Augmentation Rhinoplasty (Implant or Own Tissue)

Augmentation rhinoplasty is a procedure used to raise the nose or create a sleek, straight nasal bridge by inserting an implant or autologous tissue. Because the implant or graft is not absorbed by the body, the result is long-lasting.

Before and after augmentation rhinoplasty

Recommended for those with these concerns:

Low nose
Wanting a sleek, straight nasal bridge
Eyes that appear far apart because of a low bridge
A flat-looking midface

Augmentation Rhinoplasty with Autologous Tissue

In this surgical procedure, your own auricular cartilage or costal cartilage is finely diced, inserted, and grafted into the nasal dorsum. Because it uses your own tissue, it carries a low risk of infection or allergic reaction.

Augmentation Rhinoplasty with Implants

In this procedure, a medical-grade silicone implant is placed along the nasal bridge to add height from the nasal root to the dorsum, creating a sharp, defined bridge.

Glabellar Implants

In this procedure, height is added to the nose by inserting an implant from the area between the eyebrows to the base of the nose. It has the effect of improving not only the nose but also the three-dimensional appearance and balance of the entire face. Most patients choose a single implant that runs from the glabella down the nasal bridge. A glabella-only implant is suitable for patients whose bridge already has enough height but whose nasal root or glabella is low.

Procedure Details

Labels in the diagram: Implant or autologous tissue / Periosteum / Nasal bone
1. An incision is made inside the nostril, and the periosteum is elevated to create a pocket.
2. An implant or autologous tissue is inserted into the space under the periosteum and against the nasal bone.
3. The incisions inside the nostrils are sutured.

Augmentation Rhinoplasty with Autologous Tissue

Auricular cartilage is harvested from behind the ear, or costal cartilage from beneath the chest, and cut into fine pieces. An incision is made in the nasal mucosa and the columellar skin, and the diced cartilage is placed along the nasal bridge using the open approach.

Augmentation Rhinoplasty with Implants

An “implant” is made of medical-grade silicone, a material with a long track record of use inside the body. Unlike hyaluronic acid filler, an implant is not absorbed, so the result is long-lasting; it can also be removed or exchanged later if needed.

Recovery and Aftercare

Swelling and Bruising

Swelling and bruising are most noticeable for the first 1–2 weeks after surgery. The nose continues to settle for about 3 months, after which the final shape is visible.

Daily Life

Please refrain from wearing sunglasses or glasses for about 1 week after the surgery to avoid applying strong external force to the nose.
Please make sure to sleep on your back. Please also avoid touching or wetting the surgical site for the first week, or until your doctor tells you it is safe to do so.

Risks and Side Effects

Risks and side effects include swelling, bruising, pain, edema, redness, scarring, and infection.

Price

Augmentation Rhinoplasty

¥330,000

Glabellar Augmentation

¥220,000

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is there any pain or swelling?

Yes. Anesthesia is used during surgery, but some pain and swelling are to be expected afterward.

Q. Will there be any scars left?

A small scar will remain behind the ear or on the chest where cartilage was harvested; these scars are usually inconspicuous.

Q. Which should I choose, an implant or autologous tissue?

Because autologous tissue uses a part of your own body, it carries a lower risk of complications such as bacterial infection. Please feel free to consult with a physician.

Q. Is there a shape of implant that is currently standard?

There is no single standard shape; the implant is chosen and shaped to fit each patient. We do not recommend the L-shaped implants that were popular in the past, as they were associated with many problems, such as shifting or the implant showing through the nasal tip.

Q. If performing augmentation rhinoplasty alone, can it be performed using the closed approach?

It is possible. If other procedures, such as nasal tip plasty, are performed at the same time, the open approach is often chosen.

Q. Which do people choose more often, implants or autologous tissue?

Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. An implant requires no incisions outside the nose. However, because it is an artificial material, a small long-term risk of infection, deformity or shifting cannot be ruled out. Once autologous tissue has healed in, long-term problems are uncommon, although some absorption or irregularity can occur, and there will be a scar at the donor site.

Q. How is the harvested cartilage inserted into the nose?

The cartilage is finely diced. The diced cartilage is then either wrapped in temporalis fascia or in an absorbable PGA mesh sheet (Neoveil®), or bound with tissue adhesive or fibrin gel, to form a strip that is inserted along the nasal bridge.

Q. Is it fine to harvest the auricular cartilage from either the front or the back of the ear?

Since scars are less visible when the auricular cartilage is harvested from the back, we recommend harvesting from the back of the ear.

Q. What about dermal fat grafting?

In a dermis-fat graft, a few centimeters of skin are taken from the buttock crease or the fold beneath the breast, the epidermis is removed, and the remaining dermis and fat are placed along the nasal bridge using the open approach. Please consult with us if you have undergone nose surgery in the past and your skin has become thin.

Q. What are your thoughts on fat injection into the nose?

We do not recommend fat injection as a way to build shape or definition: injected fat is soft and its survival is unpredictable, so the bridge often does not become well-defined. In revision cases, however, it can be a useful option — to soften tight skin and scar tissue, or to thicken thin skin where the underlying cartilage shows through.

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