Is It Necessary to Break the Nose to Fix Small Bump?

One of the most common reasons that patients seek rhinoplasty consultations is to learn about dorsal hump reduction. A dorsal hump is comprised of bone and cartilage. To remove the hump, the rhinoplasty surgeon files down the bone and trims the cartilage to the appropriate height to give the profile the desired contour. For an experienced rhinoplasty surgeon, this is a very straightforward procedure. For large humps it is necessary to surgically break the nasal bones (called osteotomies) to close a gap on the top of the bridge (an "open roof" deformity) that results when the hump is removed. However, this is something that needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
It is possible to correct one isolated problem -- such a a dorsal hump -- without having to change or disrupt other parts of the nose. The goal of any rhinoplasty is to produce a nose that looks natural and functions well.
To get a better understanding of what your nose would look like after surgery, your prospective rhinoplasty surgeon should be able to show you before and after computer simulations. Many rhinoplasty surgeons use computer imaging, and recently 3D rhinoplasty imaging has become available. This allows patients to preview how their nose might look after surgery from any angle.

Hi Sim,
Whether to perform osteotomies (cutting the nasal bones) or not depends on many factors, including the width of your nose, and what else is being addressed. A small dorsal nasal hump can be removed without always having to "break the bones" (see web reference below).
What is most important is you communicating with your rhinoplasty what bothers you, and what final result you would be satisfied with. Then it is up to your surgeon to let you know if that can be achieved, and what it would entail.
Get a few opinions, but choose your surgeon most carefully, not necessarily based on whether your bones will be broken or not.
Good luck and be well.
Dr. P

Even if the nose has a small bump the dorsum has to be chiselled and then it leaves a broad base. To make that narrow the lateral bones have to be broken and pushed together.
It might seem an overkill but it is the only way to do it. Some times a very minor hump can be rasped down but only if it is 1 to 2mm.
Regards

Thank you for your question.It is possible to remove the bump on top of your nose without breaking your nose.  This requires reducing the bone and cartilage on the top of the nose in order to remove the bump.  However, it is important to note that if the bump is more than just a very small one, by reducing the bump on the top of the nose you require the bones along the side to be broken.



The reason for this is that once the top of the nose has been reduced it leaves an opening where the bones no longer join because the top of the nose has been taken off.  This is sort of like taking the off the top of the peak of a tent.  With this open roof deformity, breaking the bones is necessary in order to restore the top of the nose.

"Breaking the nose" is technically called an osteotomy. This is a small part of a rhinoplasty used to narrow the nasal bones if the nose is wide or if a bump is taken down leaving a gap between the bones. The he video animation attached explains this part of rhinoplasty well.