Will A Reduction Rhinoplasty Make My Brow Bones Look Bigger?

Q: I am interested in having a rhinoplasty for my big nose but don’t want it to make my already large brow bones to look even bigger. I have attached a couple photos (front and side) of myself to give you a better idea and possibly even hear any other suggestions you may have to maybe give my face a better balance.  I did have a rhinoplasty when I was younger but it didn’t make much of a difference. I was going to have a second rhinoplasty, but I didn’t want a smaller, well-proportioned nose to create my brow bone to appear larger than it already is.  In other words I thought my nose being somewhat larger now balances out my brow bone.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. I have done some computer imaging to demonstrate several points. Your first rhinoplasty result is not very impressive and probably shows little change. I suspect it was done as a closed rhinoplasty by someone with little experience in doing the procedure. But doing your secondary rhinoplasty would actually make little difference in how prominent the brow appears as demonstrated in the attached imaging.  Making your nose bette balanced does not make the brow bone prominence look worse and that is well demonstrated in the computer imaging. The reverse is, however, quite different. Reducing the prominent brow bones would definitely make the nose look even bigger. I have demonstrated the combination of a rhinoplasty and brow bone reduction to see the total change. Therefore, you could feel quite comfortable doing a secondary or revisional rhinoplasty without fear of making any part of the rest of your face look more out of balance.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana