Can my Crooked Nasal Implant Be Fixed?

Nasal implants, commonly silicone, can move and are thus aesthetically not pleasing when displaced. A recommendation to correct the implant placement is a good choice. surgery90210

There is an outside chance that you can salvage the implant currently in place. It might be that you simply need to adjust the positioning of the implant. This also depends on what type of implant is currently in the nose.

There is a good chance, however, that you need to take the implant out and essentially start over it terms of the nasal reshaping process. If that is the case, you will likely be better off not using a foreign material to reconstruct the nose. This would be a good opportunity to replace the implant with cartilage, which is better tolerated when performing rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty.

When you notice that your once straight implant is changing, a thorough evaluation becomes necessary. Scar that forms around an implant naturally can start to warp the implant. The implant may be in a pocket that is too big so it starts to move around. The implant may be changing the shape of underlying structures that give way and cause the implant to move. The overlying skin is thinning asymmetrically. The implant was not shaved symmetrically. Whatever the reason, there is typically a solution that a plastic surgeon or facial plastic surgeon specializing in revision rhinoplasty can provide for you. In general the implant is removed and examined for defects. The pocket is made straight, and if necessary, reduced in size. The implant is then replaced and stabilized.

Nasal implants that are asymmetric can be revised. Typically the asymmetry is due to one (or more) of these problems:

The implant is too long for the nose and is bent due to lack of space
There is deviation of the septum which makes the bridge crooked and thus the implant is crooked
The pocket for the implant was not made in the midline or it was made too large causing the implant to shift

Typically there are 3 options for revision:

Remove, revise and reinsert the original implant
Remove and replace with a new implant
Remove and replace with cartilage from the patient, typically from the rib.

When an implant is not placed under the periosteum or if it not placed in the midline or if the pocket that it sits in is too tight, then the implant can move and become crooked.  This is a very easy problem to fix and can be done in literally a 15 minute surgical procedure.