Wedge Osteectomy of Bony Cap in Rhinoplasty: Minor Nasal Bone Hump Reduction.

[BACKGROUND] Hump reduction with traditional ostectomy is an invasive procedure performed in aesthetic rhinoplasty. Natural and flawless nasal dorsum can be obtained with wedge ostectomy (WO) technique.

[OBJECTIVE] The objective of this study is to describe the nasal dorsum WO technique and examine its effectiveness in correcting nasal dorsum with absent and minor humps in patients undergoing aesthetic rhinoplasty.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] Senior author performed 488 rhinoplasty and septorhinoplasty operations from April 2009 to April 2021. After exclusion of major hump patients, the remaining 312 patients had a secondary evaluation for suitability for wedge ostectomy. After secondary examination, 87 patients, including 19 with absent humps (0 mm) and 68 with small humps (1-3 mm) were operated.

[RESULTS] Nasal bone hump reduction with WO has proven satisfactory results in majority of patients, minimal revision in done in five patients but no complications were occurred related to this method.

[CONCLUSIONS] Nasal dorsum WO provides lesser invasive approach to bony hump reduction in selected patients, ensuring bone cortex continuity in nasal dorsum. It decreases possible dorsal nasal irregularities associated with conventional coronal plane ostectomies. At the same time, it provides a natural and anatomically accurate nasal dorsum.