Rhinoplasty: Cost, Pics, Reviews, Q&A

The Nose Can Be Narrowed at the Bridge & Tip During Rhinoplasty Surgery

The nose can be narrowed at both the bridge and tip and still preserve a natural appearance. This can ultimately result in significant improvement in facial aesthetics.

This can be accomplished with standard rhinoplasty techniques. Before proceeding with this type of procedure a careful analysis of facial aesthetics should be undertaken. It’s important to consider the nose in the context of other facial structures. Harmony, balance, and proportion are obviously critical to facial aesthetics Each patient must be considered individually.

It’s important to be evaluated by a board-certified plastic surgeon who has experience with wide nose rhinoplasty. When appropriate evaluation and surgery are performed, satisfaction rate are high with wide nose rhinoplasty. (Richard J. Bruneteau, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

Wide nose

You are talking about what we call the alar base. No one can prevent the nose from widening when you smile. This would mean cutting muscles that are important to the position of your nose and upper lip.

The base of the nose can be narrowed by removing some skin. This is called alar base narrowing. Why would you want to make your nostrils bigger?

This is the opposite of what you are asking. You should see someone for a consultation. (Stuart H. Bentkover, MD, Boston Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Wide nose rhinoplasty can help you reach these cosmetic goals, but important to do your research

Wide Nose African-American

An experienced plastic surgeon should be able to refine the area of your nose that you’re concerned about while maintaining natural looking results.

Your prospective plastic surgeon can give you a better idea of the techniques he or she will employ during surgery after you’ve undergone a thorough plastic surgery consultation during which they analyze your concerns, assess any breathing issues, and also compare your nose to the size and proportion of your other facial features.

Because wide nose rhinoplasty is such a complex procedure involving not only form, but also function, it’s important to only pursue surgery with an experienced board certified plastic surgeon who can show you successful examples of their previous nose surgery results. (C. Edwin Pittman, MD, Athens Plastic Surgeon)

Can Rhinoplasty Narrow a Wide Nose and Still Look Natural?

Wide Nose Ethnicity

Narrowing of the nose can indeed give you a natural look. It usually involves some bony work as well. Sometimes, if the nostrils are widened, they may need to be reduced as well thus creating a narrower look to the nose. It is important to have an evaluation with the nose in repose and animation to see if nostril flaring occurs. Sometimes a dorsal graft is added to the nose to help produce a narrow but natural appearance. (Paul Vitenas, Jr., MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

The Natural Looking Nose

A natural looking nose is a nose that is aesthetically pleasing and matches the face to the nose and looks non-operated. That is a significant challenge in a modern wide nose rhinoplasty. A successful rhinoplasty does not look like it has been operated on. It looks natural and has good shape and contour.

Wide Nose Reduction Surgery

It has no dorsal irregularities and does not have a washed out dorsum, a polybeak deformity, or notching of the nasal tip. That is a very high standard that can be attained only after careful analysis and using an experienced rhinoplasty surgeon. (Rod J. Rohrich, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Wide noses and thin noses

Patients can certainly achieve attractive, non operative looking noses following rhinoplasty to narrow their noses. The width often occurs in three areas: the back of the nose or dorsum, the tip complex, or nostril base area. Each patient has different expectations as well as different anatomy. A surgical plan for one patient is not the same for every patient, nor is the same surgical maneuvers performed, nor is the same technique for execution performed.

The key is to find a surgeon who has experience with this operation and has performed a lot of these procedures and can sit down and discuss his surgical plan with you and make sure that your plan is executable. That means both the patient and the surgeon must develop a good rapport. This being said, a realistic expectation of what can be performed and what can be achieved is presented in our consultation. I find that an imaging computer aids in this discussion. I have been using this technique for 20 years. (Jonathan Berman, MD, Boca Raton Plastic Surgeon)

Narrowing a wide nose is one of the most common reasons for seeking nose job surgery. There are certainly ways to make the nostrils less mobile during animation (i.e. laughter) and to change the size and shape of the nostrils.

Similarly, changing the width of the nasal dorsum is a very common and straightforward goal in nose job surgery that is easily accomplished.

One way to make the base of the nose seem less wide is to increase the height of the tip of the nose. The “nasalis” muscle at the base of the nose may cause the nasal tip to be mobile during laughter.

This muscle can be de-functioned during the nose job surgery so that the movement of the tip no longer occurs during speech or laughter. Similarly, the correction of a wide nasal dorsum or wide nasal tip may be accomplished by trading excessive width for slightly greater height.

To help you understand this concept, think of the difference between the apparent width of a tent that has a short tent pole vs. one that has a longer tent pole that creates a higher peak. (Michael R. Macdonald, MD, Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Treating the Wide Nose with nose job

Narrowing the tip and upper nose are routine ways of helping improve nasal shape during nose job surgery.

Treating the wide ala is possible but has some limitations. In your question you state that your nostrils are actually small- so it does not sound like you need a traditional wedge excision of the base of the alae.

Visit with an experienced plastic surgeon, as the best way to treat your nose will depend on your physical exam. Slight widening with laughing, which you report, may just be a natural feature an not unattractive at all. (Michael Suzman, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Nostril (alar) repositioning

The nostril is a very complex structural curve affected greatly by facial animation. Not only are everyones nostrils different but their muscles of facial animation are different (we all have individual shaped smiles ).

Many things can be done to the nostrils to thin them, reshape them, and reposition them. However this is very sophisticated nose job type work, and very individualized.

Get a consult from a “nose job” surgeon who does lots of this and can show you pictures of results and can list his experience. A wide nose can be narrowed but only to the degree that it becomes “done” looking.

This can be done by some combination of tip narrowing, alar base narrowing, and even osteotomies, which of these should be done and how much to each element is the “art” of nose job (Richard Galitz, MD, FACS, Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Narrowing a Nose without Impairing Breathing

Alar base reduction is a surgery that is designed to do just that. This is keeping in mind that the proportions of the nose maintain their proper relationship. The width of the nose can be reduced without impacting the nostril size by the way in which the excision of tissue is planned.

However, the way in which your facial muscles (during smiling) impact the shape of your nose cannot be changed – nor should you want to alter this natural phenomenon.

If the starting position of your nostrils is closer together, the amount of widening you experience with a smile will be less. Thus, this should improve your appearance while smiling and at rest. (Vincent P. Marin, MD, San Diego Plastic Surgeon)

Nose job to Reduce Alar Flaring and Nasal Base Width

You can improve the width of your nose. From your description , You may need to have two different procedures. You may need to have the nasal dilator muscles partially resected while reducing the Alar flaring. Both the above can be done simultaneously. I recommend a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in nose job procedures. (Ali Sajjadian, MD, FACS, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)