Rhinophyma: plastic surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term results

Rhinophymas are characterized by slowly progressive enlargement of the nasal skin that will not resolve spontaneously. The usual indication for treatment has plastic cosmetic and functional reasons, above all in advanced cases with an obstruction of the nasal respiration or reduction of the visual field. Treatment of rhinophyma consists of surgical removal of the hyperplastic alterations. It should always be carried out by an experienced rhinosurgeon, because of possible complications and injury to the more deeply situated nasal structures. Different surgical procedures have been described, such as excision with primary suture or extirpation with plastic covering of the defect by free transplants, subcutaneous rhinophyma resection, as well as decortication with peeling off the proliferations, dermal abrasion, or dermal shaving. In addition, there are various abrasion procedures with abrasive cylinders, burrs, or wire brushes. The methods of exfoliation and abrasive polishing can be effectively combined. Care should be taken to preserve follicular epidermal islets from the more deeply situated layers of the skin. The follicular epithelium left behind is the point of departure for re-epithelization of the wound surface. If decortication is too deep, injuries to the perichondrium or the nasal cartilage may arise, leading to cosmetically unattractive scar formations and necessitate plastic surgery. The author's own method, which involves a combined procedure with peeling or dermal abrasion, remodeling with abrasive cylinders, as well as preoperative injection into the nasal tumor masses and a subsequent covering of the wound area with fibrin glue, is shown with reference to several examples of more than 60 cases. The cosmetic and long-term results are excellent.