Rhinoplasty Setsquare Device: A Novel Instrument to Verify Columellar and Nasal Dorsal Position at the Midsagittal Line

Çerçi Özkan A.

PubMed 28831344 Publisher (DOI)Free full text (PMC)

What this paper says

A single surgeon describes a stainless steel measuring instrument he designed to check, at the end of an operation, that the bridge and the strip between the nostrils sit on the midline rather than judging it by eye.

Overview

Even slight deviation of the bridge or the columella from the facial midline can leave a patient unhappy. The author states that this judgment is currently made subjectively with the naked eye. This article describes the instrument he built to measure the midsagittal axis of the nose objectively during surgery.

Sections of note

The device is made from 316 quality stainless chrome and is completely sterilizable.
It consists of 4 main parts.
It is placed during the finishing stage of the operation to check nasal dorsum and columella positioning.
The author reviewed literature and device catalogs and found the Castroviejo caliper, calibrated lateral crus stabilizer, Joseph measuring rod, and Thorpe Marchac caliper, but none similar in form and function.
The author reports using the device for 8 months on all his rhinoplasty patients.
The abstract reports no patient numbers, deviation measurements, revision rates, or comparison with eye judgment.

What it means for a patient

Whether the nose ends up centered is currently assessed by the surgeon's eye during the operation.
This device is intended to replace that judgment with a measurement.
The only reported outcome is the author's own increased confidence, not measured straightness or patient satisfaction.
Limits: one surgeon, 8 months of use, no data, no comparison group.

Why this paper matters

Residual deviation is a frequent complaint after rhinoplasty and a common reason for revision, so a repeatable way to check midline position addresses a real gap. This is an instrument description rather than a study. Whether measured checking reduces postoperative deviation is untested.

Terms

Midsagittal plane: The vertical line dividing the face into left and right halves.
Nasal dorsum: The bridge of the nose.
Columella: The strip of tissue between the nostrils.
Caliper: A hand instrument for measuring distance between two points.
Setsquare: A drafting tool used to check right angles and alignment.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-09; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

Abstract

Even a mild degree of postoperative deviation of the nasal dorsum and/or columella from the midsagittal plane could be enough to displease a patient. Postoperative judgment of the nasal dorsum and the columellar positioning on the midsagittal plane is somewhat of a subjective decision determined by the surgeons' naked eye. Most innovations tend to evolve from necessities. The risk and reality of misjudging the positioning for both the nasal dorsum and/or the columella led me to develop a device for the objective measurement of the midsagittal axis of the nose. I have called it the rhinoplasty setsquare device. This device is made from 316 quality stainless chrome. It is completely sterilizable. It consists of 4 main parts. During the finishing touches of the operation, the correct placement of the rhinoplasty setsquare device will provide the surgeon with an objective decision that will help make the positioning of the nasal dorsum and the columella more precise. When I conducted my research on literature and device catalogs for possible devices designed for measurement in rhinoplasty operations, I ran into devices such as the Castroviejo caliper, calibrated lateral crus stabilizer, Joseph measuring rod, and Thorpe Marchac caliper. All of them are unique in their function and design. However, as far as I could see, there is no device similar in form and function to my rhinoplasty setsquare device. I have been using this device for 8 months for all my rhinoplasty patients. I am more confident now in my postoperative results due to its objective measurement of the midsagittal line.

Abstract as indexed by PubMed; the article is open access (PubMed Central).