Nasal aesthetic concerns or breathing problems
By The Treatment Registry editors
Patients present with cosmetic concerns about nasal shape, with functional breathing problems (deviated septum, turbinate hypertrophy, internal valve collapse), or both. The appropriate intervention depends on whether the issue is purely cosmetic, purely functional, or combined; combined functional-aesthetic procedures (septorhinoplasty) are the most technique-sensitive and have the highest revision rates.
Treatment ladder
Conservative options are first-line where appropriate; surgical options are typically reserved for cases where lower-tier options are unsuitable or have failed. Decisions are individual and depend on clinical assessment.
Conservative
- Intranasal corticosteroid spray
First-line for mucosal congestion and turbinate hypertrophy. Effective for many functional symptoms without surgery.
- External nasal dilator strips
Adhesive strips that mechanically open the external valve. Symptomatic relief for some patients, particularly during sleep.
Procedural
- Septoplasty
Correction of a deviated septum without external nasal change. Endonasal approach, typically same-day discharge. Addresses functional breathing without aesthetic change.
- Turbinate reduction
Submucosal reduction or radiofrequency turbinoplasty for inferior turbinate hypertrophy.
Surgical
- Rhinoplasty (open or closed) · View procedure page
Cosmetic and/or functional reshaping of the external nose. Open approach gives better visualisation and is now standard for most contemporary practitioners; closed (endonasal) is suited to smaller refinements.
- Septorhinoplasty
Combined functional septoplasty and aesthetic rhinoplasty. Most demanding rhinoplasty subtype; revision rates higher than for either component alone.