What Are Dr. Rizk’s Approaches To Cartilage Resection / Reduction?

Dr. Rizk’s approach to cartilage resection / reduction depends on the needs and goals of the patient. How much and which portions of cartilage should be resected or reduced depends on anatomic factors that are unique to each patient.

In some cases, it may be appropriate for Dr. Rizk to perform osteotomies to reduce the dorsal hump or other features. However, as with any facial plastic surgery technique, Dr. Rizk takes a cautious approach. This is particularly important when resecting the nasal cartilage, because over-resection can lead to a host of problems.

Collapse of the nasal tissues is one potentially negative consequence of resecting too much cartilage. In fact, many of the revision rhinoplasty procedures Dr. Rizk performs involve adding cartilage to collapsed areas. In many cases the collapse was caused by over-resection in a previous rhinoplasty procedure.

Over-resection of cartilage in the nasal tip can lead to “pinched” appearance. For this and other reasons, Dr. Rizk often prefers to use suturing techniques when altering the appearance of the tip.

Dr. Rizk takes special care to avoid over-resecting cartilage in patients with thick skin. One of the goals of rhinoplasty is to achieve definition; thicker skin may not shrink down to the desired size, and this will affect the nose’s definition.

Ultimately, the postoperative nose must be in proportion to the rest of the face. Also, to achieve a positive outcome, it is important to preserve the integrity of the nasal structures as much as possible. Dr. Rizk keeps this in mind when performing any rhinoplasty technique, including cartilage resection.