The most common reason that most people apply for rhinoplasty is getting rid of the dorsal hump (bump) on the bridge of their nose. Rhinoplasty hump reduction is aimed to make the dorsal aesthetic lines smooth and in coordinate with the other facial structures.
What is dorsal hump?
A dorsal hump is a deformity on the bridge of the nose. It is more visible in profile view and less noticeable from the front view. A dorsal hump can be made up of cartilage in the lower area, bone in the upper area or even both of them because of trauma during the birth process, injury to the nose or genetic.
How rhinoplasty hump reduction is performed?
Your rhinoplasty surgeon first evaluates your nasal bump, its location, whether it is made of bone, cartilage or both of them and how large is your dorsal hump and then choose the appropriate surgical method. If your surgeon diagnoses that your nasal hump is mostly made of bone, he/she will remove the excess bone and make a straighter contour for your nasal bridge. But if your nasal bump is made of cartilage, your excess cartilage will be trimmed and bridge of your nose will form a smooth line and reduce its fullness.
In the following weeks and months, post-up the surgery the excess skin due to the removal of hump will fit over the new nasal bridge. The time of the healing process varies for different patients depending on how much cartilage or bone was taken out. On the other hand, if too much cartilage takes away during the surgery and the patient’s skin is thick, the rhinoplasty hump reduction may don’t provide pleasing aesthetic results.
Rhinoplasty hump reduction tips
If you are considering rhinoplasty hump reduction for removing your nasal bump you should know some important things about your surgery including:
Is your bump mostly made up of bone, cartilage or both of them?
Nasal bridge bumps are created differently and it is not equal for all people. The upper part of the bridge is made up of bone and the upper parts are cartilage. But most common cases are a hump that is made of both cartilage and bone.
How much reduction do you desire?
It is very important that in the consulting appointment inform your surgeon about how much hump reduction do you want. Your surgeon should show you different levels of hump reduction through computer imaging and how you would look like with different levels of reduction.
How will your nasal skin redrape after the hump reduction?
It is depending on how much reduction will make during the surgery and your skin type. For example, thick skin is not able to shrink wrap around the new nose properly.
Do you have realistic expectations about your surgery?
Your doctor will ask your rhinoplasty goals and your expectations about the nose surgery. Your doctor also explains to you about all the limitations and risks of the surgery that you need to know before undertaking the surgery.
Do you also need any graft?
Your doctor evaluates your nose before the surgery and checks whether you need also any graft. For example, if you have very thin skin and need a dramatic hump reduction, spreader graft may be required to cover irregularities. Or if the radix is severely set back, radix graft may be needed.
Recovery time
The recovery time after the rhinoplasty hump reduction depending on surgical technique including open and closed rhinoplasty. After a closed rhinoplasty, the area may heal more quickly. You will also experience swelling, bruising, pain, congestion as well as stuffiness after the surgery but it will subside after a few weeks. Depending on how much tissue was removed and how much repositioning was done during the surgery, swelling may last for a less or longer time.
Generally, every patient has a unique body so the healing time after rhinoplasty hump reduction varies for different people. But the skill of surgeon during the surgery is an important factor that can affect recovery time as well as the surgery results.
