An Analysis of Lateral Crural Repositioning and Its Effect on Alar Rim Position.

[IMPORTANCE] Cephalically malpositioned lateral crura are a frequent cause of alar rim retraction during both primary and revision rhinoplasty.

[OBJECTIVE] To demonstrate the efficacy of lateral crural repositioning as an isolated maneuver as and combined with adjunctive grafts for lowering the alar rim.

[DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS] From August through December 2014, we retrospectively reviewed the cases of 54 patients (102 hemi-noses) who had lateral crural repositioning performed by the same surgeon between 2007 and 2013. Only patients with standardized photographs taken preoperatively and at least 6 months postoperatively were included in the study.

[INTERVENTIONS] All primary and revision cases were completed via an open rhinoplasty approach and had lateral crural repositioning performed.

[MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES] Preoperative and postoperative photographs were compared using Adobe Photoshop CS via a modified Gunter technique to measure the degree of alar rim retraction on lateral views. The change in angle was then calculated, and statistical analysis conducted using a paired t test.

[RESULTS] A total of 54 patients (102 hemi-noses) met inclusion criteria; 42 (79%) were women, and the average patient age was 41.3 years. Forty-five (83%) of the cases were revision rhinoplasties, and the average time to obtaining postoperative photographs was 11.3 months. The mean (SD) anterior nostril apex angles preoperatively (31.3° [8.9°]) and postoperatively (24.5° [6.8°]) indicated a net decrease of 6.8° (P < .001). Excluding patients who had other rim-lowering grafts (alar rim and/or composite grafts), we saw a similar result comparing preoperative (31.1° [8.2°]) and postoperative (24.5° [6.7°]) angles, with a net decrease of 6.6° degrees (P < .001). When examining patients who underwent lateral crural repositioning alone compared with those who also had lateral crural strut grafts, we saw a decrease of 6.9° (P < .001) and 6.7° degrees (P < .001), respectively.

[CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE] Repositioning of the lower lateral cartilages results in a statistically significant lowering of the alar rim. Our data suggest that when combined with lateral crural repositioning, the addition of adjunctive grafts does not add significantly to the rim-lowering effect.

[LEVEL OF EVIDENCE] 3.