Dr. Dean Toriumi Specializes in Correcting Short Nose Deformity Using Rib Cartilage After Reductive Rhinoplasty

    MARINA DEL REY, CA, January 29, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A common deformity some patients face after undergoing reductive rhinoplasty - surgery to reduce the size of nose by primarily removing tissues - is a short nose. Resection of tissue during surgery can weaken the nose and result in its gradual shortening as scar contracture pulls up the nasal tip. "The result is an 'operated-on' look, with a long upper lip and short nose whose surgical correction is quite challenging, one that few surgeons can reliably perform," said Dean Toriumi, M.D.

Dr. Dean Toriumi is a facial plastic surgeon in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago who specializes in secondary rhinoplasty and correction of complicated nasal deformities. He is known for his ability to correct the short nose deformity.

Dean Toriumi's specialized techniques for correction of the short nose deformity involve the use of costal, or rib cartilage. "Costal cartilage is strong and ensures reliable lengthening and long-lasting correction, so I use it almost exclusively for correction of the short nose deformity," he said. Dr. Dean Toriumi formerly used ear cartilage for lengthening the nose but found that many patients suffered inadequate correction of the short nose deformity, or that the nose shortened over time.

"Rib cartilage, in most cases, alleviates those problems," Toriumi said. Along with rib cartilage, he uses a novel technique of extended spreader grafts and a caudal septal extension or replacement graft to create a stable increase in nasal length. He also repositions the lateral crura and uses composite skin and cartilage grafts to provide proper correction of the nostrils. "The combination of these techniques is critical to the successful correction of the short nose deformity," Dr. Dean Toriumi notes.

Similar techniques are also used to correct the over-rotated nasal tip, Dr. Dean Toriumi noted. In these patients, the nose is turned up and there is excessive nostril appearance on the frontal view. Dr. Toriumi uses similar techniques to correct the over-rotated nasal tip with less emphasis on changing length and more emphasis on decreasing rotation of the nasal tip. "In most of these cases I use extended spreader grafts and a caudal septal extension graft. In most cases, that means that the upper lip retains its length, but the nasal tip is rotated down to decrease nostril appearance on the frontal view."

Side effects of increasing nasal length or decreasing tip rotation include a stiffer nose and a possible change in upper lip position, Dr. Dean Toriumi said. Patients occasionally develop a crease in the upper lip when they smile, he added, noting that this issue is discussed with the patient preoperatively.

Dean Toriumi has published his surgical techniques for correcting the short nose deformity in 2006 in the Facial Plastic Clinics of North America, in which he discussed the use of extended spreader grafts in combination with a caudal septal replacement graft. He frequently lectures on correction of the short nose and over-rotated nose deformity.

For more information on Dr. Dean Toriumi and his procedures for correcting short-nose deformity, please call (312) 255-8812 or email Pat Golden, RN, Assistant Director of Physician Practice [email protected] or see his website at: http://deantoriumi.com/.

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