Nasal obstruction after rhinoplasty: etiology, and techniques for correction

Of 1,000 consecutive patients who underwent rhinoplasty, about 10 percent had some nasal obstruction postoperatively. The majority of patients in whom the author performed the primary rhinoplasty had an obstructive, vasomotor type of rhinitis that ensued, and which usually could be cured by the injection of corticosteroids into the turbinates. Fifty patients had undergone rhinoplasty by other surgeons, and most of those patients requested surgical correction to relieve the nasal appearance. In those patients the causes of nasal obstruction were; pre-existent, undetected, or diagnosed but uncorrected, septal deviation; or turbinate hypertrophy; intranasal adhesions; scar tissue web formation in the nasal vault; inadequate nasal tip support, and alar collapse. The author's technique of surgical repair for each of these conditions is outlined.