Alar Base Reduction After Primary Rhinoplasty

Yes, this is possible and usually is done under local anesthesia. The stitches are out in 5-7 days and there should be minimal bruising or swelling.

Dear texmex8644 from Corpus Christi, TX
Regarding your initial rhinoplasty surgery that you had in Texas with unsatisfactory results, there is good news for you. If everything else about your nose is satisfactory to you and just the alar base is widened, an office revision rhinoplasty procedure would be sufficient to reduce the alar base. This can be done with local anesthesia. Good luck.
 

Hi:

 

The good news is that your alar bases (or nostril widths) can easily be worked on in the clinic setting. I would hope that if you went to your original PS that he or she would do this for you at no charge. If you go to a different doctor I would think that you could have this done at a very minimal charge

Hi Texmex,

Yes, you can have your alar base surgery revision under local anesthesia in the office without having a full blown rhinoplasty operation.  Good luck and be well.

Dr. P

The alar base can be easily accessed and does not require an open rhinoplasty.  A small wedge of your nasal ala will be excised and repositioned.  It can be done under local or general based on your preference.  The recovery will be much easier than your rhinoplasty.  I'm sure that if you go back to your original plastic surgeon he would perform this minor revision for you.  In general, it takes several months for all the swelling in your nose to go down and for you to see the final result so don't be discouraged!

Dr. Cat Begovic

Dear texmex8644,

In general, rhinoplasty revision should wait at least 6 months from the time of the original surgery. Without seeing you in person, it is impossible to say whether or not this guideline is relevant in your case, since your concern is the alar base.

To answer your question, it is certainly possible to do alar base surgery without undergoing an entire  rhinoplasty procedure; it may even be possible to do it under local anesthetic alone. Keep in mind that patients sometime have incorrect assumptions about what alar base surgery can do; it is very important to consult with your surgeon and find out what can be expected if you were to have further alar base surgery.

Best regards,

Lawrence Tong MD FACS FRCSC 

It can be upsetting to see the immediate result of a rhinoplasty and of course, every patient, surgeon, and surgical technique is different and the results may not be apparent until 6 to 12 months after surgery.  If you are thinking about a revision, first discuss it with your surgeon.  It may be that you need other opinions, but your surgeon is the best place to begin.  Typically, one does not perform a revision rhinoplasty until one year post-op from the previous operation.  There are exceptions, though.

It is too early to tell what the final result will be. I would give it 6 months to a year before undergoing further surgery on the nose.