Rhinoplasty in Singapore:Augmentation and Reduction
Rhinoplasty reshapes the nose to change its size, shape or proportions. Most people who consider it want one of two broad changes.
Some want the nose built up: a higher bridge, a slimmer outline and a sharper tip. This is augmentation rhinoplasty. Others want the nose refined down: smaller, lower and less bulbous. This is reduction rhinoplasty.
Augmentation is the more common request among Chinese and Southeast Asian patients, and reduction among Caucasian and Indian patients.
If you’re not yet sure which features of your nose concern you most, start with our guide to common nose concerns.
Augmentation rhinoplasty
Augmentation rhinoplasty suits a nose with a low bridge, a wide or bulbous tip, and a broad nasal base. The bridge and the tip can be treated separately or together, and most patients have both done in one operation.
Raising the bridge
A higher bridge creates a line running from the side of the nose to the inner eyebrow. That is the same area many people contour with make-up. Raising the bridge also brings the nose forward and casts a soft shadow along its sides, which can make the eyes look less prominent.
Dr Wu raises the bridge in one of two ways. The first uses an implant for the bridge, with cartilage grafts from the patient’s own body to shape the tip. The second builds both the bridge and the tip from the patient’s own cartilage. This takes longer to perform, but Dr Wu prefers the soft, natural result it gives. Its limit is height: the patient’s own cartilage is less suited to creating a very high bridge.
Refining the tip
Specific procedures can sharpen a wide or bulbous tip. Dr Wu prefers to use cartilage grafts taken from the patient’s own body.
Narrowing the nasal base
For a wide nasal base, Dr Wu makes an internal incision inside the nostril. This reduces the size of the nostrils and the overall width of the nose.
“Who ever said that Asians want to look like Caucasians?”
Augmentation aims for a higher, sharper, more defined nose, not a Western one.
Reduction rhinoplasty
Reduction rhinoplasty suits a nose with one or more of these features:
◆ A bump along the bridge (a dorsal hump)
◆ A hooked profile
◆ A tip that plunges downward
◆ A tip that is too long, or projects too far forward for the face
Combining augmentation and reduction
Combining the two is a specialised operation, used for only a few patients. These are usually people with a very broad nose, where the nasal bones need to be broken and moved inwards to narrow the bridge. This can lower the bridge slightly, so a very small graft may be placed on top to restore height.
“Your nose must harmonise with the rest of your facial features, especially the chin.”
The open technique
Dr Wu uses an open technique for both augmentation and reduction rhinoplasty. The skin is lifted off the underlying nasal framework, so the anatomical elements can be repositioned more accurately.
Recovery
Expect obvious swelling for about the first two weeks. Some swelling then remains for another two to three months before the final shape of the nose becomes clear. These are typical timeframes, not guarantees.
Risks and suitability
Like any surgery, rhinoplasty carries risks, which depend on the procedures planned and are discussed at consultation. The main risks are infection, prolonged swelling and, sometimes, slight asymmetry. Where an implant is used, it can shift or become visible. Placing it correctly beneath the periosteum, the thin membrane over the nasal bone, reduces this risk.
Rhinoplasty may need to wait for people whose nose is still developing, people who smoke, and anyone with a medical condition that affects healing. For most adults this isn’t a barrier, because the nose is usually fully formed by the mid-teens and changes little after that.
Cost of rhinoplasty in Singapore
There is no single price for rhinoplasty. Cost depends on which parts of the nose are treated and which procedures are combined, so an estimate needs an assessment at consultation.
