A hooked nose is characterized by drooping cartilage at the lower nasal bridge, a wide and elongated external nose, and a slightly upturned tip resembling an eagle's beak. This deformity is typically caused by familial or racial factors leading to localized overgrowth in the nasal region. In rare cases, it results from ossification of subperiosteal hematoma following nasal bone trauma.
A hooked nose generally does not impair nasal function but primarily affects aesthetics, especially when viewed from the side.A hooked nose can be corrected surgically.
Surgical methods for hooked nose correction:
1) Resection of excess alar cartilage: Through an incision along the nostril margin, excess lower segments of bilateral nasal cartilage or the upper and lateral portions of the lateral alar cartilage are excised. This technique is also applicable for nasal tip reduction.
2) Resection of excess septal cartilage: Through a longitudinal incision along the anterior septal margin, excess septal cartilage protruding in different directions is excised to correct corresponding bony prominences.
4) Trimming excess nasal tip skin: After removing excess cartilage, mild cases show minimal skin changes, while severe cases reveal excess skin that often retracts spontaneously without intervention. If significant soft tissue remains, it can be sculpted to refine the corrected nasal tip.
Considerations for Hump Nose Correction:
1. Mild hump with a narrow nose:
In this case, correcting the hump by removing it and inserting a prosthesis is relatively straightforward. Even partial hump removal combined with a prosthesis can yield satisfactory results.
Expose the hump area, remove cartilage and nasal bone segments, then intentionally fracture the protruding nasal bone at the bony level. Push the fractured bone inward to narrow the nose. Critical here is avoiding layered correction of the nasal dorsum. Post-op fixation with a plastic splint is required for about one week.