Functional results in airflow improvement using a "flip-flap" alar technique: our experience.

INTRODUCTION: Pinched nasal point can be arising as congenital malformation or as results of unsuccessfully surgery. The nasal valve alteration due to this problem is not only an esthetic problem but also a functional one because can modify the nasal airflow. Several surgical techniques were proposed in literature, we proposed our.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is the evaluation of nose airway flow using our flip-flap technique for correction of pinched nasal tip.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted on twelve patients. Tip cartilages were remodeled by means of autologous alar cartilage grafting. The patients underwent a rhinomanometry pre and post-surgery to evaluate the results, and they performed a self-survey to evaluate their degree of satisfaction in term of airflow sensation improvement.

RESULTS: Rhinomanometry showed improved nasal air flow (range from 25% to 75%) in all patients. No significant differences were showed between unilateral and bilateral alar malformation (p=0.49). Patient's satisfaction reached the 87.5%.

CONCLUSION: Our analysis on the combined results (rhinomanometry and surveys) showed that this technique leads to improvement of nasal flow in patients affected by pinched nasal tip in all cases.