Is it safe to shave a nose hump under local anesthesia? (Photo)

If the bump or defect is small, it may be possible to remove this under local anesthesia. However, if more complex revisions are needed, often general anesthesia will be required.

It is very possible to remove a small bump under local anesthesia. If the bump is small and will not change the structure of the nose, it can be removed without osteotomies. It does take some injectable local, and some taping afterward, but this is commonly done to make minor adjustments after rhinoplasty.

Shaving a small bump will not widen the nose, can easily be done under local anesthesia as an office procedure.  Osteotomies are too much to do under local anesthesia, but for a small residual bump after rhinoplasty, an office shave takes a few minutes, and is easy to do through a small incision inside the nose that does not affect the tip.

  It is important understand that dorsal hump is composed of both bone and cartilage, and once the hump has been shaved down, it is absolutely necessary to perform osteotomies placed in the nasal bones.  This involves "breaking" the nasal bones to close the open roof created from the hump removal.  It will be impossible for him to tolerate this under local anesthesia. In our practice, we perform all rhinoplasty procedures under general anesthesia monitored by a board certified physician anesthesiologist for patient safety and comfort

If the residual bump is small, sometimes it can be done under local. If osteotomies are required then full anesthesia/sedation is necessary.