Nostril flare and tip over-projection (Photo)

You are a great candidate for rhinoplasty with an alarplasty, also known as alar base reduction. The rhinoplasty would reduce your tip projection and an alarplasty is a surgical procedure that reduces the width of the nostrils. It primarily focuses on the alar region, which is the outermost part of the nostrils and I often recommend this for patients who feel that their nostrils are too wide or flared. I frequently perform the rhinoplasty and alarplasty at the same time.
During the alarplasty procedure, I makes small incisions in the creases where the nostrils meet the cheeks and removed the excess tissue to narrow the nostril width. The result is a more proportionate and narrower nose that complements your other facial features. I hope this helps! - Dr. Costeloe
Facial Plastic SurgeryNational Harbor, MD

Hello from Istanbul! Yes, it's possible to reduce both the tip projection and the width of the nostrils simultaneously. In fact, as you said, deprojecting the tip can cause the nostrils to appear wider, so an alarplasty is a good idea for achieving a balanced and harmonious result. Best of luck to you!

Based on your photos, you are a great candidate for rhinoplasty. The length of the tip can be reduced and the tip could be made less boxy at the same time. While it's true that deprojecting the tip can make the nostrils flare a bit, if you are reducing the nostril size anyway, that could be taken care of easily. Be sure to see a rhinoplasty specialist for consultation.

A rhinoplasty to reduce the tip projection by setting back the tip slightly can be done. If the nostril flare is a concern, a slight alar base reduction can be added to address this.

You didn't post any 3/4 views, which show the width of the *tip* of the nose best, but the frontal view seems to suggest that the two cartilages that form the tip of your nose are broad, and can be narrowed at the same time. The nostrils can be narrowed as well, at the time of deprojection of the nose.


How *much* to narrow the tip, or deproject the nose, or make other changes? We figure that out with morphs, well before surgery. I'd love for you to see some excellent professionally-designed morphs of what could possibly be done with your nose. Morphs could also help you identify better just what's bothering you, and help you set a goal for the rhinoplasty that's accurate for your tastes. Profile and three-quarter views would be particularly important in morphing your nose. (Side note: in my opinion, morphs should really be done by the surgeon, or he should direct an assistant as she makes the morphs. Morphs should be made with a constant eye to what actually *can* be done in surgery, for that particular nose, and the surgeon has that information and judgment best.)

Finally, remember that rhinoplasty is an exquisitely difficult operation to get right, and you should only have surgery if you are able to make yourself very confident in your surgeon's skills. The changes that your nose needs require advanced techniques, and skill that most plastic surgeons don't possess with expertise. For most noses, it's much better to not have surgery than to have inexpertly-performed surgery. Read my essay on how to stay out of trouble while selecting a rhinoplasty surgeon. And it also discusses how to take photos that are best for online evaluations.