Reduction rhinoplasty and nasal patency: change in the cross-sectional area of the nose evaluated by acoustic rhinometry.

The feeling of nasal patency is related to the dimensions of the nasal cavity. After aesthetic reduction rhinoplasty, the cross-sectional areas of the nose may decrease critically. In this study, acoustic rhinometry, a new method based on acoustic reflections, was used to evaluate the internal dimensions of the nasal cavity in 37 patients before reduction rhinoplasty and again 6 months after surgery. The internal dimensions of the nasal cavity--especially the anterior dimensions--were reduced after rhinoplasty. Compared with the preoperative values, the minimum cross-sectional area (at the nasal valve) decreased by 22% (totally) to 25% (unilaterally) (P = .000), and the cross-sectional areas at the piriform aperture decreased by 11% to 13% (P = .02).