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Rhinoplasty That Only Involves Working with the Skin?

Is it possible for a Rhinoplasty doctor to just remove the thick skin I have on my nose to make it narrower, without having any bones broken and such. I was also curious if the price would be any lower than a regular rhinoplasty that considers breaking of the bone. Thank you!

Doctor Answers 3

May 13th, 2009

Usually, just removing nasal skin is not effective

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You can remove the skin around the sides of your nose by your nostrils to make them look less wide in this area. But if you want to make the tip smaller and the nasal bridge smaller, it will take a formal rhinoplasty. This at times will entail breaking the bones to narrow the bridge. Thicker skin near the tip area of your nose makes a little harder to narrow the nasal tip. Some people reduce the skin from the inside to make the tip more refined, but this is not a safe procedure many times especially when your nose is done in an open fashion.

An open rhinoplasty entails making a incision under your nose to elevate the nasal skin envelope to directly work on the nasal structure under direct vision. Asian rhinoplasty / cosmetic surgery is unique and you should go to someone who has experience with the Asian nose.


Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon

May 20th, 2009

Rhinoplasty is a sculpting of both cartilage and bone and is not skin surgery

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Rhinoplasty is a sculpting of both cartilage and bone and is not skin surgery. Removing thick skin on the nose is impossible to do. There is no way to thin down thick, oily, sebaceous skin. Any removal of thick skin would involve having to make an external incision on the outside of the nose, which would be unacceptable.

William Portuese, MD

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 157 reviews

May 13th, 2009

Yes it is possible.

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 Usually when we do Asian noses there is not a need to break the bones. We normally will thin the tip skin and place cartilage and soft tissue grafts in the tip an d bridge to augment the shape of the nose.

Toby Mayer, MD

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 38 reviews

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.