Can my uneven nostrils be corrected with an alar reduction? (photo)

Question

I’ve had a rhinoplasty done years ago and had to live with uneven nostrils since then. My left nostril (picture’s right) is visibly higher and I constantly wish something is “inserted” to bring it down. Any advice on what would be the best procedure to get this corrected?

Lexie Wang, MD · Answer

First of all, this is a very minute amount of asymmetry or unevenness. In fact, I'm pretty sure most surgeons would tell you to leave this alone. Plastic surgery, and especially rhinoplasty, is not a surgery of perfection but rather of improvement. That means you will always have some asymmetry and unevenness, no matter who you go to. Everyone has one nostril that attaches higher on the face, and this is not something that can be changed. Chances are that you might be fixating on this too much, especially if other people do not see this. Now if you DID want to treat this, one COULD put a bit of cartilage in the alar rim on the left side to try to get it lower, but again it is difficult to control how much lower it will get and if you think you are going to continue to obsess over slight asymmetries afterward, I would definitely avoid it, as every time you operate on the nose you are putting yourself at increased risk for poor healing and irregularities. Good luck.

Eric M. Joseph, MD · Answer

If you are overall happy with the appearance of your nose and wish to lower your left nostril margin, depending on your examination, microdroplet Silikon-1000 injections maybe considered for improving nostril symmetry. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Dr Joseph

Can my uneven nostrils be corrected with an alar reduction? (photo)

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Can my uneven nostrils be corrected with an alar reduction? (photo)

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