Corrective nasal surgery is perhaps one of the most common types of elective surgery procedures performed today. People who wish to undergo a rhinoplasty (nose reshaping) operation usually do so for either cosmetic results or to repair injuries or hereditary nasal defects, although a combination of both factors can also apply. 

Nasal blockages can impact greatly on a person’s life, making breathing difficult in even the best of conditions, while people with unusually large, hooked or crooked noses have very often run a gauntlet of ridicule throughout their childhood and even into their adult life. 

In terms of making a nose aesthetically more appealing to the patient, a surgeon is able to straighten it or change its size. Large noses can be shortened, wide noses narrowed and most other deformities corrected to complement the patient’s other facial features.  

Irregularities, such as bumps on the bridge, can be removed, and the opening to the nose can be altered in a procedure known as ‘alar base surgery’, whereby pieces of skin are removed around the nasal entrance. In addition, the partition at the entrance to the nose can also be corrected. 

The main aim for a surgeon when changing the shape and size of a nose is to create a result that blends naturally with a patient’s other facial characteristics. The ideal nose shape for a woman is quite different from that of a man. In general, the best nose for a woman is short with a slight concave, tilting upwards a little at the base. A male nose tends to look better with a straight profile and a horizontal tip, giving a stronger, more dominant look. 

Many patients have a desire to change their nose in a particular way, perhaps similar to that of someone else. It may well be possible to reshape a person’s nose in this manner, but there can be no guarantee that the end result will be a likeness. A patient must also consider that it may not be desirable to alter a nose in a particular way, as a nose that suits one person may look totally wrong on someone else. It must be stressed that other factors, such as facial features and bone structure, and even the height of the patient, have to be taken into account when planning the ideal nose shape for each individual.

Changes in the nasal contour are made by the surgeon removing, lifting or altering the underlying bone and cartilage structures. The skin over the surface can then be moulded over the new foundation to achieve the desired result. This operation is performed from inside the nose, leaving no external scars, except in special circumstances.

In some cases a surgeon may find it necessary to add tissue to the nose to help create a new shape. This tissue can be cartilage harvested from either the ear or inside the nose, or may be a commercially produced material.

 Very often the whole of the nose will need to be altered in order to achieve the correct balance, but on other occasions only the nasal tip may require attention. Formed of cartilage, this soft, fleshy tip can be contoured quite easily. Although only this area will have any visible results in terms of nose tip reshaping, in most cases the surgeon will also need to work on the bridge in order to blend the two areas naturally together. 

Following nose reshaping surgery, a plaster of Paris cast is moulded over the whole of the area to support the setting bones and protect the nose during the healing period.

The youngest age a surgeon will accept a patient for this surgery is eighteen, by which time their facial features will be fully developed. There is no upper age limit, so long as the patient is medically fit.

Men and women of all ages benefit greatly from nose reshaping surgery. For those who have suffered breathing difficulties because of a nasal deformity, finally being able to breath easily and free can give a whole new quality of life. For people who have experienced loss of self-esteem because of mockery or their own anxieties over the shape and size of their nose, the results can be a lot more liberating. Very often a patient will change their hairstyle to compliment their new look, and will hold their head high as their confidence soars.

Post Operative Recovery

A nose reshaping operation more often than not involves a one-night stay in hospital, but can occasionally be performed as a day case, subject to the surgeon’s recommendation and decision. Following surgery the patient can expect a degree of bruising around the eyes and down the side of the nose, but this has generally disappeared by the time the cast is removed after 7 – 10 days. All internal sutures (stitches) are dissolvable, and any external sutures are removed at the same time as the cast.

On occasion, the newly revealed nose may have a pinched appearance on the bridge, but this will disappear quickly. The nose will also be swollen, but the majority of this will subside within the first four to six weeks.

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