Will A Non-Surgical Rhinoplasty Lift Up The Tip Of My Nose?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  I am a Mexican-American and want to get my nose fixed. My nose is flat in the middle while the tip is wide and droopy. Do you think a non-surgical nose job can lift my nose? I am afraid of surgery since I have never had any and because it would take time to heal.

A: The concept of a non-surgical rhinoplasty is understandably appealing but it is a far overblown treatment method in terms of what it can really achieve. It is the use of injectable fillers to augment or plump out certain areas of the nose. For the right problem, such as an indentation or depression in the nose, it can be very effective. It can also raise up part or all of the dorsal line of the nose or even push out a retracted columella. But it can not create an overall global change in the nose such as what you appear to need by your description. An injectable filler will help fix the ‘flat area in the middle of your nose’ because that is an augmentation issue. But the technique can not make a ‘tip less wide and droopy’ as that is a reduction issue. In trying to lift your nose with a filler you would merely make it more wide and fat with little lifting effect. A non-surgical injectable approach has its best use in correction of some postoperative irregularities after a rhinoplasty and is the most common usage in my plastic surgery practice.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana