Category: rhinoplasty

Nostril Narrowing Combining External Excision with Alar Cinch Suture

Nostril narrowing, also called nasal base reduction, is a common adjunctive procedure in rhinoplasty. Once the tip of the nose is narrowed or elongated the width of the nostrils may then appear too wide. As the final step in the rhinoplasty procedure the width of the nostrils is assessed and narrowed if so indicated. There Read More…

The Case for Resorbable Sutures in Transcolumellar Incision Closure in Open Rhinoplasty

The open rhinoplasty dominates the approach used in surgical nose reshaping today. While there is certainly a role for the closed approach in some patients the visibility of performing certain technical maneuvers in some primary and most secondary patients is unrivaled. Ever since its introduction in the 1990s the open approach has always had the Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Secondary Rhinoplasty Correction of the Polly Beak Nasal Deformity

Background: Rhinoplasty is fundamentally about changing the structural support of the nose to effect an external shape change. But no matter how well the bone and cartilage structural support is changed to look like the desired shape, the overlying skin and how well it adapts to it becomes the arbitrator of the final result. This Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Open Rhinoplasty for Nasal Tip Reshaping in the African-American Nose

Background: Noses present in all sizes and shapes for reshaping surgery and every nose is unique in its own way. But there are certain anatomic tendencies amongst various ethnicities that are commonly seen with resultant intraoperative strategies to change them. In many African-American noses there are five anatomic components that are frequently present. These include Read More…

OR Snapshots – Nostril Narrowing in Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty surgery almost exclusively revolves around manipulation of its osteocartilaginous support framework. It is a true facial reshaping procedure whose result ultimately depends on the combination of how the support structure is altered and how the overlying skin shrinks down around it to reveal those changes. The one exception in rhinoplasty in which bone and Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Nostril Narrowing in the Short Nose Rhinoplasty

Background: Almost every maneuver done in a rhinoplasty procedure is about changing its bony or cartilage framework support. By doing so the overlying skin adapts over the altered framework and eventually shows the new shape of the nose. The one exception to framework change in rhinoplasty is in the management of nostril width. While the Read More…

A Progressive Tip Suturing Technique in Open Rhinoplasty

Of all the areas of the nose to be changed in rhinoplasty surgery, the tip is the most complex both structurally and technique wise. Fortunately it is also the most visible during an open rhinoplasty and this provides the opportunity to make multiple changes and at least see their partial effects with immediate nasal skin Read More…

Facial Masculinization Surgery – Middle Third Reshaping – Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a common facial masculinization procedure given that there are major gender differences in the shape of the nose. A masculine nose typically has a straight or even slightly convex dorsal line in side profile. It also has a nasal tip that is not overly narrow and a nasolabial angle that is at 95 Read More…

Facial Feminization Surgery – Middle Third Reshaping – 1. Rhinoplasty

There are major gender differences in the shape of the nose despite that nose shapes comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. In achieving a more feminine-looking nose the key is the shape of the dorsum (bridge) and the tip. A straight or preferably slightly concave dorsum with a tip that is narrow Read More…

The Anatomic Basis for the Bifid Nasal Tip and Its Correction

The shape of the nose varies greatly amongst people and its uniqueness is very much like a fingerprint for the face. No two noses are ever exactly alike. (unless one is a twin) But there are distinct types of shapes, particularly at the tip of the nose, which can be classified by their underling cartilaginous Read More…