Injectables serve as nonsurgical option for beautifying the nose

Key Points

International report - Injectables do not replace rhinoplasty, but they offer a viable alternative for those interested in nasal reshaping who are unwilling to undergo surgery, say Vince Bertucci, M.D., and Jean-François Tremblay, M.D.

Indications, evaluation

Dr. Tremblay describes a systematic approach for assessing patients seeking nasal reshaping with injectables. The first step involves asking patients what bothers them so that the physician can understand their dislikes and expectations.

The next step is to get an overall picture of the nose in terms of obvious irregularities, skin quality, color and thickness, and general shape, including asymmetry issues, size and concordance with the rest of the facial features.

"The ideal nose cannot be defined for any given individual without taking into consideration the rest of the facial features. The nose should be well-balanced and harmonious with the rest of the face, but the perception of the ideal nose also depends on gender, and there are cultural variations," Dr. Tremblay says.

An examination should be done from a frontal view; laterally to assess projection; and from a basal view that helps to understand facial anomalies underlying the features requiring correction.

Next, physicians should validate their first impressions against aesthetic standards for various parameters, including the size of the nose relative to the rest of the face, the alar and bony base widths, amount of columellar show, the relationship of the lips to the nasomental line and the sizes of the mentocervical, nasofrontal and nasolabial angles.