One of the most frequent complaints from patients about their appearance is a nasal hump. Therefore, dorsal profile sculpting is commonly performed procedure. Once the dorsal hump is removed the nose will have a smooth, more proportional symmetry to the rest of the face. Many people feel insecure about their large nasal hump that may make them look older and unattractive. Even slight hump may make nose look too large for the face. Reshaping a hump involves more than simply shaving down bone. It requires an experienced rhinoplasty surgeon to undertake this complex procedure. A nasal hump is made of two components: cartilage and bone, and both structures must be addressed at the time of surgery.
The size of the nasal hump will determine the extent of rhinoplasty surgery as well as recovery time. A small hump can be reduced via closed rhinoplasty by shaving or rasping the bone and cartilage. Conversely, a larger hump may require an open approach including a procedure known as an osteotomy or “breaking the nasal bone;” in addition to cartilage grafting to obtain an aesthetically pleasing profile. Some bruising may occur with open rhinoplasty while closed rhinoplasty for hump reduction would leave minimal bruising and swelling.
Think of the the nasal hump like a home roof line. Shaving off a slight portion of the top this roof line will not create a large gap, or hole, termed “the inverted-V” deformity. However during a large hump reduction a large portion of the top is removed like removing large portion of a roof top. This will create what is called “open roof”. In order to fix it, an osteotomy is needed to break the nasal bones from the side so the top part can come together and re-approximate. In our roof example, we would have a new roof with less height. This is how breaking the nasal bones help to reshape a nose to a narrower and more pleasing shape. In some instances spreader graft is used to protect the nasal airways that become too narrow, therefore preventing an internal valve collapse.
Other common nose jobs were performed on scooped out or ski-jump noses. These were usually the result of shaving too much material from the nasal hump; which caused difficulty breathing through the nose. Removing sufficient amount of hump to smooth out the nose and leave a non-humped bridge creates a beautiful nose without breathing problems after rhinoplasty surgery.
Nasal imaging can help the patient, and the doctor, visualize a nose without a dorsal hump. Advances in technology have helped plastic surgeons become more efficient and has contributed vastly to expertise.
The appearance of one’s nose is said to echo on one’s personality. Whether that is true is debateable, but an aesthetically pleasing nose without a hump can certainly improve one’s facial balance and appearance.
