Q. When can ear cartilage used in alar lowering surgery be removed?

Hello. I am Kim Hyeong-taek, the chief director of Kowon Plastic Surgery Clinic, performing rhinoplasty with honest and delicate techniques.

Today, this is a question from someone whose nose looks bulky after revision surgery using ear cartilage for alar lowering following nose surgery.

When is it best to perform removal surgery after alar lowering surgery?

Q. When can ear cartilage used in alar lowering surgery be removed?

I had revision nose surgery about a month ago (my first surgery was about 4 years ago).

As the doctor was adjusting the bridge and tip of my nose, he said that my nostrils were slightly visible from the front and recommended a nostril cartilage grafting procedure.

After the surgery, I later looked up the name of the procedure and found that it is called alar lowering.

The surgery was performed by harvesting ear cartilage and adding it between the nostrils, and after the alar lowering surgery, the nostrils were slightly covered.

However, the tip of my nose has become unusually blunt, and the nostril wings have disappeared, making it look like a bulbous nose.

The swelling at the tip of my nose was severe, so I did not really notice it until now, but about a month later, the tip is blunt, and when I touch the nostril wings, I can feel thick cartilage rather than flesh caused by swelling.

I searched online and found quite a few cases of people who had alar lowering surgery and then had ear cartilage removed again because they ended up with a boxy nose and a bulbous nose. The timing of removal also varied, with some saying 3 weeks, 2 months, or later.

I also read that if you want to return to your original nose shape, it is better to remove it as soon as possible.

Even if I still have a lot of residual swelling, when I look at my face, my nose stands out unusually, which is causing me a great deal of mental stress.

When should ear cartilage used in alar lowering surgery be removed?

Besides returning to my previous nostril shape, are there any side effects or risks that I need to deal with?

I am extremely desperate. Please help.

#earcartilage #alarlowering #bulbousnose #revisionrhinoplasty #cartilagegraft #removalsurgery #KowonPlasticSurgery

Alar lowering surgery is a composite graft method that simultaneously grafts ear cartilage and ear skin.

In such cases, only the ear cartilage may be removed after about 6 months.

At that time, the skin will stretch.

So it should be removed before 6 months, and if you are planning to have it removed, it would be better to do it as soon as possible.

In addition to returning the nostril shape to how it was before, there is also the possibility of inflammation and nostril asymmetry.

However, the reason the questioner’s nasal tip is currently blunt may not be due to the alar lowering surgery, so it seems necessary to have a detailed consultation with the surgeon about the timing of removal and the current shape of the nose.

I hope for a good result.

Source: https://kin.naver.com/qna/detail.nhn?d1id=7&dirId=70110&docId=226598556&page=1#answer1

https://blog.naver.com/kowon_note/223330250577