Upturned Nose Surgery in Korea: Lengthening a Short Nose, Less Nostril Show

I am Hong Dae Won, a board-certified plastic surgeon at VG Plastic Surgery in Seoul, trained at Asan Medical Center and a full member of the Rhinoplasty Research Group of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Most of my work is eye and nose surgery. An upturned nose is one of the concerns I hear about most from patients writing from abroad, often from people who have already had one operation and found their nose got shorter, not better.

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Hong Dae Won

Director · Board-certified in Plastic Surgery

• — Board-certified plastic surgeon, Asan Medical Center, Seoul
• — Plastic surgery fellowship, Florence University Hospital, Italy
• — International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS)

What an upturned nose actually is

An upturned nose has a tip that points up rather than forward. In profile the nose looks short, and the distance from the eyes to the tip feels too small for the face. From the front you see more of the nostrils than you would like — what patients usually call nostril show.

There are two common starting points. Some people are born with a short nose: the cartilage framework under the tip is small, and the skin over it is tight. Others arrive after a previous rhinoplasty, where the tip was lifted during surgery or scar tissue has pulled it up over the months that followed.

The distinction matters. A first operation works with fresh tissue; a revision works with whatever the first one left behind. That changes the material, the stay and the recovery time.

Who upturned nose correction suits — and who should wait

Surgery is a reasonable answer when the shape bothers you in profile or from the front and the nose has the structure to carry a longer framework.

• An upturned tip or a short nose you want changed in profile
• Nostrils that show clearly from the front, drawing attention to the lower half of the nose
• A tip that turned upward after a previous rhinoplasty, or an implant that has contracted and shortened the nose
• One side blocks often, or you snore, so breathing needs assessing at the same time

I also tell people when not to go ahead yet. A direct no in consultation saves a second operation later.

• An active sinus or nasal infection — we treat it first and reconsult afterwards
• A length that your own skin and nasal structure cannot safely support
• You cannot stop smoking around the operation — rib cartilage and revision cases heal notably worse
• Adolescence, before facial growth is complete

In this case the bridge and the length were planned together, with the patient's own rib cartilage as the framework. You can see this short nose case in full, including the three-quarter view.

Why lengthening is harder than raising a bridge

Adding height to a bridge means placing material under skin that can stretch over it. Lengthening a short nose asks the skin, the lining inside the nose and any scar tissue to cover more distance than before. Lengthened tissue pulls back. Holding against that pull is what the graft is for.

This is also why an implant on the bridge alone rarely helps an upturned tip. A higher bridge ending in the same lifted tip can make the nose look even shorter. In upturned nose rhinoplasty the tip is the part that has to stay stable for years, and where the cartilage sits matters more than how much is added.

Where the cartilage comes from

Breathing is part of the same decision. Our board-certified ENT specialist reads the septum and airway by 3D CT and endoscopy, because the septum is often both the support for a longer nose and the reason one side blocks.

Surgery day and recovery

You arrive 90 minutes before your slot. I draw the plan on your face and go through it with you for 20–30 minutes, with an interpreter present, and nothing starts until you agree to it.

The operation takes 1–3 hours under sedation or general anesthesia, and an anesthesiologist stays with you for the whole of it. Most people return to the hotel the same day; for a revision, one night of admission is advised. You can wash your hair from the next day, keeping the nose dry.

The tip is the last part to settle. A lengthened tip can look fuller for months while the swelling over the new framework goes down, so I judge the result against the final-shape column, not the first weeks.

Coming to Seoul for upturned nose correction

Plan to stay in Korea at least 7 days, or 14 days if it is a revision or bone work is added. The longer stay covers the swelling peak, stitch removal and a final check before you fly.

1. Arrival: pickup and the in-person consultation
2. Surgery day, then the first check the following morning
3. Recovery at a partner hotel within walking distance of the clinic
4. Stitches out 5–7 days after surgery
5. Final check before flying, and a schedule for remote follow-up

The day-by-day stay planner lays this out against your own dates. After you fly home, follow-up continues for three months by photograph review with written replies.

There is no separate price list for international patients. You pay the same surgical fee as Korean patients, confirmed in one written, itemised quote before you decide anything. The fee depends on the plan — which cartilage, whether it is a revision, how long you are under anesthesia.

The first two photos are a first operation with donor rib cartilage; the third is a revision where a previous surgery had lifted the tip. See the upturned tip revision case, or browse every nose before-and-after photo by concern.

What I check first in consultation

I ask for photos from the side and from below for the same reason. The side view shows how the tip points; the view from below shows the nostrils and how the columella sits between them.

If your main concern is a low bridge or a round tip rather than a lifted one, our overview of the Korean nose job and its four methods is the better place to start.

Risks, and how we reduce them

Every rhinoplasty carries risk: swelling that lasts longer than expected, asymmetry while tissue settles, and breathing that changes. With lengthening, the specific risk is that some of the new length is lost as the tissue pulls back. Recovery and outcome differ from person to person.

• Support for the new length: the cartilage is chosen for how much pull your skin and scar tissue will put on it
• Breathing inside the plan: the ENT specialist reads the septum and airway before surgery, so a longer nose does not cost you airflow
• Anesthesia: an anesthesiologist stays with you for the whole operation
• Smoking: stop around the operation — rib cartilage and revision cases heal notably worse in smokers
• Transparency: a guardian travelling with you can be given access to the operating-room CCTV

You can read my credentials on my surgeon profile, and every method we use, with results by concern, on the full rhinoplasty page.