What is rasping and why is it done sometimes after Rhinoplasty?

Rasping is just like rasping, or filing, a piece of wood: a file is put on the bone and rubbed back and forth to take off some of the bone.The problem is that it's almost never the case that a "small" or "quick" or "minor" revision thingie, like a "rasping," will help a nose, and it almost certainly will cause more trouble, and make it harder for the next surgeon to do a real revision.Why? Just getting up into the nose will cause more scar tissue and more thickness somewhere. You need to make a complete list of everything you want done to the nose now, and have a real revision if those changes are high enough priority for you.In particular, rasping won't narrow or thin the bridge. The bridge is thinned by *moving* the bones, emphatically not by "rasping" them.See the "Web reference" link, below, for more information.

Rasping is simply the term used to shave excess bone from a bump on the nose using a special instrument called a rasp

Rasping of a nasal bridge involves taking a "file" and shaving down the bones. I use this for very delicate refinement of the nasal bridge but it's typically not effective for a complete hump removal. This might or might not be effective for you but I have no way of knowing without evaluating your nose. Best.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon

Dear zbate55,Rasping is like filing or sanding a bump downIt is relatively straightforward If you are unhappy with a bump, then rasping is appropriateIf you want other changes, you might as well do all of those at the same time instead of rasping in one sitting and another revision in the futureSeek out a revision rhinoplasty expert as these surgeries are even more complex than primariesBest,Dr. Nima

Some surgeons like to use the rasp to lower the height of the dorsum. This is akin to filing down your nails. The alternative is to use a chisel to excise a piece of bone rather than filing it down. With the latter, I typically always rasp afterwards to smooth out any remaining deficits. If the height is reduced significantly then you need to narrow the nasal bones or the nose will look too wide. This is done by breaking them and infracturing the bones to close the "open roof". Depending on where and how much, rasping can be effective. The bony work typically does not affect your ability to have future nasal surgeries.