Is Correcting a Crooked Nose a Difficult Procedure?

Straightening a crooked nose, especially a revision, may be one of the most difficult of all plastic surgery procedures. In the bony portion, upper ⅓, the bones can be broken and moved and usually will stay where you place them. The problem is the cartilage which makes up the lower ⅔ of the nasal dorsum, the tip, and septum. Cartilage, like rubber, has memory, you can slice it, dice it, score it, to bend it straight and it may bend back. Hopefully it will bend just a small amount and not near as bad as the original deformity. This makes just taking a hump off very simple.
Even a very experienced rhinoplasty surgeon may not get it perfectly straight. It is frustrating when a nose that is straight when you finish, can bend back years later. But usually it's minor and doesn't require a revision.
The severe cases like hockey players, rodeo cowboys, or anyone whose nose has been broken multiple time and sits sideways on the face, I promise only a 50 to 75% improvement. The goal is to establish an airway and get it close to straight. The super model with a slight deviation will be more difficult since she's expecting perfection. After 34 years, I find that managing patient expectations can be as difficult as the surgery itself.

Hello and thank you for your question. Straightening the crooked nose is one of the most challenging things to do in all of Rhinoplasty. I would highly recommend that you evaluate your surgeon’s results in their before and after gallery and you should be able to see numerous pictures of straightening a crooked being performed on real patients. I recommend that you seek consultation with a qualified board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate you in person.

Best wishes and good luck.

Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

A crooked nose is challenging, depending on the cause of its crookedness. It is certainly more technically challenging to fix than a dorsal hump. Crooked noses usually involve cartilage that is twisted or curved. Unlike bone which breaks when bent, and can easily be filed down, cartilage has memory and reverts back to its original form unless properly reshaped and sculpted. There are several different methods and tricks for correcting a crooked nose (they are too technical for me to describe here), so if you are thinking of having yours fixed, please consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in rhinoplasty surgery. Please ask detailed questions to ensure that your surgeon is experienced in handling complicated cases.