Upturned Nose Correction Korea & Short Nose | Before & After | KOWON Plastic surgery

Hello, I am Dr. Kim Hyung Taek of KOWON Plastic Surgery, a clinic specializing in rhinoplasty in Korea, revision rhinoplasty, rib cartilage rhinoplasty,
short nose correction, nostril show correction, and natural rhinoplasty for international patients.

This patient presented with a combination of concerns.

The nasal tip was rotated upward, creating an upturned nose with visible nostril show from the front view. In addition, the nose appeared short and elevated, a shape commonly described as a dragon nose / short upturned nose appearance.

The alar rims also appeared widened and flared outward, making the nostrils look overly exposed and contributing to a lighter, less refined facial impression.

In these cases, simply narrowing the nostrils or reducing the alar base alone is usually not the ideal solution.

Instead, the direction, length, support, and structural balance of the nasal tip should be corrected first.

[Surgical Strategy]

The nasal tip was corrected using:

• Tip cartilage repositioning
• Tip cartilage suturing
• Structural support graft placement

This allowed the excessively rotated tip to move into a more natural downward position while maintaining long-term support.

As a result:

• Nostril show from the front view was reduced
• The short, overly lifted appearance improved
• The facial impression became softer and more balanced

[Why Columella and Nasolabial Angle Matter]

When the columella is short, weak, or flat, the alar rims may appear relatively more prominent or flared.

For this reason, columella refinement and nasolabial angle correction are often essential parts of short nose rhinoplasty in Korea.

For this patient, improving tip length and columellar support helped reshape the nostril contour into a more natural appearance while also improving the flared alar shape.

[Can Alar Width Improve Without Alar Reduction?]

In many patients, when the nasal tip is properly projected and narrowed, the alar width may also appear reduced naturally.

This means that in some cases, direct alar base reduction surgery is not always necessary.

However, in this patient, the alar rim itself was structurally elevated and pulled outward, and the muscular tension maintaining that shape was strong.

For this reason, additional alar rim correction with structural cartilage support was required.

This type of correction can be important in patients with:
Upturned nose

• dragon nose appearance
• Excessive nostril show
• Flared alar rims
• Short nose with alar retraction

[Why Upturned Nose Correction Requires More Than “Smaller Nostrils”]

For patients with pig nose,  dragon nose, short nose, or upturned nose, reducing visible nostrils alone is not enough.

The key is to improve:

• Tip rotation
• Tip projection
• Columella support
• Alar rim balance
• Relationship between the nostrils and tip

Only then can the result look natural rather than simply “smaller.”

[Final Result Direction]

Through this procedure, the overly visible nostrils and flared alar rims were softened, and the nose became more balanced and refined.

The result was designed to look natural, elegant, and harmonious with the face rather than overdone.

[Immediately After Surgery]

Immediately after surgery is the stage before major swelling develops, so the bridge line, tip position, nostril shape, and structural changes can often be seen more clearly.

At KOWON Plastic Surgery Gangnam Seoul, we focus not only on making the nose smaller, but on correcting anatomy, improving long-term support, and creating a naturally beautiful result.

As healing progresses, swelling decreases and tissues stabilize, allowing the final result to become softer and more natural over time.

Results of Korean rhinoplasty, short nose correction, and nostril correction surgery vary depending on anatomy, skin thickness, and healing response.

Final results are evaluated after sufficient recovery time.