Rhinoplasty for the Broad Nose

Dallas plastic and rhinoplasty surgeon Dr Steve Byrd discusses techniques to correct the broad or wide nose that may include boney osteotomies as well as reconstruction of the nasal valves.

The wide or broadnose may occur where the nasal skeleton joins the facial skeleton, between the nasal bones and upper lateral cartilages along the bridge, in the tip, and at the alar or lobular base of the nose.

The width of the nose needs to be in proportion to the height or projection of the nose and to the width of the face. The dorsal aesthetic lines should flow evenly down the bridge of the nose onto the nasal tip.

Adjustments in nasal width frequently require bony osteotomies to reposition the nasal bones, alterations of the internal nasal valve at the cartilaginous midvault, tip suture techniques, and partial resection of the alar bases. These maneuvers may impair function of either the internal or external nasal valve and compromise breathing. Airway compromise can be avoided by careful preservation and reconstruction of the nasal valves.

Noses that are too wide often need augmentation to increase projection of both the nasal dorsum and the nasal tip.

Byrd HS: Use of Resorbable Spacers for Nasal Spreader Grafts (Discussion). Plast Reconstr Surg 2000 Sept 106(4);929.