Post-rhinoplasty taping beneficial for skin envelope

(HealthDay)—Post-rhinoplasty taping (PRT) can help the skin envelope to compress and is particularly useful in thick-skinned patients, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

Berke Ozucer, M.D., from the Gaziosmanpasa Taksim Research and Education Hospital in Istanbul, and colleagues examined the effect of PRT in 57 patients undergoing rhinoplasty who were randomized to a control group (20 patients) or to two- or four-week PRT groups (17 and 20 patients, respectively). Mean nasal skin thickness (MNST) was calculated and participants in each group were categorized according to MNST measurements as having thick skin or thin skin.

The researchers found that the four-week PRT group had a significant effect on the supratip compared with the control group (P = 0.001). Significant effects on MNST were seen for the two-week and four-week PRT groups compared with the control group (P = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively). A nonsignificant effect was seen on the tip (P = 0.052). In thin-skinned patients, PRT had no effect, while in thick-skinned patients, PRT had a significant effect on the MNST and the rhinion (P = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively), but not the tip or supratip (P = 0.06 and 0.07, respectively).

"The procedure can be used particularly in thick-skinned patients, in whom skin draping and nasal refinement is crucial to the surgical outcome," the authors write.

Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.