If you are interested in minor adjustments to your nose without changing the entire structure, preservation rhinoplasty may be the answer you’re looking for.
Stanford CA, facial plastic surgeon Sam P. Most, MD explains how this procedure differs from your traditional rhinoplasty.
“Traditional rhinoplasty has been a ‘resection’ or removal procedure,” Dr. Most says. “Surgeons will remove cartilage from the tip, for example, to make it look smaller. Or for a dorsal hump on the bridge of the nose, they will cut if off at the top, then try to repair the bridge so that it looks and feels as smooth as possible.”
Preservation rhinoplasty, on the other hand, is focused on reshaping those areas while retaining as much of the original nose as possible.
“In most cases, we are referring to a specific type of preservation rhinoplasty, ‘dorsal preservation,’ during which we flatten/flex the bridge to be straighter on profile,” Dr. Most explains. “It’s hard to imagine, but it really works.”
Other areas of the nose are also preserved to retain structure and stability.
“In addition, we minimize removal of cartilage from the tip of the nose, to avoid ‘collapse’ and the pinched look that can occur over time,” Dr. Most says.
In Dr. Most’s office, a combination of preservation and ‘structural’ rhinoplasty is employed to create a strong tip of the nose that preserves most of the bridge. Using this procedure, which he calls structural/preservation rhinoplasty, he has achieved results that are stable and natural looking.
“The structure of the nose is kept more intact with preservation rhinoplasty,” Dr. Most explains. “This should result in a longer, more stable rhinoplasty result. In addition, we think that this creates a more natural look.”
Case Examples:
Case 1: Structural/preservation rhinoplasty
Structural/preservation rhinoplasty This lovely young lady presented wanting only the bridge to come down and be ‘flat’. She also wanted her nasal tip to be deprojected (brought in) slightly. Using dorsal preservation, the bridge was flattened and her tip lowered. She looks stunning and you’d never know she had surgery, even if you felt her nose!
Case 2: Structural/preservation rhinoplasty
This lovely young patient came to me to make her tip smaller and reduce her hump. She really wanted a natural result, as most of my patients do. Using structural methods that preserve and stabilize cartilage, I reshaped her tip. No cartilage was removed! In addition, I used dorsal preservation to reduce her dorsal hump. She looks great!
Case 3: Structural/preservation rhinoplasty
This lovely young patient came to me to make her tip smaller and reduce her hump. She really wanted a little bit of a ‘slope’ to the tip. Using structural methods that preserve and stabilize cartilage, I reshaped her tip and I used dorsal preservation to reduce her dorsal hump. She looks fantastic!
