Oftentimes I have patients who come in, and they’re wanting to have a rhinoplasty done to address the dorsal hump. So, the dorsum is this part of the nose, and jagged or prominent areas can form right along the bridge. Oftentimes patients have a, you know, quote, “hump” there.
To understand what a dorsal hump is, you have to look at how the nose is built underneath the skin. That hump is not only going to be a combination of it being cartilage and bone. The reason why is that’s the area where the cartilage and bone form a union, so that’s often where you’ll have a hump. It is right at that exact junction where the hard bone of the upper bridge meets the flexible cartilage of the lower nose.
How Rhinoplasty Corrects the Hump
When you’re doing a rhinoplasty, you’re basically bringing that hump down to give it a more refined look. Because the hump has two components it’s got a cartilage component as well as a bony component addressing it means we have to carefully reduce both elements to smooth out the bridge smoothly from top to bottom.
Other things can come into play in this when we are planning how much to bring the bridge down; that is, you know, how tall you are, whether you’re a male or female, and all those things enter into the equation when you’re addressing a dorsal hump. For instance, a female profile might look best with a completely straight or slightly sloped bridge, while a male profile typically looks best keeping a stronger, straight bridge. Your height also changes the angle at which people see your profile.
We look at all of these factors together because our goal is to make sure your new profile looks completely natural and stays in proportion with the rest of your unique features. So, a rhinoplasty is the procedure of choice to address that.
What the Results Typically Look Like
When you are looking at the results of bringing a dorsal hump down, what you are typically looking for is a much smoother, cleaner silhouette on your side profile. By taking down that union of bone and cartilage, we can take away that heavy appearance and give the entire face a softer, more balanced look.
During your rhinoplasty recovery, the new profile will start to shape up as the initial swelling goes down, letting you see that refined, straight bridge line clearly. So, if you want, give us a call otherwise, contact us and we’ll be happy to respond to you.
