Skin Necrosis following Rhinoplasty

Overview

Skin necrosis means an area of skin loses its blood supply and dies. It is listed among the rare complications of rhinoplasty. This short article reports two cases in which it occurred on the nasal bridge and places them in the context of overall complication rates.

Sections of note

• Rhinoplasty is described as among the top 5 most common aesthetic procedures in the United States.
• The stated complication rate in rhinoplasty is 8 to 15 percent.
• The majority of those complications are described as not life-threatening.
• Skin necrosis is identified as one of the rare reported complications.
• Two cases are reported, both developing skin necrosis on the nasal dorsum after rhinoplasty.
• The abstract gives no patient ages, causes, treatments, outcomes, or follow-up.

What it means for a patient

• The skin covering the nose depends on a blood supply that surgery can compromise, and in rare cases that skin can die.
• The location in both cases was the bridge, where the skin is thinnest and the dissection passes directly beneath it.
• Two cases establish that the complication occurs but say nothing about how often, what causes it, or how it is best treated.
• The full article would be needed for the case details and management.

Why this paper matters

Rare complications are underreported precisely because they are rare, so individual case reports are how the field learns they exist. Skin necrosis is disfiguring and difficult to correct. This abstract carries no information about risk factors or prevention.

Terms

• Skin necrosis: Death of skin tissue from loss of blood supply.
• Nasal dorsum: The bridge of the nose.
• Complication rate: The proportion of patients who experience an adverse event.
• Aesthetic procedure: An operation performed to change appearance.
• Case report: A description of one or a few individual patients.