In a tip plasty the surgery typically focuses on reshaping and reducing the size of the nasal tip. And, making sure it is in proportion to the rest of the face. Can you just get a tip plasty? The short answer to this question is maybe. It’s maybe because it’s very rare to only address the tip of the nose.
The nose is a very complex compound facial organ. It is made of skin, bone, cartilage, connective tissue, and a mucosal lining. It’s very rare that just the tip may need adjustment. Once you alter one significant aspect of the nose for example the cartilage of the tip what happens to all the other relationships that make up the final appearance of the nose.
The answer is those relationships are changed. Therefore, to create the best-looking nose with optimal function we must consider all the factors that make up the nose. For example, if you reduce tip projection with a tip plasty what happens to the dorsum or profile? The answer is it will look higher and therefore less attractive. So, if we change the tip projection we must then reduce the profile to maintain those optimal relationships.
Tip Plasty
Okay now we’ve reduced the tip projection and we may have even altered tip rotation as well as reducing the profile to fit the new tip anatomy at this point the nose will look too wide. Therefore, to bring the width into conformity with the other changes we’ve made we must then narrow the middle third of the nose by loosening and narrowing the nasal bones. Once all this is completed and we look around for any irregularities or obvious imperfections we then must address those as well.
Therefore, the point is that tip surgery by itself will create irrevocable relationship changes that must be addressed to achieve the most elegant looking nose. It can be done but it is very rare to just have a tip plasty.
THOMAS TREVISANI, MD
BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON
MEMBER AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGERY
