Rhinoplasty: Cost, Pics, Reviews, Q&A

Quick Fix Nose Jobs

There is no such thing as a “quick fix nose job” as a rhinoplasty requires surgical finesse to permanently improve nasal shape and contour.

However, one can temporarily enhance nasal shape and contour with the use of soft tissue fillers that are FDA approved and work quite well even up to a couple of years.

I highly recommend the use of hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvederm or Restylane. They are very safe FDA approved fillers that last a long time in the subcutaneous layer.

I do not recommend particular layer fillers like Radiesse in this area. (Rod J. Rohrich, MD, Dallas Plastic Surgeon)

Rhinoplasty to narrow nasal base

Pure narrowing of the nostrils is called “alar base narrowing” or the “Weir” procedure. It can be performed under purely local anesthesia or with a mild oral sedative, with all incisions made inside the nostrils.

It permits mild to moderate narrowing of the nasal base, resulting in what for many people is a less “ethnic” appearing nose. (Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS, Miami Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Nostril Reduction Alone or With Rhinoplasty

There are patients who will benefit from an alar base procedure alone, and not need additional work on the rest of the nose. The key here is to make sure that your nose will be in balance after the procedure.

How to fix your nose without a nose job operation

In some cases, the patient’s nasal structure, such as an underprojected tip, can cause the nostrils to flair out, and a formal rhinoplasty with or without alar base reduction is the better option. Alar base procedures can be done safely in an office setting. There are a variety of alar base techniques and patients should select a surgeon with a large amount of experience with alar base reduction procedures. (Anil R. Shah, MD, Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Cookie Cutter Nose Jobs

Beware and cast a suspicious eye on marketing geared towards “fast and easy” rhinoplasty surgery. Rhinoplasty surgery is one of the most tedious and technically difficult operations that we as plastic surgeons perform. No two noses are the same and no two patients are the same even if their noses look alike. Every patient has personal goals and needs; rhinoplasty surgery, when performed well, creates a balanced, beautiful facial feature that is in balance with the entirety of the face.

How to fix your nose without a nose job procedure

Its performance must be individualized and cannot be cookie cutter! See a surgeon with significant experience in ethnic rhinoplasty. See more than one and learn as much as you can about your individual nose as possible prior to going under the knife! (John Philip Connors III, MD, FACS, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

Do not seek out a quick fix if it is not best for you.

Most patients will benefit from a balanced, complete rhinoplasty. This is important, as whenever one particular aspect of a nose is changed, another aspect will be affected. There are some occasions; however, when someone may benefit from a ‘non-surgical’ rhinoplasty or only a ‘tip rhinoplasty’. This is not the norm however. (Sanjay Grover, MD, Orange County Plastic Surgeon)

Quick fix

How to fix your nose without a nose job surgery

There are no short cuts to quality. If you want limited changes, less surgery will be done. Beware of offers that sound too good to be true if you have a desire for significant changes to your nose. (Stuart H. Bentkover, MD, Boston Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Reducing nostril width is a quick Rhinoplasty procedure called an Alar Reduction

If the only desire is to decrease nostril width and not alter the nasal tip or the bridge, than there is a quick procedure to fix this problem. It involves making a small incision in the groove between the nostril and the cheek and removing some of the excess nostril skin, making the nose narrower. The incision is well hidden and not apparent. There is minimal bruising and incisions need to be camouflaged with makeup in the early phases. (Andrew Jacono, MD, Great Neck Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Some noses only require a “quick fix”

Since noses come in virtually all shapes and sizes, there are some noses that only require a limited amount of work to look great.

Nostril size reduction or hump reduction are just 2 maneuvers that can constitute a rhinoplasty. What is done simply depends on the nose and what change the patient desires.

My advice is to steer away from injectable rhinoplasty since the results are too variable and can actually cause long-term skin changes.

A great rhinplasty (whether quick or not) should result in an improved looking nose that does not appear operated on (natural) and breathes better. (Randolph Capone, MD, Baltimore Facial Plastic Surgeon)

There is a “quick-fix” nose job

Patients can achieve subtle, yet remarkable results with non-surgical and “limited” rhinoplasty. In my practice, we see numerous patients from all ethnic backgrounds seeking to refine their nose and characteristics – not change them. Small changes can make a big difference.

Non-surgical rhinoplasty is performed by using long-lasting dermal fillers (Restylane, Juvederm, Elevess, etc) to build up the bridge of the nose, camouflage small humps, and elongate the dorsum.

The procedure is done in-office in about 1 hour. For patients who desire tip-refinement, nostril flare reduction, and/or large, hump reduction, a “limited rhinoplasty” can be performed. In some cases, the procedure can be performed in-office.

Both of these procedures work-well for ethnic patients looking to make slight changes to their nose without a “full” rhinoplasty procedure. Before scheduling a procedure, make sure that your surgeon is board-certified and specializes in rhinoplasty. If you are seeking a “non-surgical” rhinoplasty with dermal-fillers, make sure that your surgeon has experience with this treatment.

Ask to view patient before and after photographs and gather patient references. Take advantage of computer-generated imaging if your surgeon offers it! For more info on Non Surgical Rhinoplasty, please click the link below. (David Mabrie, MD, Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Narrowing nose width easier than completely changing nose appearance

Narrowing the width of the nose is much easier than changing the whole appearance of the nose. This technique usually requires less complicated approaches and is less susceptible of undergoing scarring that could lead to changes that can alter the appearance of the nose. This is not the case when the surgeon works on the tip and to a lesser degree when he works on the nasal bridge. Importantly, you definitely don’t want to fit the person into a particular procedure. You want the procedures and a combination of techniques to fit the specifics of the particular person and what that particular person needs to achieve his / her goals. Also, when I talk about narrowing the width of the nose we are talking about the area by the nostrils, and not the bony part of the nose which is closer to the eyes. Narrowing the nasal bridge is much more complicated than narrowing the nasal base near the nostrils. (Philip Young, MD, Bellevue Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Depends on what you want done

As a plastic surgeon, I try to meet the patient’s requests and not necessarily my own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Too often in the past, there have been ideals or canons established which establish and tell us the goals of surgery but not meet the patient’s desires.

For example, attempting to make the asian eyelid appeary more causcasian or the black nose more similar to a caucasian nose. A rhinoplasty or nose job can consist of 20-30 different steps that each accomplish a different purpose.

An individual’s customized rhinoplasty really consists of using a variety of combination of these steps to acheive the PATIENT”S goals. The one difficult aspect of this is tissues behave biologically and not always predictably. This means that the tissues may settle or contract or heal in an unpredictable way.

The best way to prevent this is not build up the nose so solidly that it doesn’t “settle” but the trade-off may be a bigger more solid nose than the patient desires. If all YOU want is your nostrils narrowed then this can be accomplished. BUT if you want the tip of your nose more narrow or the hump removed (as in a typical rhinoplasty), then narrowing the nostrils will not achieve this appearance. (Otto Joseph Placik, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

There is no quick fix nose job. There are some minor procedures that can be done on the nostrils whereby a small wedge excision of nostril tissue is removed and the nostrils can be simply narrowed. This does nothing for the tip, the dorsal aesthetic line, or with the bridge. These are called Weir excisions and can be performed as a standalone procedure if needed. It is rare to have a nose that only needs Weir excisions for nostril reduction. (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

No good plastic surgery comes in a “quick fix”

Rhinoplasty is very complex surgery and takes many forms depending on what the problem is with the nose.

No rhinoplasty is simple because each maneuver the surgeon makes can have multiple effects on the nose.

Ethnic rhinoplasty is especially complex because of certain features that different ethnic groups have.

So beware of anyone calling anything about rhinoplasty a “quick fix.” (Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Quick fix, perpetual headache.

The procedure that you are referring to is known as an alar base reduction.

If your nostril width or shape is the ONLY thing that concerns you about your nose, then this may be the quick fix for you.

It is not meant to address other problems with the nose, such as humps, septal deviations, large nasal tips.

Your board certified plastic surgeon will help you determine what effects such a procedure would have on your nasal tip and the rest of your nasal structure. (Kenneth R. Francis, MD, FACS, Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

May be an option if all you need to fix is thin nostrils

If all you need to fix is nostril width, then this is a good option for you, and should only take about ten days to heal.

If its anything other than nostril width that is causing the problem (a bump in the nose caused by bone, etc) then you will have to get traditional rhinoplasty surgery. (Usha Rajagopal, MD, San Francisco Plastic Surgeon)

Anything quick and easy is usually neither quick nor easy!

The revision rate for rhinoplasty surgery is greater than 15% in the best of hands. This is because of the inherent difficulties in the anatomy, as well as the untoward effects of scarring and the resultant distortion of the nose.

In brief, the bump on your nose involves bone and cartilage, the best techniques address both of these structures and there is nothing that is quick here. The wide nose involves wide bones and wide cartilage at the tip. Again, the best techniques involve meticulous surgery that are not quick or easy.

Finally, the twisted nose is the most difficult of all, so quick fixes are not to be entertained in this situation. So when is a quick fix useful. If you have a slight bump or depression on the nose, you could temporarily camouflage the deformity with a filler such as Rdiesse ot Juvederm. But, these procedures are temporary and expensive. It may be better to wait and get the real surgery by a real doctor and of course these procedures are not quick or easy – especially if you want it done right. (Robert M. Freund, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Beware of “quick fix” surgery

In general, beware of anything or anyone advertising “quick fix” surgery, in particular when dealing with the nose. Two things to consider: Rhinoplasty is a complex procedure, and your nose sits on the center of your face for all to see. What this means is that the procedure needs to be done properly by an individual who understands the anatomy and how different parts of the nose should balance each other harmoniously.

In other words, if you just narrow the base of the nose or make the nostrils smaller without addressing the rest of the nose, it can leave you with a poor result that looks clearly “operated on”. My advice would be to seek out a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in your area, discuss with him or her your concerns, look at the surgeon’s before and after photos, and then make a choice.

As with many things in cosmetic surgery, the first procedure usually offers the best chance at a good result, so it’s important to take your time with this decision and be fully committed to the surgical plan.  (Shahram Salemy, MD, FACS, Seattle Plastic Surgeon)

Narrowing of nasal width may also require an increase in tip projection to give balance to the nose

A rhinoplasty is a complex procedure involving a remodeling of the cartilage and bone of the nose. The nose is typically divided into subunits including the tip and the dorsum (bridge of the nose). Structurally caucasian noses are different from african-american noses. An african-american nose tends to have less structural support to the tip and the nose in general is composed of more cartilage than a causasian nose.

So when performing an ethnic rhinoplasty there are structural complexities that must be accounted for. Some patients are candidates for a modification of on the tip of the nose but one must be sure to balance the dorsum of the nose with the tip. This can often mean that instead of a reduction of the dorsum of the nose an augmentation must be done. Its all about balance. Also a narrowing of the width of the nostrils can be done if they are excessively wide. It is also possible that this procedure could be done by itself. The problems is that patients who need a narrowing of the nostril width frequently need an increase in the projection of the nasal tip.

Performed by itself the narrowing may not look good if the tip is underprojected. It is important that you consult with an experienced plastic surgeon who can give you several alternatives and together you can come up with a plan that fits your needs and expectations. (Jeffrey Zwiren, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)