Non Surgical Nose Tips

If you feel like your nose needs some correction--perhaps you feel you need more of a bridge, or the tip is an irregular shape--but the correction is a fairly minor one, you may be a good candidate for a nonsurgical nose job.

Called liquid - or injection rhinoplasty, the procedure is a nose job, but not one that requires surgery. It is intended for relatively minor corrections.

What is Injection Rhinoplasty?

• Injection rhinoplasty is the procedure by which a licensed physician injects collagen, or other collagen-like material, Juvederm, Perlane or Restylane, for example, into and around your nose. The procedure is intended to balance features on one's nose, hide irregularities, or reshape the entire nose or nostrils.

How Long Does the Procedure Take?

• Depending on the amount of work needed, injection rhinoplasty procedures typically take less than half an hour to complete, giving them the name "5-minute nose job." The physician will typically administer an anesthetic to minimize pain during the procedure, and will inject the material into the places that need contouring or other corrections.

How Long Do Results Last?

• Results can be seen as soon as the swelling from the treatment goes down. The doctor may tape your nose up to keep its new shape during that time, which lasts about 24 hours. The results of your new nose job may last up to about a year, after which the material will begin to break down and you may require more work. There are also materials on the market that are purportedly permanent, like Artefill, for example, but some of these are so new that some physicians hesitate to use them until the long-term effects can be measured.

How Much Does Injection Rhinoplasty Cost?

• Injection rhinoplasty costs will vary depending on procedure and provider. Typical costs start from $1,500 for the most basic procedure, but will change depending on the amount of work and material needed. Patients may incur additional costs with the use of anesthetic, or other drugs related to this procedure.

Drawbacks to Injection Rhinoplasty

• As with any cosmetic procedure involving the insertion of foreign material into the body, there may be allergies and reactions to the soft tissue fillers used in this procedure. They range from itching, swelling to hives and other reactions. It depends on the material being used.

  Also, results of injection rhinoplasty may not be permanent. Most soft tissue filler materials break down after a while, although there are newer materials which do not dissolve. If the material you use dissolves, you will probably have to go back for another procedure, which, over time, could cost more than getting a conventional nose job.

  Also, some procedures may require repeated touch-ups to get the look right, so if the work needed is extensive, you might be taking more than one trip and facing more than one needle.

  Also, some corrections cannot be made with injection rhinoplasty, which adds material to the outer structure of the nose. If you need extensive work to correct something inside the nasal structure, or to decrease the overall size of your nose, injection rhinoplasty would not be recommended for you.