Tip Rhinoplasty: What Is It?

Hello and thank you for your question. Tip rhinoplasty normally refers to only attempting to refine the tip. This often is not the best option for most patients as most patients need a full rhinoplasty in order to achieve a natural looking result. Tip refinement can be accomplished by trimming, suturing, and reshaping the cartilage in your lower nose. Cartilage grafts may also be used to help improve tip refinement. I recommend that you seek consultation with a qualified board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate you in person.

Best wishes and good luck.

Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

Tip rhinoplasty or tiplasty refers to a specific component of a rhinoplasty procedure where the tip (dome portion of the nose) is modified to create a more desired shape.  For example, a low and bulbous tip and be enhanced to a higher projected tip with better definition.  A patient who has a adequately projected nose bridge may choose to have only the tip area enhanced.  Often times, the tip should be reshaped to be in better harmony with the rest of the nose, including the bridge and alar base to have the best outcome.  Great question!

Tip Rhinoplasty refers to the procedure to shape, sculpt and contour the tip of the nose.  
Tip Plasty can correct:
Overprojected Tip: when the nasal tip stands too far off of the face making the nose large on profileDownward turned Tip: when the nasal is drooping or pulled downward, giving an unwanted hooked appearance Boxy Tipwhen the nasal tip is too wide, tall, bulbous or boxy Upturned nosewhen the nose is overly 'upturned' and the patient seeks a more neutral tip positionAsymmetric Tipwhen the nasal tip is different on the left and right sides
Benefits of a Tip Plasty vs a comprehensive rhinoplasty are:
 Less invasive procedure than a comprehensive rhinoplasty Less downtime with  quicker recovery Does not require general anesthesia, can often be performed in office under local anesthesia
We offer Tip Plasty for many patients because they have one or more of the above mentioned features.  Depending on the case and the specific anatomy, we prefer to perform Tip Rhinoplasty through a scarless aka "closed rhinoplasty" technique as this procedure has no visible scarring and can allow healing faster with no external cuts.  We hope this helps!