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Case Report
J Korean Soc Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2008;14(2):165-169. Published online September 1, 2008.
A Case of Giant Rhinophyma Showing Difficulty in Nasal Respiration.
Chan Young Park, Hak Chang, Eui Cheol Jeong, Young Jik Lee
1Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Research Institute of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. hchang@snu.ac.kr
2Department of Pathology, Suncheon St. Carollo Hospital, Suncheon, Korea.
Abstract
Rhinophyma is characterized by a disfiguring soft tissue hypertrophy of the nose. Severe cosmetic deformity and impairment of breathing may coexist, making the surgical treatment necessary. We present a case of giant rhinophyma, who had difficulty in nasal breathing and took preventive aspirin for CVA. We treated this patient with scalpel tangential excision and skin graft. A giant rhinophyma involved two thirds of nasal dorsum, nasal tip, and both alae. The patient withdrew aspirin 7 days prior to surgery, and rhinophyma was excised with scalpel. The defect was covered with full-thickness skin graft from right supraclavicular area. Five days after surgery, the patient resumed to take aspirin. A skin graft was taken completely and a pathologist confirmed an excised specimen to be a rhinophyma. Within 1 month postoperatively, the patient showed more natural nasal contour and improvement of nasal respiration. Six months after the operation, the nose represented a good appearance without recurrence of rhinophyma. We present a case of giant rhinophyma which had bleeding tendency because of preventive aspirin. We treated this case with scalpel excision and full-thickness skin graft, instead of secondary intention wound healing.

Keywords :Rhinophyma;Aspirin;Respiration disorders

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