Is shortening the septum a viable maneuver to make the nose look shorter? (Photo)

The septum is not typically reduced to shorten the nose as this can be to aggressive. Usually a cephalic trim or suturing the medial crura up to the septum can achieve this.

That said, it is impossible to tell by your single photo whether or not your nose needs to be shortened. You appear to have a wide and somewhat droopy nasal tip appearance, and there are specific maneuvers we can use to rotate your nasal tip upward. The necessity of shortening your nasal septum would require an examination. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Dr Joseph

You are asking about a maneuver in rhinoplasty called a caudal septal trim. It is a fairly common maneuver in rhinoplasty, though there are some newer techniques have made it less commonly done than it was in the past (mostly now septal extension grafts permit us to shorten and up-rotate the nose predictably with fewer direct changes to the septum). If you have an excessively long caudal septum, it may be part of your rhinoplasty surgeon's plan.

A full set of facial photographs from all angles, especially the side profile to see if you have what's called a hanging columella. Reducing the hanging columella can give the appearance of a shorter nose. It's important to remember the nose is a three dimensional structure, and rhinoplasty is performed in all three dimensions, and the nose heals three-dimensionally. Digital computer imaging of your nose upon your facial features would be helpful to understand what can be accomplished with the procedure.