Is there such a thing as a rhinoplasty "touch up"?

Question

I'm 6 months PO and there's still a small boney bump on the side of my bridge. This makes a nice profile, but my 3/4 view does not have the smooth, straight look I had hoped for. Also my tip is a bit droopier than I wanted. I never thought I'd be wanting a revision, but these flaws still bug me! I don't need to restructure or any cartilage grafts... but would a small rasping procedure and tiny minor tip lift be considered a "touch up" by the doctor and less risky than a complete revision?

Adam Bryce Weinfeld, MD · Answer

From your description, it sounds possible that you may be a candidate for some small revisions to your original rhinoplasty once you have fully healed.  Sometimes these revisions can even be done in the office under local anesthesia.  It is best if you wait a full year to do these revisions as the body will continue to heal over the next few months.  I recommend you discuss your concerns with your surgeon to discuss your options.  Best of luck.

Jamil Ahmad, MD · Answer

The
Rhinoplasty surgery is a very delicate procedure and does require a full year
of healing to fully see the final results. Patients are advised to wait the
full year as scar tissue can continue to expand creating swelling that may be
unnoticeable to anyone but you and your surgeon, especially in the tip of the
nose. 
A secondary
rhinoplasty procedure may be required in about one in twenty cases as minor deformities
may appear only after surgery. This is quite unpredictable, even in patients of
the most skilled rhinoplasty surgeons. 
It is
important to attend all your postoperative visits with your surgical team to
ensure that everything is healing accordingly.

Sandy Sule, MD · Answer

Essentially what you are asking is if a revision is necessary. It is still too early to say. You should wait at least 1 year. However, it is possible to rasp the bone down and perhaps add a cartilage strut graft to give the tip more support.

Sagar Patel, MD · Answer

Firstly the only person who can fairly answer this is your surgeon. Do not br afraid to ask! The little bump of bone on the side is common. A small incision can be Madeliene inside the nose and this can be rasped down. This will lead to some swelling so even though his likely won’t improve we wait until one year postop to do something like this. It is unlikely to improve much but in general I would wait. As for the droopiness of the tip, that requires more intervention. Sometimes your tip might not be dropping but you might actually have supratip fullness called a pollybeak leading to this appearance. In general you HAVE to wait the year to assess this as you are still swollen. If you are developing the pollybeak than steroids can be injected so please see your doctor. Finally it’s important to note that if your tip isn’t exactly what you want, aside from fillers, there isn’t a touch up you can do to adresss it. Hope that helps.

Sagar Patel MD

Sagar Patel MD

Is there such a thing as a rhinoplasty "touch up"?

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