Management of severe tip ptosis in closed rhinoplasty: the horizontal columellar strut

Summary 

Background

Tip ptosis is a relatively common nasal deformity, with an incidence as high as 72% in rhinoplasty patients. Different techniques were described for surgical correction of the droopy tip, such as the lateral crural steel, the lateral crural overlay, the tongue-in-groove technique and others. Most authors agreed that an external rhinoplasty approach is necessary for effectively conducting the alar cartilage-modifying techniques mentioned above.

Methods

In this article we challenge this paradigm and introduce an efficient method for aesthetic correction of severe tip ptosis through an internal rhinoplasty approach. Twenty-three patients with severe ptosis of the nasal tip were operated on by the senior author (MH) between 2000 and 2005 using the described technique. After carrying out the necessary manœuvres to achieve the desired tip rotation (reduction of cephalic border of alar cartilages, modification of the caudal septum, reduction of upper lateral cartilages), the desired tip position was maintained with the horizontal columellar strut, whose initial operative description appears here.

Results

The desired rotation and projection were maintained in all but three patients over the first year after the surgery. In three patients we observed some loss of tip projection after 1 year. We did not witness complications directly related to the horizontal columellar strut.

Conclusion

The horizontal columellar strut is an efficient tool for stabilising the corrected position of a severely ptotic nasal tip. We recommend adding the horizontal columellar strut to the array of available rhinoplasty techniques.

Keywords: Rhinoplasty, Tip ptosis, Droopy tip, Surgical technique