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My Columella Shows, What is the Best Way to Treat It?
asked 9 months ago by peter_canada in toronto
Latest answer by Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Question viewed 438 times
Tags: columella, hanging, options
does my columella show becouse of hanging columella or alar retracment?,what is the best way to treat it?,i would prefer alar retracment,becouse i am pleased with shape of my nose ,i had no previous plastic surgery on my nose.
7 answers to My Columella Shows, What is the Best Way to Treat It?
+1
Hanging tip/columella after rhinoplasty
It is due to excess caudal septum. I would perform a caudal septal resection among other things, and then assess the nostrils. An alar contouring graft or lateral crural strut grafts may help reposition the ala. However, rhinoplasty is like chess and one move affects the next. This will have to be discussed with your rhinoplasty surgeon and he will determine during surgery what to do. There are a lot of dynamic changes that occur during surgery.
Make sure your choose a rhinoplasty...
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+4
Minimize columellar show
Hi! It does look like your columellar show exceeds the normal 3-4 mm we like to see in an aesthetically pleasing nose. This is a straightforward procedure that can be done with incisions inside the nose, provided you are happy with the rest of your nasal appearance, and nothing else needs to be altered. However, it will give the appearance of a slight shortening of your nose and slight lengthening of your upper lip. Your rhinoplasty surgeon should be able to morph photos to give you an idea...
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+1
How to fix my columellar show?
You do appear to have true columellar show where the columella is greater that 5mm's on profile view. There does not appear to be any alar retraction which is typically caused by Rhinoplasty and over-resection of tip cartilages. A Columellar tuck would be the most appropriate way to reduce the columellar show, IMHO. I do this through and isolated incision behind the colunella and in front of the anterior septal angle.
+1
Hanging columella
This does appear to be primarily due to excess caudal septum and could be manged by trimmin that area. If the medial crura did not retract up then you might need some "tongue in groove" fixation as well to set the alar columella ratio. See how it looks on your whole face with computer imaging before to get a sense of the change.
+1
Rhinoplasty for a hanging columella.
Just have the "hanging" part of the cartilage removed and that is all you need! This can be done under local anesthesia and you can go to work the next day.
+1
Best Treatment for Columellar Show
Hi Peter,
It appears that you have a prominent columella due to your caudal nasal septal cartilage. Trimming of the cartilage should correct your columellar show. I do not believe that you have alar retraction. You should only have it "fixed" if it really bothers you. Choose your rhinoplasty surgeon most carefully. Good luck and be well.
Dr. P
+1
Reducing columellar show with rhinoplasty
Dear Peter,
From the lateral views of your nose (the side profile), it appears that there is excessive columellar show mostly due to a hanging columella. There are two main components that can contribute to this:
-an excessively long or over developed septum (the firm midline cartilage)
-overdeveloped medial crura (the soft cartilages that define the shape of the columella
Both of these can be treated with a rhinoplasty focused on refining the columella. If you are pleased...
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Jamil Asaria, MD
Toronto Facial Plastic Surgeon
Toronto Facial Plastic Surgeon


