(You will need Acrobat Reader to open this file)
Nasal Surgery or Rhinoplasty
This surgery can remove a hump, correct a drooping tip, narrow flaring nostrils, or straighten a crooked nose. These esthetic changes can also be incorporated with improvement in breathing. Your nose is a very personal part of your face. Its shape must not only be acceptable to you but must also function well. Not all nasal surgery is cosmetic: many patients elect to have nasal surgery because of breathing difficulty and associated sinus problems, nasal drainage, sleep problems, and difficulty exercising.
Before and After Photos
These airway problems can be due to a deviated septum (the dividing structure between the right and left air passages on the inside.) This deviation is usually from trauma but it can be congenital. The term septoplasty applies only to the surgery to correct a deviation and will not change the shape of the nose.
The size of the nose must relate to the overall face. The dorsum (outside shape) should be smooth and straight without a hump. But a slight convexity (hump) is better than a scooped-out appearance, or the “ski slope” nose. The tip should be crisp and well-defined, not bulbous or asymmetric (uneven). There should be a slight depression just above the tip on the dorsum to give a defining point to the tip. As the tip flows onto the columella (the structure below the nose that separates the nostrils), it is esthetic to have an open angle, between the lip and the tip. This area is called the infra-tip lobule.
Before and After Photos
The junction of the columella to the face forms an angle called the naso-labial angle. This angle should be about 100-110° for a woman and 90 to 100° for a man. Your overall height helps determine the degree of this angle, because it relates to how “turned up” the nose appears. On a tall person it is best to keep the angle less obtuse (or less than 100°).
The nares (nostrils) should be symmetrical and somewhat almond-shaped. They should not flare or be wider than the distance between the inside of the eyes.
All these descriptions and dimensions are ideals, and it is impossible and undesirable to give everyone the same nose. Our goal is to make your nose fit your face attractively and function properly.
Back to procedures