My Nose is Flat and Wide, Would Laser Work? (photo)

Rhinoplasty involves reshaping the nose by changing the underlying structures such as bone and cartilage. Very little can be done to the thickness of skin. Lasers only have a role in special cases of disease process involving the nasal skin such as rhinophyma.Your pictures are very blurred but you do not appear to need laser treatments. Contact a board certified plastic surgeon in your area regarding limitations of rhinoplasty in cases of thick skin.

The way we make large fleshy noses appear smaller is the opposite of how we make noses with thin skin and strong cartilages smaller. For fleshy noses, the cartilages are usually thin and weak. Adding cartilage grafts (from your own nose) as well as removing some of the fat or fleshy tissue under the skin will make your nose look smaller.

Lasers only treat the surface of the skin and are great for winkles or pigment but won't shrink a nose.
 

Find a rhinoplasty specialist near you to discuss how to make your nose more shapely.

I read your concerns and reviewed your photos which are limited for evaluation.

You appear to have a wide nose, as you describe, but your oblique photos appear to show a bump which is not typical with a "flat" nose. Your thick skin may or may not be limiting, and an in-person consultation would be required. Given your olive skin color, I'm not sure what type of laser treatments your surgeon is recommending. If a prospective rhinoplasty patient has significant acne or inflammation involving their nose, I may suggest consultation with a dermatologist to control the acne and inflammation. I have not had the opportunity to refer any of my ethnic patients for laser treatments before nose job surgery.

You may want to check abfprs.org to find local certified rhinoplasty specialists for a fresh second opinion.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Joseph