The lateral osteotomy in rhinoplasty: clinical and radiographic rationale for osteotome selection

A preferred osteotome for endonasal osteotomy would facilitate reliable, complete osteotomies with minimal soft-tissue trauma. In this report, a radiographic evaluation of the bony lateral nasal wall thickness along the track of a high-low-high osteotomy was undertaken to guide the determination of appropriate osteotome size. Bone window axial computed tomographic scans were evaluated in 56 patients with a mean age of 48 years (range, 19 to 86 years). The average thickness along the site of lateral osteotomy was determined to be 2.47 mm (standard deviation, 0.47) in male patients and 2.29 mm (standard deviation, 0.40) in female patients. On the basis of these data, clinical evaluation of prototype 3- and 2.5-mm low-profile guarded osteotomes was undertaken in comparison with a "standard" 4-mm low-profile guarded osteotome to assess both their reliability and the degree of intranasal trauma, as reflected by intranasal mucosal tears. Although 2- and 3-mm unguarded osteotomes are time-tested, they may be reliable only in the hands of the most experienced surgeons. Therefore, a low-profile guard was included in the osteotome design to allow the surgeon to engage the bone securely and minimize the risk of slippage. Forty patients underwent rhinoplasty, for a total of 80 lateral osteotomies; the mean age of the patients was 38 (range, 16 to 75). In all cases, lateral osteotomies were accomplished with one pass. The 4-mm osteotome causes intranasal mucosal tears in 95 percent of osteotomies, the 3-mm osteotome in 34 percent, and the 2.5-mm in 4 percent. Early postoperative edema and ecchymosis were comparable among the groups. One patient, who underwent osteotomies with a 4-mm osteotome, had excessive postoperative narrowing, possibly due to his wearing of eyeglasses earlier than directed. This report suggests that proper selection of osteotome and attention to proper surgical technique results in a reliable, minimally traumatic lateral osteotomy through the endonasal approach. The 2.5-mm osteotome was reliable and the least traumatic to soft tissue of the osteotomes evaluated.