Functional and Esthetic Outcomes of L-Shaped Augmentation Rhinoplasty in Indonesian Noses

We investigated the satisfaction and nasal airway function of patients who underwent L-shaped augmentation rhinoplasty using rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation (ROE). Nasal obstruction was evaluated using the nasal obstruction symptom evaluation (NOSE) and peak nasal inspiratory flowmeter (PNIF) score. We explored the correlation between tip projection, ROE, NOSE, and PNIF scores.

We conducted a pre-and post-experimental study of 16 adult Indonesian patients who underwent L-shaped augmentation rhinoplasty. We used the neurotic scale to rule out patients with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and patients with low-to-moderate neurotic scores were included as participants.

For all patients who underwent augmentation rhinoplasty, the median score of the NOSE questionnaire decreased from 12.5 to 5 after surgery (P = .005). The ROE median satisfaction scores also increased from 7.00 to 14.00 postoperatively (P = .001). The median PNIF preoperative score increased from 92 (70-130) to 115 (105-155) postoperatively. There was an increase in tip projection from 1.5 (1.1-2) preoperative to 2.05 (1.8-2.5) postoperative. There was a significant correlation between ∆ tip projection and ∆ NOSE (P = .048), with a moderate correlation (r = .502). However, there was no significant correlation between ∆ tip projection and ∆ PNIF (P = .080) and ∆ ROE (P = .302).

The increase in ROE and PNIF, and the decrease in NOSE score after surgery revealed that the augmented L-shaped rhinoplasty technique has high satisfaction rates in both the nasal esthetics and functions of patients. The tip projection increment was proven to elevate nasal function subjectively in a certain range of tip height difference evaluated by the NOSE score.