Medial Osteoectomy as a Routine Procedure in Rhinoplasty: Six-Year Experience with an Innovative Technique.

[BACKGROUND] Medial osteotomy is an integral part of most rhinoplasty procedures, and when improperly performed, it is associated with postoperative complications and nasal contour deformities. In this article, we present a minimally traumatic and easy-to-perform medial osteoectomy technique with a pair of pliers, as a routine procedure, instead of the traditional medial osteotomy with osteotome and hammer. We report our experience with the use of the technique in a series of rhinoplasty procedures and review in brief the existing literature.

[METHODS] One hundred and thirty-five patients underwent rhinoplasty operations to correct aesthetic nose deformities, with the use of the suggested surgical technique. Two different types of medial osteoectomy, performed with the pliers, were used: Type I for dorsal nasal hump reduction and slight narrowing of the nose and type II for the management of a wide nasal dorsum along with or without hump removal.

[RESULTS] Postoperative results were favorable, by both clinical examination and comparison of preoperative and postoperative photographs, in 98.5% of patients. Only two patients with wide nasal dorsums had inadequate narrowing of their broad nose and underwent successful revision surgery.

[CONCLUSIONS] The suggested technique is easy to perform, has a short learning curve, provides high accuracy over the location and amount of the nasal bone to be removed, but inflicts minimal trauma. As a result of the aforementioned advantages, the risk of postoperative complications is low, and most importantly, reliable, consistent, and aesthetically pleasing results are easily ensured.

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