Intracranial complications of rhinoplasty

The practicing plastic surgeon acquires a wide experience of the complications of rhinoplasty. These range in severity from minor imperfections of contour to the more dramatic but re complications of haemorrhage and infection. While causing alarm to patient and surgeon alike, they rarely pose a threat to life. We wish to bring to the attention to our colleagues three potentially lethal intracranial complications of rhinoplasty which they may not have previously experienced: cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea, meningitis and cavernous sinus thrombosis. These three unusual cases have occurred in the author's practice over a period of 20 years.