Abstract
This study was conducted to compare the outcomes of the tongue-in-groove (TIG) technique
with and without septal extension graft (SEG) on smile and lip position in rhinoplasty.
Fifty-eight rhinoplasty patients, treated at a tertiary referral center between 2020
and 2022, underwent preoperative and 12-month postoperative evaluations, using the
Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) and the visual analog
scale (VAS). The preoperative and 12-month postoperative photographs were analyzed
using Adobe Photoshop to assess changes in lip and smile positions. The study included
38 patients in the TIG with SEG group and 20 patients in the TIG without SEG group.
The participants, with an average age of 32.12 ± 7.97 years, comprised 81% females.
In terms of surgical outcomes, postoperative evaluations revealed significant improvements
in the VAS aesthetic score, SCHNOS-O score, and SCHNOS-C score compared with preoperative
scores (p < 0.001) for both groups. Notably, both groups demonstrated significant improvements
in the upper lip length, nasolabial angle (NLA), columellar inclination (CI) angle,
and smile NLA. Patients in the SEG group exhibited markedly superior SCHNOS-O results,
as well as distinctions in smile NLA and smile CI, compared with the group without
SEG. The impact of rhinoplasty techniques on lip and smile remains complex requiring
further evaluation. Both of the TIG techniques, with and without SEG, resulted in
positive outcomes in terms of improving lip and smile positions, with the use of SEG
demonstrating greater stability during a smile.
Keywords
rhinoplasty - graft - lip - nasal septum - tongue-in-groove - septal extension graft
- smile - lip position
