What Type Of Nasal Implant Also Augments The Glabella?

Q: Dr. Eppley,I  am a young African American woman. I have a larger forehead which I can live with. The problem I have is that since my forehead is wide and protrudes and my nose is stubby, it makes my glabella look flat and too wide. I would like a glabella that makes my face look more define. What do you suggest? Thank you.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. What you really have is a combined glabellar (forehead) and nasal bridge ‘defect’ or recessed area. This glabellar-nasal area lacks the protrusion and dimensions that the rest of your face has so it is disproportionate.  (or as you have accurately stated…too flat) Building up this area could be done in multiple ways. The simplest would be fat injections but that carries with it the unpredictability of how well the fat would survive. The best approach is to really have a custom glabellar-nasal bridge implant made as a single piece. A standard preformed nasal implant will not augment the globular region of the forehead. Such a custom nasal implant would be placed through an open rhinoplasty approach (low) with an endoscopic technique from above. Other strategies include a preformed nasal bridge implant combined with bone cement augmentation of the glabella. As you can see there are various augmentative strategies using different materials.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana