From Cleopatra to Cyrano de Bergerac, nothing about the face appears to draw attention more than the size and shape of a nose.
With the advent of cosmetic surgery, the number of people deciding to either reshape or redesign their noses is increasing. According to a recent report by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, just over 350,000 nose surgeries were performed in the USA during 2020.
However, more recently, people have been looking for less invasive methods of having a nose job. This is where non-surgical nose jobs like liquid rhinoplasty are building momentum as an alternative to traditional surgical rhinoplasty.
What is Liquid Rhinoplasty?
Liquid rhinoplasty offers patients a surgery-free option for those looking for a simple nose job to correct aesthetic flaws like asymmetry or minor bumps. It works by the same principle as non-surgical facial lifts, with dermal fillers–typically hyaluronic acid, injected into the patient’s nose. This allows the surgeon to reshape and improve the contours of the nose.
According to one study, liquid rhinoplasty procedures may also help correct minor post-surgical defects without the need for further surgery.
Benefits of Liquid Rhinoplasty
One of the main benefits is the time it takes to have liquid rhinoplasty compared to traditional surgery. Instead of a surgical procedure lasting up to four hours, liquid rhinoplasty can be done in about 15 minutes.
There is also the benefit of a minimal recovery time. Many surgical rhinoplasty patients typically have to wait up to a year for the swelling to have finally gone down. Even in terms of resuming your day-to-day activities, most surgeons will advise you to allow at least a week or two after surgery before going out. With liquid rhinoplasty, the effects can often be immediate, and you can often return to your daily routine almost immediately.
Many also choose to get liquid rhinoplasty due to the reduced cost compared to a traditional nose job. Others choose it because they’re not yet ready to go down the surgical route. In that sense, non-surgical rhinoplasty might be seen as a “try-before-you-buy” form of a nose job.
Liquid rhinoplasty is also not as permanent as traditional rhinoplasty. Suppose for some reason you don’t like your nose job, or you have complications after the procedure. In that case, your surgeon can easily reverse it using injections to dissolve the filler.
However, this might also be a downside. Unlike traditional rhinoplasty, you will need to keep having treatments to maintain your nose job.
Complications of Liquid Rhinoplasty
Despite its rise in popularity, there have been some issues with liquid rhinoplasty. In a 2018 study, reports of serious vascular complications were discovered after some procedures. These complications included arteries in the nose becoming compressed when the filler was injected too close to them. This resulted in the blood supply being cut off to those arteries. When this occurs in the arteries at the end of the nose that are connected to your retina, it can lead, in some cases, to blindness.
Is Liquid Rhinoplasty an option for everyone?
Liquid rhinoplasty tends to work best for patients with minor cosmetic flaws, such as small bumps on the nose or a droopy tip. It won’t work for you if you have a broken or severely deformed nose or if you have breathing issues. For these problems, you would most likely require surgery.
What to expect from the treatment
The procedure for liquid rhinoplasty is relatively straightforward. Your surgeon will probably ask you to either sit or lie down. Unless the filler they use contains a local anesthetic, they will probably numb your nose with ice or numbing cream. This will help to minimize any pain you may feel during the treatment. Your surgeon will then slowly inject small amounts of the filler into your nose, smoothing it out to ensure it goes where it needs to go and to reduce any pressure to the nose. That’s it. The whole process can take between 15-45 minutes from start to finish. If there are no immediate ill effects, you may be discharged later that same day.
Recovery after Treatment
Unlike a surgical nose job, which can be a process lasting up to a whole year, liquid rhinoplasty has a short recovery time. Your surgeon will advise you not to put pressure on your nose for about two weeks, so wearing glasses will not be an option. This allows the filler to settle and prevents it from either being displaced or bonding with the skin.
How long does liquid rhinoplasty last?
The upside and the downside to liquid rhinoplasty is that it is not a permanent solution. Typically, the results will last between six months and two years, depending on the filler used. If you like your new nose, you will have to repeat the procedure regularly to maintain it.
Liquid rhinoplasty is a safe and relatively simple way for people to make minor cosmetic changes to their nose without the need for surgery. While it cannot replace a traditional nose job, it can offer people a more affordable and less permanent option.
Written by Chaim Ford
