top of page
Prof. Dr. Suleyman Tas Clinic logo: Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Istanbul

What Is Narrow Nose Syndrome? Symptoms and Surgical Treatment

Apr 15, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Oct 3

A healthy nose is essential for breathing. Structural problems in the nose, whether genetic or caused by later trauma, affect both a person's overall appearance and their health. One of these problems is narrow nose syndrome. In this week's post, Dr. Suleyman Tas Clinic looks at narrow nose syndrome — what it is, what its symptoms are, and how narrow nose surgery is performed. We hope this is useful if you're looking for information on treating narrow nose syndrome.

What Is Narrow Nose Syndrome?

Narrow nose syndrome can be described, in short, as a health problem in which narrowing of the nostrils or the nasal base makes it harder to breathe through the nose, leading to discharge or congestion. It can be caused by genetics or by later factors such as accidental trauma or a poorly performed rhinoplasty. Whatever the cause, narrow nose syndrome lowers a person's quality of life — people with a narrow nasal structure can be affected badly even by minor illnesses, and are more likely to develop problems such as sinusitis, pharyngitis and tonsil infections. So both for the patient's health and for their appearance, it matters to correct this narrowing of the nasal passages through narrow nose surgery — the operation removes the syndrome's risks, including the breathing difficulty itself.

Symptoms of Narrow Nose Syndrome

Now that we've outlined what narrow nose syndrome is and the risks it carries, you may be wondering whether you have it yourself. So in this section, it's worth listing the symptoms of narrow nose syndrome:

  • Causes nasal congestion.

  • Even the smallest blockage makes the airways inside the nose unusually sensitive.

  • Simple illnesses like the common cold, which normally clear up quickly, can take longer to resolve.

  • Creates a constant feeling of having a cold.

  • Nasal bone thickness

  • In people with narrow nose syndrome, the nose often looks thin from the front.

None of this means that people whose nose looks normal-width or even wide from the outside can't have narrow nasal passages — a nose that looks large from the outside can still have narrow internal bone structures, and a nose of normal thickness can still have nostrils that are narrower than they should be. In either case, this is narrow nose syndrome, and it calls for narrow nose surgery. In short, if you experience the issues above even though your nose doesn't look narrow, that can still point to narrow nose syndrome.

Narrow Nose Surgery and Treatment

Now that we've covered the symptoms of narrow nose syndrome, we can talk about how it's treated. Treatment begins with an examination to identify the underlying cause, and where exactly the blockage or narrowing sits inside the nose also shapes which approach is used. Once the tests pin down the cause and its exact location, treatment planning begins. Depending on the case, this might mean surgery to widen the internal nasal passage, or simply a procedure to reduce the turbinates. When the nasal bone itself is the cause, surgical correction can be performed, and rhinoplasty is sometimes carried out as well when needed. Because treatment for narrow nose syndrome aims at permanently resolving the problem, surgery is the necessary path in most cases. Once the turbinates have been reduced or the nasal wings widened, the patient is free of congestion and breathes far more easily. That brings us to the end of this post from Dr. Suleyman Tas Clinic on narrow nose surgery. We've covered what narrow nose syndrome is and how it's treated, including nostril-widening procedures. For a broader look at narrow nasal passages and surgical widening, see our related guide. If you have any questions on the topic, feel free to reach us on +90 532 056 3693 — we wish you good health.

Core Rhinoplasty Guides From Prof. Dr. Suleyman Tas

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page