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Possible to Narrow a Nasal Bone Without Fracturing the Bones?

asked 2 years ago by rita-marie in Montreal
Latest answer by William Portuese, MD
Question viewed 1,899 times
Tags: nose

I want a much narrower nose. I hate my wide nasal bone. A doctor told me that when he does Rhinoplasty, he does not break the nasal bone but just shaves it and that I would heal better. I always thought to have a narrow nose, an osteotomy and fracture of the nasal bone was required. Can you share your expertise on this matter? Thank you in advance for the answers you will provide me with.

15 answers to Possible to Narrow a Nasal Bone Without Fracturing the Bones?

Fracturing Nasal Bones

It is necessary to fracture the nasal bones to narrow those bones. Sometimes it is appropriate to just shave a small hump, but that will not narrow the nose. Get other opinions from experienced surgeons. Do what is best to achieve the best possible result which will last the rest of your life.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Rhinoplasty to narrow nasal bridge requires osteotomies 90% of the time

If the upper and middle third of the nose is too wide, it definitely needs to be narrowed through osteotomies and breaking the nasal bones. About 90% of the time when a rhinoplasty is performed to narrow the bridge, osteotomies are performed. With a few cases it is possible not to perform the nasal osteotomies.

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

Nasal bones cannot be narrowed without fracturing the bones

It is not possible to narrow the nasal bones without fracturing them. Fracturing the nasal bones is medically defined as osteotomies. Osteotomies are routinely performed in the vast majority of rhinoplasties. Whereas the term “fracturing” is frightening, the actual procedure is painless with the use of appropriate anesthesia and rarely provides more than minimal discomfort in the postoperative. This has been my experience in most nasal surgical cases.

Sigmund L. Sattenspiel, MD
Freehold Facial Plastic Surgeon

Narrowing the nose

I concur with many of the comments made thus far. Performing osteotomies (breaking the nasal bones and resetting the bones) is the best way to achieve a natural narrowing to the nasal bridge. Augmentation of the nasal bridge is useful in situations when the nasal bridge is both lacking definition and height. The photograph shown does not reveal enough to make specific comment on the question posed.

Guy Lin, MD
Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgeon

You may may narrow your nose with Rhinoplasty surgery.

In general, you're right: osteotomies are required to narrow the upper 2/3 of your nose. If the width of your upper nose is all that bothers you, an Injectable Filler treatment can be performed to narrow the appearance by placing a narrow collumn of Filler along your bridge. If your bridge is too high, then this approach would not be feasible. I hope this is helpful for you. I've attached a link to my Rhinoplasty photos for your perusal.

Eric M. Joseph, MD
West Orange Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.ericmjoseph.com

Nasal improvement without breaking

I can not see your profile from the submitted photo, but if your nose is wide and also close to your face, it can be made to look narrower by building up the bridge of the nose. This is commonly done in blacks, Asians and some Hispanics.....and yields a very nice result without moving the bones. If indeed the surgeon elects to move the side bones, we usually bend them like a "green stick" on a live tree branch. You can bend a branch, and it will stay without "breaking" the more

Darrick E. Antell, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty

Hi Rita, The only way to narrow the nasal bridge is perform an osteotomy. Shaving the bridge may only make your bridge wider. So I don't think you'll get the result your looking for by just shaving the bridge. The bridge can also be narrowed by inserting a implant. Just like a tall mountain looks narrow from above and short mountain may look narrow. Good Luck, Dr. S.

Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.facechange.org

Rhinoplasty and Narrowing the Nose...Tap-Tap

Hi Rita-Marie, The only way to narrow the upper third of your nose is to perform osteotomies during your rhinoplasty. Since you really desire to have a narrower nose, plan on "cutting the bones", tap-tap. Good luck and be well. Choose your rhinoplasty surgeon most carefully. Dr. P

Michael A. Persky, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nasal fracture is a key part of rhinoplasty to narrow the nose

Patients considering rhinoplasty often ask whether or not it i necessary to break the nose to change the nasal shape. Occasionally this step is not necessary, but most often it is an important part narrow the nose and shape the dorsum. As surgeons we call the line which curves from the brow to the tip of the nose the dorsal aesthetic line, and a gentle sweep to the curve will help the nose look its best. The nasal fracture called an 'osteotomy' is performed with a soft green-stick inward... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Narrowing the bone in rhinoplasty

It is difficult to narrow the nose along the dorsum without performing nasal fractures along the sidewalls. These are referred to as osteotomies and I do not know of any other reliable approach to significant nasal dorsal narrowing other than osteotomies. Rasping, or shaving, could be used in very incremental narrowing, but, based on your comments this would unlikely satisfy your desires.

Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD
Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgeon

Osteotomies or "breaking" nasal bones usually yields superior results

I don't know why patients and some surgeons make a big deal about "breaking" the nasal bones. or a wide bridge or if a large hump is removed, this is necessary for the best result. Osteotomies take about 2 minutes in an otherwise 2 hour operation. It does not make the nose less stable or the result less predictable. As a matter of fact, it usually makes the nose look better. This should not be a decision breaker or even a selling point for one surgeon over another. The main... more

Steven J. Pearlman, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

Methods to thin the nasal bones or make the nose narrow.

I would agree with the other comments made by my colleagues. Shaving is performed on the hump. This will improve the side profile but do little to narrow the nose. In order to make the nose thinner the bones need to be brought closer together. This can be accomplished with lateral osteotomies (surgical bone cuts). If you are looking for non-surgical techniques, models use dark makeup to give the illusion of a narrow nose in photographs.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Narrowing the nose

If your nasal bones are wide, you must perform a controlled infracture of them to bring them closer to the midline and narrow the nose. There are limits to how narrow you can go as you must maintain a good airway.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Narrowing nasal bone without fracturing

I THINK you and this doctor were talking about 2 different matters. A small bony hump of the nasal dorsum CAN be rasped / burred (shaved) without always in fracturing the sides of the nose PROVIDING the rasping does not leave a flat top which would make the nose look extremely wide. BUT in my experience with WIDE nasal bones, failure to bring the side walls of the nose inwards will NOT improve the deformity. To narrow the base of the nose side (lateral) Osteotomies (controlled nose fracture)... more