Rhinoplasty (Nose Reshaping)

The Swan Center performs rhinoplasty to reshape the nose for improved facial harmony, addressing concerns such as a prominent dorsal hump, a wide or bulbous tip, asymmetry, or a drooping nasal tip. Procedures are customised to each patient's facial proportions and aesthetic goals using open or closed technique depending on the complexity of the reshaping required. Both cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty addressing airway obstruction are available. Final results are visible once post-surgical swelling fully resolves, typically over twelve months.

Rhinoplasty at the Swan Center for Plastic Surgery in Alpharetta, Georgia is a highly individualised procedure designed to reshape the nose in a manner that improves overall facial balance while preserving or enhancing nasal function. The Swan Center's surgeons plan each rhinoplasty around a detailed analysis of the patient's facial proportions — the relationship of nasal length, width, and projection to the forehead, midface, and chin — and the patient's specific concerns and aesthetic preferences. Two fundamental surgical approaches are used: the open technique, in which a small transcolumellar incision is added to bilateral rim incisions to allow direct visualisation of the nasal framework, and the closed or endonasal technique, in which all incisions are made within the nostril. The open approach is preferred for cases requiring significant tip refinement, grafting, or complex structural correction as it provides superior exposure; the closed approach is suited to more limited modifications and produces no external scar. Common rhinoplasty techniques at the Swan Center include dorsal hump reduction through precise rasping or osteotome-based bone and cartilage removal, followed by infracture osteotomies to narrow a widened bony vault; tip rhinoplasty techniques including cephalic trim of the lower lateral cartilages, columellar strut grafting to project and define the tip, and suture techniques for tip narrowing and rotation; and alar base reduction to narrow wide nostrils in proportion to the repositioned tip. Where structural integrity requires augmentation — following previous reductive rhinoplasty, trauma, or in cases of thin nasal skin — cartilage grafts harvested from the nasal septum, ear, or rib are used to build a stable, long-term framework. Functional rhinoplasty correcting a deviated septum (septoplasty) or enlarged inferior turbinates causing airway obstruction is performed concurrently when indicated. Swelling resolves in phases: most visible swelling clears by three to four weeks, with subtle tip refinement continuing to improve over the full twelve-month healing period.