Ultrasonographic evaluation of long-term results of nasal tip defatting in rhinoplasty cases.

Abstract

Nasal skin thickness has an important role in aesthetic results of rhinoplasty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of tip and supratip skin defatting technique in rhinoplasty subjects using ultrasonography. Prospective, randomized, case-control study. Among 111 rhinoplasty cases referred to a university hospital between February 2010 and September 2011, after physical examination and measuring the nasal tip and supratip skin thickness by ultrasonography, a total of 55 patients with thick and moderate skin were randomly allocated for rhinoplasty using one of the following methods: rhinoplasty with (case group) and without (control group) defatting tip and supratip skin. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the skins was repeated 1 and 12 months after surgery, and the data were analyzed by Wilcoxon and repeated measure tests using SPSS 17 software. Twenty-eight of 55 candidates (10 men, 45 women; mean age, 25.1 ± 7.6 years) underwent skin defatting during rhinoplasty; the other 27 patients did not undergo this procedure. Forty-four patients completed the study. Thickness of tip and supratip skin was not statistically different before surgery and during follow-up evaluations in defatting and nondefatting technique groups (P = .7). Defatting techniques have no effect on reducing tip and supratip skin thickness after rhinoplasty in moderate to thick skins.