[Complications of rhinoplasty].

For an operation as technically demanding as rhinoplasty, surprisingly few studies have examined the results of this procedure. A retrospective study was, therefore, made of 5470 patients who had undergone rhinoplasty, performed by different surgeons, from 1970 to 1989. The patients were followed up for a minimum of one year. As for all forms of surgery, aspecific complications such as infections, hemorrhage and side-effects from anesthesia will occasionally occur but, fortunately, such cases are quite rare. The specific classification included both early and late complications. Post-rhinoplasty failures may be estimated at approximately 28% of all cases; this figure taking into account typical deformities, both minor and severe, as well as functional sequelae and patient dissatisfaction. Approximately 4% have required secondary procedures. Some causes for failure derive from patient characteristics; for example, the importance and complexity of initial deformity are, of course, partly responsible, particularly after trauma. The skin quality (i.e. thickness, or whether it is fatty or loose) also affects the results. Furthermore, uncontrollable factors inherent to healing (i.e. excessive scar contraction in the intranasal area, connective tissue hyperplasia, particularly at the tip, and periosteal proliferation either to the osteotomy site or over the nasal dorsum) can all lead to residual deformities. Nevertheless, most failures can be attributed the operator. The commonest mistakes are linked to cartilaginous dorsum and nasal tip (approx. 22%). There are several polymorphic deformities the main sites of which should be known well in order to prevent, or at least reduce, such risks.