Tip feels lower 1 year 6 months after tip surgery — the order for checking whether cartilage spread apart

2024. 6. 25.

After tip surgery with septal cartilage, if the tip feels lower and seems to move when touched — what to check, and from when revision is possible. Organized from an answer note.

Key points

If a lowered feeling at the tip and a moving sensation when touched are present together, the cartilage may have spread apart, or another cause may be present.
The cause is hard to set from touch or photos alone — the nose must be seen directly to judge.
If 1 year 6 months have passed since surgery, the revision timing itself has already passed — the timing can be set to fit the schedule.

"A year and a half ago I had tip surgery with septal cartilage and silicone on the bridge — lately the tip feels slightly collapsed."

Among the questions that came into the answer note was this content. There's a roundly pigmented area on the tip — touching that spot feels not convex but flat, and touching it gives a sensation as if something moves. There was no reddening symptom. What the asker wondered was three things — whether the cartilage had spread apart, whether revision difficulty is high if it's in a separated state, and whether revision could be done 3 months later.

This article organizes that answer as the order for checking when a tip surgery side effect is suspected.

If the tip feels lower and seems to move, has the cartilage spread?

If after tip surgery the tip feels slightly lowered and feels spread apart, as the asker said, the cartilage may have spread apart. However, it's hard to conclude on that one thing — other causes may exist.

The exact cause can only be known by seeing directly. The felt sensation can differ in actual state even when described with the same expression, so narrowing the cause to one from a description of touch alone is hard.

What the asker felt	How it's viewed
Slightly collapsed feeling at the tip	Check several causes together including the possibility cartilage spread
Pigmented area feels flat, not convex	Hard to judge from touch description alone — direct confirmation needed
Feels like something moves when touched	Likewise a target for direct confirmation
No reddening symptom	Current state the asker also reported

What gets looked at in tip correction can be seen in more detail in the nasal tip surgery guide.

From when can revision be done?

This asker was at a state where 1 year 6 months had passed since nose surgery. So looking at timing alone, revision is possible right away.

However, that doesn't mean it must be done now. If it doesn't fit the asker's schedule, doing it 3 months later is fine. In other words, in this case it's closer to a matter of setting the timing to fit one's own schedule rather than "how long must one wait."

What gets checked across revision overall is organized in the revision rhinoplasty guide.

What is the revision method decided by?

The surgery method differs by what the cause is. And that cause, as said above, can only be known by seeing the nose directly.

First confirm the cause — see directly and judge why the tip feels lowered and spread.
The method differs by cause — even with the same symptom description, the correction scope can differ by the confirmed result.
If cartilage spread while the tip lowered — it proceeds by opening and gathering the tip cartilage.

Reversing the order to decide the method first is hard. The step of confirming the cause must come first to decide up to what scope to correct.

Summary — confirming the cause comes first

If after tip surgery the tip seems lowered and feels different when touched, the possibility cartilage spread comes to mind. It can actually be so, but other causes may exist too — so deciding the revision method first from the symptom description alone is hard. After confirming the cause, a correction scope fitting the state gets set — like opening and gathering the tip cartilage. If the revision timing has already passed, the timing can be decided to fit the schedule.

If you want to check what state the tip is in now, you can ask directly in a 1:1 video consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions patients ask before a consultation.

If the tip is flat and feels like it moves when touched, is the cartilage separated?

The cartilage may have spread, but it could be another cause. Setting the cause to one from a touch description alone is hard — the nose must be seen directly to know.

1 year 6 months have passed since nose surgery — can revision be done right away?

Looking at timing alone, revision is possible right away. If the schedule doesn't fit, doing it 3 months later is fine.

If there's no reddening symptom, is it fine?

No redness is just one of the current states the asker reported — the cause isn't judged by that alone. The cause of the tip's lowered feeling and moving sensation must be confirmed directly.

Responses to treatment and recovery progress vary by individual. Outcomes and side effects vary from person to person. Bleeding, infection, swelling and asymmetry may occur. Please consult our medical team before making a decision.

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