Liquid Rhinoplasty

Saad N, Stallworth CL.

What this paper says

A review of filler rhinoplasty, first documented in 2006, listing what hyaluronic acid can be used for in the nose and stressing that nasal injection remains an off label use carrying real risk.

Overview

Soft tissue filler injections are now the second most common non invasive cosmetic procedure in the United States, accounting for roughly 26 percent of them. As experience has grown, so have the applications across the face. The authors describe filler rhinoplasty as having grown considerably in popularity over the past decade among both patients and surgeons.

Sections of note

Review article; the abstract reports no patient numbers, no complication rates and no follow up.
Filler rhinoplasty was first documented in 2006.
Nasal injection remains an off label use of these products in the United States.
Applications include levelling a dorsal hump by adding volume above and below the bump.
Others include filling visible hollows and correcting asymmetries of the upper and middle thirds.
Filler can also improve a tip that is under rotated or under projected.
The authors state nasal filler injections are not without risk.
Knowledge of nasal surgical anatomy and of how to manage complications is described as critical.

What it means for a patient

Filler adds volume, so a hump is levelled by filling around it rather than by reducing it.
Off label means the products are not specifically approved for use in the nose, though such use is legal and common.
No rates for any complication are given here, only the statement that risk exists.
The review does not compare filler results against surgery.

Why this paper matters

Filler rhinoplasty spread rapidly ahead of formal approval or systematic safety data, and the nose is where injectable complications are most severe. This review sets out its established applications and its limits. It supplies no figures on how often complications occur.

Terms

Liquid or nonsurgical rhinoplasty: reshaping the nose with injectable filler instead of surgery.
Hyaluronic acid filler: an injectable gel that adds volume and can be dissolved.
Off label use: using an approved product for a purpose it was not specifically approved for.
Dorsal convexity: the outward curve of the bridge, meaning the hump.
Under rotated tip: a tip angled downward rather than slightly upward.

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

From the abstract

“Soft tissue filler injections have become the second most common noninvasive cosmetic procedure performed in the United States, accounting for roughly 26% of all noninvasive procedures. As experience with filler injections has increased, so too have the applications and uses throughout the face. The popularity of…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.