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Maintaining an Intact Strip

Minas Constantinides, MD; Edmund S. Liu, MD; Philip J. Miller, MD; Peter A. Adamson, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2001;3:258-263.

Objective  To review the indications for, surgical techniques of, and results of vertical lobule division (VLD) of the alar cartilages.

Design  Prospective study of patients assigned to undergo variations of VLD of the lower lateral cartilages.

Setting  Private facial plastic surgery practice in a major university teaching hospital.

Patients  Twenty-four patients who underwent variations of VLD of the lower lateral cartilages with re-creation of an intact strip, including 4 patients undergoing revision.

Main Outcome Measures  Postoperative photographs were reviewed for tip projection and rotation, tip symmetry, bossae, knuckles, columellar position and length, and alar retraction. Patients were polled about their overall satisfaction with nasal aesthetics and degree of subjective nasal obstruction preoperatively and postoperatively.

Results  Vertical lobule division decreased projection in 22 of 22 patients, increased rotation in 12 of 12 patients, decreased rotation in 1 of 2 patients, corrected tip asymmetry in 3 of 4 patients, and shortened a long infratip lobule in 1 patient. Postoperatively, bossae and knuckling developed in 1 patient, and 2 patients demonstrated alar retraction that did not exist preoperatively. One patient undergoing revision noted worsened nasal obstruction not related to VLD.

Conclusions  Vertical lobule division is a reliable, safe technique with predictable outcomes in tip repositioning. It allows for preservation of a strong tip complex while adding versatility to tip refinement.

From the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York City (Drs Constantinides, Liu, and Miller); and the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Dr Adamson).

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