STEP 01
Spread alar base
Incision inside the outer alar crease
TYPE 08 — Alar reduction
Alar reduction
How is alar reduction done?
Reducing a spread alar base or flared nostrils to tidy the lower nose. The incision sits inside the alar crease, so the mark is hard to see.
KOWON's surgical approach
What the operation actually addresses, step by step.
- Spread alar base
- Large nostrils
- Both together
- With tip surgery
kowon plastic surgery
Who comes in with this
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An alar base spread wider than the inner corners of the eyes, seen from the front
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Nostrils large enough to be plainly visible from the front
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An alar base that flares wide when you smile
In Dr. Kim's words
With the alar base I look first at whether it needs reducing at all, rather than at how much to take. For many people, raising the tip draws the alar base in with it.
If tip surgery is being planned too, deciding the alar base after seeing that result is not too late.
And a spread alar base is not the same thing as large nostrils. A spread base is reduced on the outside; large nostrils are reduced on the inside. Confuse the two and you end up with nostrils that are merely smaller, and a stuffy feeling.
Reduce too much and it looks artificial and even breathing feels different — so I do not work to a fixed number.
— Kim Hyung-taek
PROCESS
How it is done
STEP 02
Large nostrils
Reduced from the floor inside the nostril
STEP 03
Both together
Combined where both are present
STEP 04
With tip surgery
The tip comes first; the alar base is judged afterwards
Recovery
How it goes varies a little with the extent of surgery and what was done alongside. Below is the usual course.
- 4 daysCold compressCold compress for four days. Washing your face and wearing make-up are fine from the day after the stitches come out.
- Day 7Stitches outThe stitches in the incision inside the alar crease come out on day 7.
- A few monthsThe scarThe incision line looks red for the first few months and then fades. Scar ointment is explained at your final visit.
SURGERY LOG
Representative records for this type
Dr. Kim's own notes on what each nose presented with and how it was solved.
Q&A
Frequently asked questions
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The incision is inside the alar crease, so it is barely visible from the front. It shows as a red line for the first few months and then fades.
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It can. But if the tip is low, reducing only the alar base can make the nose look smaller still, so we look at both.
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Not if it is not overdone. That is exactly why I do not reduce to a fixed number.
Consultation tip A good number of people bothered by their alar base in fact have a low tip as the cause. We work out together which of the two comes first.
Related procedures
Bulbous nose
Read more →Drooping Tip
Read more →Back to all eight types
Read more →
Consultation
Alar reduction
Dr. Kim Hyung-taek takes personal responsibility
from diagnosis through surgery and aftercare.
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.