Keys to Success with Hump Reduction Rhinoplasty
The key to success with hump reduction is to make the bridge straight. In women we like that bridge height to be slightly lower then the furthest projecting point of their tip - an elegant feature that we call the supratip break. In men, it is probably more ideal to have the bridge and the tip at exactly the same level. Also important is that once the hump is reduced, the flat spot that's created by reducing the apex of the bridge on the nose is closed by gently moving the sides of the nose bones inward. This is achieved using really fine bone cuts called osteotemies and by moving the bones closer together, the open roof deformity is closed.
Tip Position Determines how much the Hump can be Reduced
The right amount of hump reduction is dependent on the position of the nasal tip. If your tip is projected very far forward then the hump doesn't need to be removed very much in order to make the nose look straight. However if your tip doesn't project very far forward, in order to have the bridge lower than the tip, it sometimes needs to be reduced more substantially. The patient's preference is an important thing as well. I like to discuss the degree of reduction with patients in advance and show them what it would look like with a more conservative versus perhaps a more aggressive hump reduction. Comparing options like this is made possible by computer imaging.