Alarplasty recommendations - will this help with the nasolabial fold lines? (Photos)

There is no connection betwen your nasolabial folds and your afroamerican alar excess, actually I'd never say you have bad, too visible or deep nasolabial folts, they are sweet and mild ones, no reasons to be concerned about them.

Alarplasty can be an option, however in these ethnic noses normally lead to a weird effect if done alone without the comprehensive afroamerican rhinoplasty; you can give them a try as standalone procedure but do warn the surgeon to be conservative, otherwise future rhinoplasty can be impeded or limited.

Please open the link associtated to this response, so you can see a case of mine very very similar to your situation, before and after.

Yes, your nose looks good except for the wide nostrils. Alarplasty can reduce the width and make the nose look more proportionate to the overall face.
Alarplasty is a very fine and quick procedure that can narrow the nostrils and reduce the flare to soften the appearance. It has other names as well like ‘Weir Excisions’ or ‘Nostril Reduction’. It can be done under local anesthesia. The social down time is about a week. If you want to work from home you can start it the next day. For the procedure you are evaluated to determine how much of a change is needed. In the past surgeons had recommended 2mm to 5mm reduction. This was measured by drawing a vertical line at the lateral sides of the nostrils (alae). However, I prefer to use a mirror and Q-tips to show the patient how much of a change can be accomplished. Pushing with Q-tips from the sides can mimic the change. Patient can also pinch their upper lip near the base of the nose and will show them how much narrowing to expect. I try to quantify the change as small, medium and large. Rarely it can be extra large as well. I always advise the patients to be conservative in the change as it is an irreversible procedure. The procedure historically did not get a lot of attention in plastic surgery. It was always thought of an adjunct procedure done with a rhinoplasty. Historically most ethnic groups did not get rhinoplasties. Hence, the caucasian rhinoplasty was the main procedure that plastic surgeons were trained on. 15 years ago I started making videos on the procedure and putting them on YouTube. In my blogs I started using the term 'Alarplasty' as most doctors and patients were using the term nostril reduction or Weir Excisions. I started noticing that over years the term 'Alarplasty' became popular among patients as well. Today, most patients use the term freely and know a lot about the procedure. I am very excited to see this evolution over the years. My African American patients were especially happy to learn that you can make the nose look small without having to do a full rhinoplasty. Many of them noticed that every plastic surgeon they went to offered a full rhinoplasty.
In summary, Alarplasty is a unique procedure in itself and hopefully more surgeons get trained in it and help more people.
You can visit our alarplasty website to learn all about it.
Click on the video link below to see the details.
Regards
Dr. J

An alarplasty is a great surgical option if you are bohtered by the width of the base of the nose and/or nostrils. It will have little to any effect on the nasolabial folds or other lines on your face. You are correct that the alar base widens as you age due to bony remodeling, so something you could consider to help combat that AND address the NLF, you could consider revolumization of hte piriform aperture region with filler or fat grafting.

Based on your post photos, the capital ALAR wedges will not affect the wrinkles or nasolabial folds of your face. Plus, the potential of a scar must be discussed. Expect these to range from $2000-$4000. Best to virtual consult with.