm blonde with blue eyes."
That first broken nose was the first step on the road to a crooked nose. He's been in fights with so many right-handed sluggers, that it has actually moved to the right of his face.
"That's a pretty curved septum in there," said Dr. Stacey Folk, a local plastic surgeon.
Folk examined Laperriere's nose recently.
"It's not the worst nose I've seen," she said. "It is impressive though."
"It will probably never be completely straight, but I think we can definitely do a great job really make it look a lot more like a nose," Folk said.
