Rhinoplasty:Dorsal hump reduction.

One of the most common types of rhinoplasty surgeries performed at She's Plastic Surgery Clinic is dorsal hump reduction. In this article, I will explain what the dorsal humps are, the causes, and what you can expect from the rhinoplasty to remove it. 

The dorsum of the nose is a bone-cartilage structure that connects the nose to the face. Some refer to it as the "nose bridge". When we look at the nose, there might be some humps or bumps on it, instead of a straight line or slope. So these irregularities are called dorsal humps or dorsal bumps. There are several reasons why the nose bridge can develop bumps. First of all, it can be due to genetic predisposition to develop dorsal humps from childhood or during the stage of puberty when the nose is still not fully developed along with other organs of the body. Nose trauma or injuries such as a nasal fracture. Especially, when the bone starts to recover unevenly after the fracture. 

Dr. Kim, a board-certified plastic surgeon, corrects the dorsal humps through the cosmetic procedure rhinoplasty, a.k.a nose job. There are two options of rhinoplasty to correct dorsal hump: open rhinoplasty & closed rhinoplasty. The difference between them is that in open rhinoplasty, the surgeon makes a small incision to access a full view of the cartilage and bone of the nose and shaves the nasal bone to correct the shape. In the closed rhinoplasty, the surgeon will use nostrils rather than making an incision. He or she will be correcting the shape of the nose through the nostrils. The full recovery from rhinoplasty takes around 2~3 weeks. Swelling should go away after a week. 

Many ask the doctor if the dorsal hump can regrow after the surgery. Well, when the dorsal hump is removed, it cannot grow back after the surgery. Most patients mistakenly think of potential post-surgery swelling in the nose bridge as a regrowing hump. Once it is removed, it cannot grow back.