After Hump Was Removed In Primary Surger, My Nose is Flatter and Wider. Can I Get It Back To Where It Was?

When a hump on the nose is removed, it can make the nose appear wider. If you measure the actual width it is unlikely to actually be wider. This is an optical illusion caused by unmasking of the eyes. A smaller hump separating the eyes gives the appearance of this area to look flatter and wider.

Another condition that may occur is a flat upper nose (dorsum) with an open roof. Removing a hump is akin to shaving off the top of a pyramid. Unless you do osteotomies, or "break" the nose, the area may appear flat. The open roof occurs when you see the edges of the nasal bones that weren't brought back together after removing a hump with these osteotomies.

There are two ways to fix the above conditions, first is to perform osteotomies to narrow the nasal bones. The second option is to restore all or part of the hump.

Removing a hump is analogous to removing the apex of a triangle-the more that is removed, the wider the remaining portion becomes.  Hump removal often requires simultaneous narrowing of the nasal bones so that the nasal width is appropriate on the frontal view.  The nasal bones can easily be narrowed during a revision procedure.  Bumps can be recreated, but require grafting material such as septal cartilage.

A couple possible causes of the wider appearing nose after hump removal include:


There is an open roof deformity such that the bridge it too flat and the bones wider than ideal. This can be treated with osteotomies to gently infracture the bones and shift them toward the midline.

Simply removing a hump can give the perception that the nose is wider.


Seeing your nose would help determine what would be the best way to address your concerns. The bridge can be built back up if you desire. This is usually done by grafting some of your own cartilage.