Comparing Postoperative Taping vs Customized 3D Splints for Managing Nasal Edema after Rhinoplasty

Patel A, Townsend AN, Gordon AR, Schreiber JS, Tepper OM, Layke J.

PubMed 37744773 Publisher (DOI)Free full text (PMC)

What this paper says

In a randomised trial of 70 primary rhinoplasty patients, custom 3D-printed nasal splints worn for 12 weeks reduced nasal volume by 15.1% at one year versus 10.6% with traditional taping, a significant difference at 6 and 12 months.

Overview

Swelling after rhinoplasty hides the result for months. The New York authors developed 3D-printed splints based on each patient's nasal simulation, designed to apply gentle compression. Patients operated in 2019-2020 were randomised to steri-strip taping (n = 34) or 3D splints (n = 36) for 12 weeks, and nasal volume change was measured in 3D for the whole nose, dorsum and tip at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months.

Sections of note

Taping: volume reduction 4.8%, 9.9%, 10.0%, 10.3%, 10.6% at the five time points.
3D splints: 5.0%, 8.6%, 11.0%, 14.9%, 15.1%.
Total-nose oedema significantly less with splints at 6 months and 1 year (P at or below 0.05).
Tip and dorsum reductions at 1 year: P at or below 0.1 and 0.01 respectively.
Prospective randomised design.

What it means for a patient

A splint shaped to your planned nose, worn for three months, produced a less swollen nose at one year than tape in this trial.
The difference emerged late (6-12 months), not in the first weeks.
Custom splints require 3D planning and printing that not every practice offers.

Why this paper matters

It is a randomised trial of a postoperative device with objective 3D volume measurement. Limits: 70 patients, single centre, the splint is the authors' own product.

Terms

Oedema: swelling.
Steri-strips: adhesive paper tapes applied across the nose after surgery.
3D-printed splint: a custom rigid shell made from the patient's planned nasal shape.
Nasal simulation: a computer model of the intended surgical result.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-08; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

Abstract

Background: Significant swelling after rhinoplasty can temporarily obscure results and lead to distress for patients and surgeons. We recently developed three dimensional (3D)-printed nasal splints that aim to protect the nose and limit edema by applying gentle compression. This prospective, randomized study compares postoperative nasal edema in patients being treated with traditional taping versus 3D-printed splints.

Methods: Patients undergoing primary rhinoplasty (2019-2020) were randomized into two groups: taping versus 3D-printed splinting. For 12 weeks, patients either applied steri-strips to the dorsum and tip, or used 3D-printed splints, which were based on nasal simulations. The percentage change in volume (cm3) was calculated for the total nose, dorsum, and nasal tip at various time points.

Results: Nasal taping (n = 34) demonstrated a volume reduction of 4.8%, 9.9%, 10.0%, 10.3%, and 10.6% (compared with baseline) at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year, respectively. In contrast, the resolution of swelling with 3D splints (n = 36) was 5.0%, 8.6%, 11.0%, 14.9%, and 15.1% at the same time points. Inter-group comparison showed that 3D splints led to significantly less edema of the total nose at 6 months and 1 year (P ≤ 0.05), as well as consistent reductions in the tip and dorsum, specifically (1 year, P ≤ 0.1, 0.01, respectively).

Conclusions: 3D-printed splints after rhinoplasty leads to a significant reduction of edema, most noticeable at 6 months and 1 year. This study suggests that customized 3D-printed splints offer an effective clinical alternative to traditional taping to reduce postoperative edema after rhinoplasty.

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