Is the Alar nasal valve stent a good alternative for nasal valve problems?

Nasal splints are used routinely in the postop setting to avoid scarring between mucosal surfaces in the internal valve of the nasal cavity or between turbinates and the septum.  They are also used to mold nasal cartilages in neonates with cleft lip nasal deformities.  Alar splints would be recommended in the postop setting to maintain correction after surgery to repair a collapsed external valve with sutures or grafts. 

 The valve should almost never be a part of a cosmetic rhinoplasty procedure. There does not appear to be a need to interrupt the valve anatomy when attempting to improve the appearance of the nose. Should there be a valve issue - for example collapse- on inspiration---a graft would probably be more effective than relying on other means to prevent the collapse. 

 In our practice, we do not use any stents or rely on scar tissue to  help  with valve collapse. When patient's have internal nasal valve collapse, we use cartilaginous spreader grafts  placed on one or both sides that are harvested from inside the nose. For more information and many examples, please see the link and the video below