Can My Nose Be Changed So That It Doesn’t Stick Out As Far?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want a smaller, less frightening nose. I inherited this nose from my father. I’ve always been self conscious and I hate that I feel self conscious about my nose. Over the years my father’s nose has started to kind of go off to the side and developed one of those bumps and look even worse and I hope that same thing doesn’t happen to me. It’s not so bad from the front, but from the side, oh man. I just want it to not stick out quite so far, just a smaller slope and smoother point I suppose. I don’t know if that makes sense. 

A: Your nose concerns make perfect sense when seeing your pictures. Your nasal tip is overprojected (too long) due to very strong and long lower alar cartilages. Your nasal tip needs to be shortened and lifted slightly to correct a tip that is too long for the rest of your nose. In addition, I would take down some of the dorsal septal height up to the nasal bones and add a crushed cartilage to the radix area. (these are all manuevers to match the dorsal line line better to the shortened and lifted nasal tip in profile) I have attached some images of these proposed changes in the side and front views based on this type of  rhinoplasty.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana