Does the Webster's Triangle Preservation Really Matter? A Retrospective Analysis of the Low-to-Low Osteotomies in the Head of the Inferior Turbinates.

BACKGROUND

Osteotomies are important maneuvers in the plastic surgeon's arsenal for the nasal dorsum treatment. However, there is a concern regarding a possible medialization of the inferior turbinate's heads and narrowing of the internal nasal valve if the Webster's triangle is not preserved.

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the mobilization of the inferior turbinates during primary rhinoplasty after lateral osteotomies.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study in which we analyzed 37 patients who underwent very low-to-low osteotomies in our service, during primary rhinoplasties. Axial and coronal computed tomography scans were obtained, and preoperative and 6 months postoperative images were compared with Radiant DICOM Viewer software (Medixant, Poznan, Poland) in 3-dimensional multiplanar reconstruction.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences between preoperative and postoperative measurements of the lower turbinate's osseous bases, both in axial ( = .305) and coronal ( = .08) images.

CONCLUSIONS

Low-to-low osteotomies showed no medialization of the inferior turbinate's heads or narrowing of the internal nasal valve in this study.