Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a common procedure. One of the more common reasons to request a rhinoplasty procedure is a dorsal hump that is present on the dorsum of the nose. A dorsal hump is common in all different backgrounds. One of the more important concepts when correcting the dorsal hump is to determine an aesthetic nasofacial angle. Once the nasofacial angle is determined, then the other fine points of the rhinoplasty can be determined such as the nasolabial angle.

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Rhinoplasty and Submental Liposuction

Rhinoplasty and submental liposuction are often a good combination of procedures. Often patients who undergo rhinoplasty wish to also undergo procedures to rejuvenate the lower neck. Submental liposuction can be performed through an incision beneath the chin as well as an incision within each earlobe. 

These incisions in the earlobes and chin can be almost imperceptible, but allow the neck to be appropriately controured to give the entire face a more fresh and rejuvenated look.

I often find that when multiple smaller procedures are used in combination that the final outcome can be much greater than the sum of their parts.

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Temporalis Fascia Graft for Radix Augmentation in Asian Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is one of my favorite procedures to perform. The radix area is an area that commonly requires augmentation. While the radix can often be improved in all races and ethnicities, the radix graft is often a significant component to rhinoplasty in Asian noses as well as African American noses. In addition to narrowing the nose including the nasal bones, and the mid vault, adding the radix graft can lengthen the nose and make it appear more feminine. The radix graft can also be used in many middle eastern noses that have a significant dorsal hump that require reduction. Reducing the hump can often make a low radix appear to shorten the nose. The radix graft can recreate the appropriate length.

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Tip Definition in Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a common aesthetic surgical procedure. Of the rhinoplasty procedures, one of the more common reasons for patients to want to improve the appearance of their nose is the boxy or bulbous tip. One of the most powerful ways to improve the tip of the nose is with an open rhinoplasty for exposure to the nasal tip. The nasal tip is composed of two cartilages, the lower lateral cartilages. In patients who have a bulbous tip, the lower lateral cartilages are in excess and have broad convex domes. To give the tip of the nose more definition, some of the lower lateral cartilage needs to be removed, and the remaining cartilage is sutured to contour the appearance.  www.drbriandickinson.com

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a procedure that brings a great deal of satisfaction to both the patient and surgeon. Often in rhinoplasty patients, the face has very elegant proportions with the only exception being the contour of the nose. Performing a rhinoplasty allows the demensions of the face to be brought back into appropriate harmony.


The results from a rhinoplasty tend to improve over time. The result can continue to improve over twelve months.

At approximately the six month mark there is significant improvement in the amount of swelling the in the glabella as well as the nasal dorsum. The tip continues to have some swelling which will continue to improve over the next six months and up to and beyond one year.


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The Cute Nose

There tend to be several aspects in rhinoplasty that help to define what many people call a "cute" nose. I often encounter patients who have a nose that can be very appealing to begin with. Subtle changes in the relationship of two key characteristics are helpful in producing a nose that is "cuter" and more "youthful".

The first relationship is the angle of the nose from the upper lip. This angle is called the nasolabial angle. Slightly increasing the nasolabial angle can give the nose a more "cute" or "youthful" appearance. Another more subtle characteristic is the amount of tip projection or the distance the nose projects from the face. Slightly decreasing the projection can give the nose a "smaller" more youthful appearance.



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Rhinoplasty Healing

Rhinoplasty can take several months to up to one year or more to completely heal from. In fact, changes in the nose can occur several times over the course of a week status post rhinoplasty.

The nasal dorsum can be augmented with temporalis fascia and diced cartilage to allow the radix area and dorsum to have a gradual curvature. The nasal base can be narrowed with nostril sill excisions and the tip modified with suturing of the lower lateral cartilages and tip grafting.

In the weeks following rhinoplasty, the nose can change shape several times as the swelling subsides or increases or decreases with varying activity.

The images above reflect before, two weeks and four weeks post surgery.

At six months, the nose continues to show changes and begins to reach it's mature stage. The definition in the glabella and dorsum start to subside, still with some swelling int the nasal tip area.