COVER STORY Fit The Nose - Building better Bridges

By Sue Casserd

Prominent New York City-based plastic surgeon Geoffrey Tobias, M.D., created nasal memory rhinoplasty to combat what he felt was excessive removal of cartilage during rhinoplasty. Rather than removing cartilage in order to redefine the nose, nasal memory rhinoplasty resculpts existing cartilage.

"Cartilage is the foundation of the nose," explains Tobias. "The old way was just to whack it out, weakening the structure of the nose. Out of 100 procedures, 50 came out looking 'done.' " With nasal memory rhinoplasty, the outcome is a natural-looking nose, rather than the turned-up noses of rhinoplasties past, which look even more artificial with age.

"The procedure is done internally, by placing delicate, microscopic sutures within the cartilage to bend and resculpt it," says Tobias. "The cartilage conforms to the new shape while maintaining a natural look."