How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Hanging Columella in California?

A hanging columella in itself is quite easy to fix.  If that is all that is needed, it can be done under local anesthesia in less than an hour.  Most commonly, I see this in patients who have had a previous rhinoplasty.  I usually charge about $2000 for it.

Repair of a hanging columella can be performed under local anesthesia. A simple procedure can cost about $3000. More complex procedures including septal work can cost more. You need a consultation with a nose specialist to determine your cosmetic needs.

Rhinoplasty fees very quite a bit among various surgeons. Hanging columella on its own can sometime be fixed using a relatively brief procedure in the office with local numbing medication. In some cases the repair is actually more extensive which obviously would increased to overall costs.

I suspect that you'll find a rough total fee range of $4000-$12,000 depending on the surgeon, experience and location.

In the meantime, you can read more about hanging columella repair at my web reference link below.

Dear ajoseph,


It all depends on how much work would need to be performed

Your question can be better answered after a consultation where your nose can be examined and your expectations managed

Seek out a rhinoplasty expert for the best results

The range of prices can be found on realself, and in LA can range from 4-20K


Best regards,

Nima Shemirani

              $2000 to $3000, depending upon what techniques must be employed.  .Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of rhinoplasties and rhinoplasty revisions each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.

Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

If that's all you want/need fixed, it won't cost much because in my San Diego Plastic Surgery Aesthetic practice, that would be a brief office procedure. 

Hello ajoseph:

It's the right question to ask, but not the first question to ask.  The most important question that needs to be addressed before a fee quotation can be given is: What do I need to have done?  Is the hanging columella the only imperfection this nose has? 

The reason why I urge you to ask more questions before getting to fees: often, a hanging columella can be indicative of problems that need to be addressed.  One reason for a hanging columella may be a deviated septum.  Correction of a deviated septum (septoplatsy) is important to have properly-positioned columella and also perhaps to improve breathing.  The other issue is if correction of the hanging columella will have any influence on the location of the tip. 

You see, in rhinoplasty, what you do to one part of the nose can have an impact on the other parts.  It is not very often that only one step or one portion or one component of rhinoplasty surgery is performed. 

My best advice: be sure to have a very comprehensive consultation by someone who specializes in nasal surgery and does a large volume of it.  You need to have a careful internal examination of the nose to examine the septum and the turbinates, as well as evaluation of the nose's outside, obviously with great attention given to the structure, shape, and form of the columella.  Various issues must be taken into consideration, including the strength of the cartilages, the thickness of your skin, and other factors that impact on the outcome. 

My best advice is to please do more homework to make sure you are comfortable with understanding all the parameters of modern rhinoplasty surgery.  Read books, visit websites, and the more you know, the smarter questions you will ask and the more likely that you will have satisfactory rhinoplasty surgery.

Robert Kotler, MD, FACS
Facial Plastic Surgeon
Author, SECRETS OF A BEVERLY HILLS COSMETIC SURGEON
Author, THE ESSENTIAL COSMETIC SURGERY COMPANION
robertkotlermd.com

Dear ajoseph


the costs for rhinoplasty depend on the procedures needed and the type of recommended anesthesia for that surgery

although you will get estimates ranging from 3-20k, it is important to discuss your goals in a consult

after a clear discussion, the types of procedures can be defined and the costs discussed 

Best Wishes

  Repair of a hanging columella is also  known as a columellar-plasty. A columellar-plasty is usually performed  at the same time as the rhinoplasty procedure, however there are patients that do require a simple columellar-plasty which can be performed under either local or general anesthesia. The cost for a columellar-plasty in our office is approximately $3000. performing the procedure under local anesthesia would be cheaper than a general anesthetic approach. Please see the link below for patients we performed a columellar-plasty upon.

thank you for the question Mr. Joseph

in general something like this can be addressed under local anesthesia at a reasonable cost. One point that was made in one of your answers is that many patients who come with this particular issue often have questions or concerns about other aspects of their nose. That being said if most of the rhinoplasty work you need involves cartilage of the columella and tip alone then it can still be performed under local anesthesia at a cost of anywhere from $3500-$6000 depending on whether or not it is just the columella or what is essentially a full rhinoplasty.

I hope that was helpful

Chase Lay, MD

double board certified facial plastic surgeon