Feel like I have a dent 1 year post-op, will massaging help? (Photos)

Hi, looks like the cartilage on one side was affected more then on the other side, giving some asymmetry. You would most likely need a revision rhinoplasty to fix this if it bothers you. Trying a filler might work, because after a few shots of filler some scar tissue can form giving fullness, improving the dent, and you might not have to do fillers after.

The area you circled is referred to as the "soft tissue triangle." It's a very delicate area of the nose that can have some changes after rhinoplasty if it's not supported during the surgery. Normally at 1 year out, you've seen a majority of the changes that may occur. You may go on to develop more changes in this area however. This is a reasonable thing to show your primary rhinoplasty surgeon and seek options.

It is difficult to evaluate how extensive your nose dent is and what is the reason for it. However, from these photos, it seems that it is fairly small can be corrected with a crushed cartilage grafts (taken from behind the ear) or simpler, with fillers; yes, fillers are good option for such a minimal deformities and will last up to 2 years in this particular location. Hope this helps.

Sorry, but this is not massagable. Almost nothing is; telling patients to massage is a conscious or unconscious mechanism some surgeons do to buy time and get them out of their office. You are looking at a slight curve in the lateral limb of your tip cartilage. Fillers do well there and can last for years, or you can get another surgery. This is not necessarily the fault of your surgeon, is frequently associated with the scarring process, and is the reason you sign consents indicating you understand that healing is unpredictable.

Dear Amandax3,
I understand your concern. However, without a proper assessment, it would be difficult to determine what went wrong. It is best that you visit your plastic surgeon for further assessment or ask for a second opinion. Only after a thorough examination, you can get proper recommendations and advice.
Daniel Barrett, MD
Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Thank you for your question. The region you're pointing out is called the soft tissue triangle. A dent in this region can occur with rhinoplasty due to the healing process, and often a camouflage graft is placed in this region to avoid this. At a year out, I doubt this will improve. Yes, filler could be used to add volume to this region, but for a permanent solution, one could add a very small amount of either fascia or crushed cartilage using an incision on the inside of the nose.

Dent of nasal chip after rhinoplasty: it appears in the picture you show that the area you refer to as a dent is missing some cartilage. In my opinion the only permanent fix for this would be a Cartlidge graft.

Either re operation just in the dented area with a cartilage graft to the dent or use non invasive HA fillers once or twice a year are the options available to you.