Break or Not to Break Nose During Rhinoplasty?

Most commonly the bones are shaved down over the dorsum and the hump is removed. Once this is done the base of the bones have to be broken to move the base of the bones inward to close the nose down into a pyramid.
I would not overly concern your self with the detailed parts of the surgery as if it is necessary it needs to be done.

Breaking the nose is usually done when a large hump is removed from the bridge of the nose or if the nose is too wide. Small humps can be gradually shaved down without the need to break the nose. Although, breaking the nose post-operatively is pretty well tolerated and it can give you a fantastic result. Good luck!

The two main reasons that your nasal bones would need to be broken during a rhinoplasty are to either narrow the width of the nose or to reconstruct the dorsum after a large hump has been removed ("closing an open roof deformity" in technical terms). Therefore, there are some patients that do not need to have the bones broken as part of their individual procedure, but many do.
Many patients are quite concerned about this part of their rhinoplasty, and fear that it may be significantly uncomfortable, cause a longer recovery, etc. The reality is that there can certainly be more bruising and a bit more discomfort when breaking of the nose, or osteotomies, are required, but if it is necessary to achieve the desired result, both cosmetically and functionally, it needs to be done.
Hope that helps and good luck!

Dr. S

Osteotomies (breaking the nose) is the essential part for narrowing the bony part of the nose. When a nasal hump is reduced, oseteotomies are needed to narrow the nasal bridge.
If you are getting only the tip worked on, then osteotomies are not needed.
Regards

Hi Mary,
Good question. What is the difference between breaking or not breaking the nose during rhinoplasty? A loud cracking sound with, just kidding.
Most noses require cutting the nasal bones (breaking) to narrow the upper 1/3, and to close the roof of the nose which was uncovered by the removal of the dorsal boney hump.
Some noses do not require cutting of the nasal bones.
Individual noses need to be examined, the goals of the rhinoplasty need to be set, and then the plan to achieve those goals is made. Whether or not the nasal bones are "broken" during surgery will depend upon the balance and harmony of the nose, and what needs to be done to achieve the best result.
The good news is that "breaking" the nose does not add discomfort to rhinoplasty recovery (amazingly).
Good luck and be well.
Dr. P

As with everything else in rhinoplasty, all you need to do is describe the top three things you want improved in the appearance of your nose. Your ABPS Board Certified Plastic Surgeon will then help you decide if you need this done to achieve what you want out of the operation.
It makes a big difference if you do it or not for your recovery. I find this step in the operation to be one of the major determinants of how your recovery will be. Without breaking the bones, the recovery is a breeze. With breaking them, you may have a mild case of black eyes, a splint on your nose for up to a couple of weeks, a little more swelling and thus discomfort, etcetera. That being said, I find myself doing it very often -- because the patient's anatomy needs it to achieve the goal.
Some reasons to break the bones of the nose are if they are too wide at the base. If they're not too wide but there is a significant bump on the bridge of the nose that you're going to have reduced then we need to break them to bring them together once the bump is shaved off. Another reason could be if the nose is really crooked. There's a bunch of reasons, fortunately you don't need to worry about them. Your rhinoplasty doctor should be able to explain to you if you're going to need it or not...and sometimes he won't know until during the actual operation. I wouldn't suggest restricting your surgeon in this regard, he may need it to get you what you desire in your look for your new nose.

"Breaking the nose" is a very crude term for something that is occasionally performed during rhinoplasty. The medical term for this is actually called an osteotomy. This is a very controlled cutting of the bone that is performed to narrow the upper portion of the nose.  It is not performed in every rhinoplasty. There are three situations when this usually comes up: 1) narrowing a wide nose 2) after a hump is removed the nose can sometimes be wide and this technique may need to be performed (see attached) and 3) Making a crooked nose straighter. Performing an osteotomy does not mean that your recovery will be any different then if it were not performed during your surgery.

The osteotomies or re-breaking of the nasal bone is performed to narrow a wide bridge. Once the large hump has been taken off the bridge the osteotomies and re-breaking of the nasal bones have to occur; otherwise, an open roof deformity will result, which will look like a flattop nose. If a small hump is present, these can be simply filed off and re-breaking of the nose will not need to occur.

Breaking the nose bones is called "osteotomy" and is done with more or less, a surgical mallet and chisel. The nose contains bone and cartilage components for the skeletal support. Only the bones are addressed this way. Osteotomy is used to narrow the bony part of the nose, and to straighten the bony pyramid. If these maneuvers aren't needed, no osteotomy is performed.

The great majority of patients presenting for rhinoplasty are unhappy because their nose is either too wide or has a " bump" ( best seen on profile).
Impossible to get a satisfactory result without breaking the bones and moving them towards each other. If the bones are not so managed, the nose will look flat, even wider and not natural.
Even when only the lower half of the nose, particularly the tip needs narrowing, it is usually wise for the surgeon to move the nasal bones ever so little towards each other. Failure to do so often causes grooves at the junction of the narrowed cartilage and unnarrowed bone. This is called the " inverted V" deformity and it stands out.
One should not fear having the nasal bones respositioned. The procedure is not complex and when done delicately causes minimal, temporary post-operative swelling.