Featured Cases Before & After Case 203

Washington DC cosmetic rhinoplasty patients often ask to change the nose by lifting or narrowing the tip. The tip of the nose is made of skin, fat, and cartilage. Some patients may have too much cartilage contributing to a wide tip, others may have excess skin or fat, while other have a drooping tip that makes the nasal tip appear rounded, wide, or big.

This patient had prior rhinoplasty years ago, where a silicone nasal implant was placed. The nasal implant built the bridge of the nose and augmented the tip, which is often performed in Asian countries. She found Dr. Chaboki, who specializes in cosmetic facial surgery, to revise the tip. Her specific concerns were the tip was too rounded, rotated upward, and wide. She reported that smiling accentuated these negative aspects of the nasal tip. Lastly, this patient did not want to remove or modify the existing implant.

Her closed, revision rhinoplasty utilized her own cartilage from the nasal septum to help augment, derotate, and narrow the tip. The nostrils were narrowed by removing excess skin, and the tip stabilized to minimize distortion when smiling. Postoperative photographs nearly a year after rhinoplasty surgery show results that are natural, while still maintaining her Asian ethnicity.