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The Tightening Alar Base Suture

Dario Bertossi, MD; Massimo Albanese, MD; Luciano Malchiodi, MD; Pasquale Procacci, MD; Pier Francesco Nocini, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2007;9(4):248-251.

Objective  To evaluate the aesthetic result in the nasal base, when sutured using a personal technique, in patients undergoing bimaxillary surgery.

Design  Review of 60 cases in which the alar base suture was used during bimaxillary surgery with an average maxillary advancement of 3.5 mm. The patients were measured on cutaneous points and on side view with cephalometric soft-tissue measurements.

Result  The technique of cross-suturing the alar base provided good control on the involuntary movements of the alars that result from maxillary advancement. The frontal view of the patient before and after surgery revealed that good tightening of the nasal base was obtained despite the upper jaw movements. Long-term results appear to be stable.

Conclusion  This personal technique of nasal alar suturing during bimaxillary surgery appears to be effective in avoiding unaesthetic deformities of the nasal base as well as providing good facial harmony.

Author Affiliations: Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery Section, Department of Morphological-Biomedical Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.