Does cutting the depressor septi nasi muscle affect the smile?

Hi Darkangel10,The depressor septi nasii muscle can be a nuisance as it can pull down the nasal tip with smiling or movement of the mouth. Dividing that muscle should not affect your smile in any way.Good luck!

The effect on a patient's smile after resection of the depressor septi nasi muscles is quite minimal. Resection of those muscles is important when a patient is bothered by how much the tip of the nose plunges when smiling. Note, however, that for a short while immediately after surgery (for about three weeks), the smile WILL be affected due to swelling in the middle third of the upper lip (the philtrum)...but this is entirely temporary.All the best,--David C. Pearson, M.D.Pearson Facial Plastic Surgery

It will cause subtle alteration in smile. All these muscles are connected. Disrrupting any of smile muscles changes dynamics.

Releasing the depressor septi nasi muscle affects the turning down of the nose with smiling, and not the smile itself.  Check how much your nose depresses with your smile and decide if you wish this procedure.Best wishes.

 Releasing of the depressor septi ligament  will de-animate the tip of the nose to prevent the tip from drooping when smiling. In our practice, it has no affect on the smile muscle.

Thanks for your question. Indeed, if your nose is pulled down when you smile, dividing the depressor septi nasi muscle will make this stop. It's a subtle change and tends not to be visible by others. But you may notice.   I have never had this as a defined goal for one of my rhinoplasty patients. However, in a few cases it has happened, for instance in cases where I'm reducing the nasal spine. Most of the time patients don't even notice. I had one person notice that it changed her smile slightly, but if you haven't resected the muscle, the normal motion tends to return with time. Good luck!