Nose augmentation with nasal implants is a complex procedure which should be performed by an experienced and board-certified rhinoplasty surgeon.

Generally, the rhinoplasty surgeon creates a nasal pocket into which the specially designed implant is inserted. Normally, sutures or a tight fitted pocket are used for holding these implants in the appropriate place. After the  plastic surgery, the patient has to wear a nasal splint for a week to keep the implant in the correct place.

Oftentimes, nasal augmentation is accompanied by the reduction of the nostrils or the flare of the nasal ala. To accomplish this, an incision is made in the nasal alar crease, the excess ala is removed, and the size of the nostril opening is reduced.

Sometimes nasal “strut grafts” are used to increase the height and projection of the nasal tip. Grafts are also used in the pre-maxilla, or the area between the nose and the upper lip, in order to reduce the appearance of a sunken mid-face.
Nasal augmentation is an outpatient surgery. It is performed under sedation or with general anesthesia and takes about one hour. Usually the patients are able to return to their everyday activities within one to two days.

In general nasal augmentation is a rather safe procedure. The nasal implant surgeries that carry a high risk for complications are revision surgeries. Because of prior multiple surgeries the circulation to the nasal skin is sub-optimal, thus there is a higher chance for implant extrusion or displacement, skin breakdown, infection, and scarring.

The best way of minimizing complications associated with nasal implant surgery is to use autologous grafts when possible and to look for a board-certified Los Angeles plastic surgeon with adequate experience in nasal implant surgery.