Preservation rhinoplasty with armadillo tip in thin skin: before and after

A 30-year-old woman presented with thin nasal skin and a lesion in the keystone area , the junction between the nasal bones and the cartilage of the dorsum. This rhinoplasty in Madrid was performed using a preservation technique: instead of reducing the dorsum, it was preserved and repositioned with subdorsal osteotomies and a low septal resection. The tip was reshaped using the armadillo technique and completed with chipped cartilage on the dorsum and tip, and a double cap graft over the alar cartilage domes.

Photos taken 7 months after the operation

The profile photos show a continuous dorsum, without a step in the keystone area, and a defined tip that follows the dorsum line. When the skin is thin, any irregularity in the cartilage becomes more visible; therefore, the dorsum and tip were filled with chipped cartilage, and the tip domes were covered with a double cap graft to soften the contour. The series was taken with the same views, lighting, and framing before and after. In this case, we combined dorsal preservation with a structural tip, something not all noses allow: preservation depends on the initial dorsum. You can see more cases of preservation rhinoplasty and an explanation of the options for achieving a natural-looking rhinoplasty in our guide.