The Benefit of a Complete Cephalic Trim and the Importance of the Scroll Area.

Abstract

Cephalic trimming of the lower lateral cartilage (LLC) of the nose is often performed to refine a broad nasal tip in the horizontal dimension. The focus of cephalic trimming remains the preservation of the width of the lateral crura and the cartilage remnant at the cephalic end of the LLC is usually left intact, which leads to inadequate cephalic trimming.The authors suggest that cephalic trimming should continue all the way to the cephalic end of the LLC and no remnant cartilage should be left in the scroll area. This would make it possible to reduce the bulk of the nasal tip in an acceptable manner. Trimming of the whole cephalic side of the LLC would disrupt the scroll area, allowing authors to assess rhinoplasty as a 2-stage surgical procedure: that is, nasal tip and middle vault.In conclusion, complete cephalic trimming without leaving any remnant cartilage in the scroll area is necessary for adequate nasal tip refinement, and disruption of the scroll area allows the rhinoplasty to be compartmentalized to achieve more desirable results in the middle vault and the nasal tip.