# Nasal aesthetic concerns or breathing problems

> Citation bundle for Nasal aesthetic concerns or breathing problems on The Treatment Registry.
> URL: https://thetreatmentregistry.com/conditions/nasal-aesthetic-or-breathing
> Bundle URL: https://thetreatmentregistry.com/api/citations/conditions/nasal-aesthetic-or-breathing

## Description

Patients present with cosmetic concerns about nasal shape, with functional breathing problems (deviated septum, turbinate hypertrophy, internal valve collapse), or both. The appropriate intervention depends on whether the issue is purely cosmetic, purely functional, or combined; combined functional-aesthetic procedures (septorhinoplasty) are the most technique-sensitive and have the highest revision rates.

## Treatment ladder

### conservative

- **Intranasal corticosteroid spray** — First-line for mucosal congestion and turbinate hypertrophy. Effective for many functional symptoms without surgery.
- **External nasal dilator strips** — Adhesive strips that mechanically open the external valve. Symptomatic relief for some patients, particularly during sleep.

### procedural

- **Septoplasty** — Correction of a deviated septum without external nasal change. Endonasal approach, typically same-day discharge. Addresses functional breathing without aesthetic change.
- **Turbinate reduction** — Submucosal reduction or radiofrequency turbinoplasty for inferior turbinate hypertrophy.

### surgical

- **Rhinoplasty (open or closed)** — Cosmetic and/or functional reshaping of the external nose. Open approach gives better visualisation and is now standard for most contemporary practitioners; closed (endonasal) is suited to smaller refinements.
- **Septorhinoplasty** — Combined functional septoplasty and aesthetic rhinoplasty. Most demanding rhinoplasty subtype; revision rates higher than for either component alone.

## Related procedures

- https://thetreatmentregistry.com/procedures/rhinoplasty

## Sources

- [Royal College of Surgeons of England — Good Surgical Practice](https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/standards-and-research/standards-and-guidance/good-practice-guides/) — Royal College of Surgeons of England (accessed 2026-05-09)