Being able to breathe through your nose depends on enough room through the nose, into the throat, and down into the lungs. There must also be enough strength to keep the walls from collapsing in. Here, the biggest problems were blockage by a deviated septum, and scar tissue from a lifetime of previous cleft surgeries. The scar tissue can be … Read More

This patient can breathe like never before! She has had several previous surgeries on her nose by other surgeons. Unfortunately, she had severe nasal obstruction and apnea. She also hoped for improved nasal symmetry. We performed an open cleft rhinoplasty, including release of scar tissue and reconstruction with multiple cartilage grafts (spreader, septal extension, columellar strut, lateral crural strut, and tip grafts). MTF … Read More

This young man has done very well with his history of cleft lip and palate surgeries throughout childhood, and he came to us for his cleft rhinoplasty. First and foremost, he had difficulty breathing because of a deviated septum. From the front you can see a slight deviation of the bridge of his nose extending to the tip. As it … Read More

  This young man has a history of a cleft lip and palate, with septal deviation and nasal collapse. I performed an open rhinoplasty, with straightening of his septum and use of the septal cartilage along with ear cartilage to straighten and support his nose. His breathing and symmetry is already much improved at 1 week after removal of his … Read More

This athlete couldn’t breathe, with a history of a fractured and deviated septum, and a pharyngeal flap previously used to help speech for her cleft palate. For patients with a history of a pharyngeal flap, these may actually be divided and revised after several years, usually with no change in speech and nasality, but with much improved breathing and speech. … Read More

This man is breathing well at 7 weeks after his cleft rhinoplasty and fat grafting to his upper lip. Septoplasty and spreader grafts, with tensioning of the upper lateral cartilages over the grafts, helped his breathing. This is like having an internal Breathe Right strip people use for snoring and nasal collapse. His contour and projection match his face well, … Read More

This man had a history of a cleft lip and a lifetime of difficulty breathing through his nose. The septum (or wall between the two nostrils) is deviated away from the cleft, and the cartilage on the cleft side is usually smaller and weaker. Correction of the deviated septum, and use of the cartilage for grafts to buttress the airway, … Read More

This handsome man had severe nasal obstruction and nasal asymmetry, with collapse and less growth of the left side of his nose. He also had a notch of his upper lip with some irregular scar texture. Open rhinoplasty was performed, with release of the old scar tissue, and multiple cartilage grafts from his septum used to support his collapsed nasal … Read More

This beautiful girl has a history of a cleft lip and palate. She had severe nasal obstruction as is nearly always seen with our cleft patients, with septal deviation. She also had some imbalance of her lip, with the height of the skin several millimeters shorter on the cleft side. This can be seen with very small imbalances magnified over … Read More

This beautiful patient is thrilled after her cleft rhinoplasty! She had the normal development we see with most cleft lip patients. Her septum was pointing to the right — away from the cleft side — causing severe nasal obstruction. She also had slumping and weakness of the cartilage and skin on the same side as her cleft lip. We performed … Read More

“I’m feeling better… 110% better. I thought I had sleep apnea. My wife tells me my snoring went away… I’m just sleeping a lot better. Now I feel more rested and just breathing a lot better. Slow process of trying to actually breathe correctly for the first time in my life, through my nose instead of through the mouth. The … Read More

This woman had a history of a cleft palate, with severe nasal obstruction and a pharyngeal flap contributing to sleep apnea. A septorhinoplasty and revision of her pharyngeal flap improved her breathing and refined her nasal tip, with no negative effects on her speech. There’s nothing like being able to get a good night’s sleep! For more, visit our Cleft … Read More