A:
Hello. I am Dr. John Minoli from Henderson, Nevada
& Las Vegas, Nevada - board-certified in general plastic
surgery, facial plastic surgery & otolaryngology (ear, nose
& throat).
If swelling exists along the supra-tip of the nose, yes, kenalog may indeed be beneficial as it seems to have been with you. I would caution against an over-aggressive use of kenalog injections to the nose for fear of irreversible skin atrophy. Briefly, kenalog has a role in reducing postoperative nasal swelling during the first postoperative year, but it should not be used too much or too often.
A: Without
further historical information the cause of the septal deviation and the
associated nostril collapse cannot be determined. Perhaps the condition arose
as part of your natural development, perhaps from an acquired circumstance such
as trauma. Without a full physical examination of both your external nose and
your internal nasal anatomy the root of your collapsing nostrils also cannot be
determined. That said, the mid vault of the nose houses the internal nasal
valves which when deficient can definitely lead to “nostril” collapse on
inspiration. The use of septal cartilage, fashioned into the form of mid-vault
spreader grafts effectively addresses this problem.
Your
description details your nose sucking in the skin above your nostrils, so I
must also consider that you may be referring to the lower portion of your nose which houses the
lateral alar cartilages. If collapse occurs at this level, septal cartilage may
be used in a variety of ways to support the lower wings of the nose (i.e.,
alae).
Ask
your surgeon whether mid-vault spreader grafts or lower-alar support grafts are
needed. The internet has pictorial examples of each of the aforementioned grafts. Best of luck to the you, new scientist!