A reasoned approach to nasal base surgery.

Although remodeling the nasal base is one of the most demanding and important parts of rhinoplasty, it is usually taught and performed in such a seemingly empirical manner that the entire process becomes bewildering and mysterious to many students. Because the cartilaginous skeleton of the nasal base bears a striking resemblance to a tripod, we have been using remodeling techniques for the past 25 years that employ mechanical principles that could be used if one desired to change the configuration of a tripod.