Can I Move My Columella and Nostrils Upward?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I wanted to get your thoughts on the process of perhaps moving the alar and columella base on the nose up about 2 mms or so. I’m not sure how close the actual nasal cavity is above the base of the nose, but with a lip lift to hopefully forgive some of the scarring from moving the nose upwards, is this theoretically possible?

The image I’ve attached is the normal nose length on the left, on the right is my nose edited a bit shorter.

Thank you for your time.

A: Nostril/columellar lowering works because it is done by skin removal giving the nasal base a place to go. Conversely nostril/columellar elevation would require filling in the space created by the elevation with a skin graft. Besides leaving a prominent scar from the graft the relapse/contracture rate from skin grafting is high and thus the procedure would be ineffective. In essence going down can work but going up won’t.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon