Surgery · Nose base only

Alarplasty Without Rhinoplasty

When the base is the whole of the problem

Gangnam, Seoul | Board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Jonghwan Choi
KHIDI-registered for international patients · Apgujeong Rewind

Alarplasty Only Nose Base Only Alarplasty Only Nose Base Only 
Alone

Alarplasty on its own

Can the nose base be narrowed without a full nose operation?

The short answer

Yes, and at Rewind it is a plan in its own right with its own listed figure. The base is treated as a separate operation, so a quotation can hold a single line and stop there. What settles it is a measurement: if your alar width overruns the proportion the clinic designs to while the bridge and the tip sit where they should, narrowing the base answers the complaint and nothing else needs opening. Bridge and tip surgery is a different operation, built around an implant placed along the dorsum and the tip, approached either through the nostril lining alone or through the columella as well. A standalone alar plan touches none of that.

The surgical descriptions here come from Rewind's Korean pages for alar reduction and for nose surgery. Neither page states the anaesthesia used, how long an operation runs, the day stitches are removed or how many days swelling lasts, so no such figure appears on this page for either operation.

There is a second reason people search for this, and it is worth naming. A full nose operation is a larger commitment in money, in recovery and in how much of your face is changed, and not everyone who dislikes a wide front view wants that. The useful question at a consultation is therefore narrow: is my width actually at the base? It has a measurable answer, and the answer sometimes takes the alar line off the plan altogether.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi reviewing a treatment plan at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 01 — A single-line plan is still a plan, and it is argued out at the desk
Limits

Four limits

Four things a standalone alar reduction will not do

Each of these is a different operation with a different name and a different figure. If one of them is what you actually want, a base-only plan will disappoint you, and it is better to know that before a flight is booked.

limit 01
It does not raise the bridge
Height along the dorsum comes from bridge surgery, where an implant is placed to build the line. Narrowing the base removes tissue at the bottom of the nose and adds nothing above it. A flat bridge after a base-only plan is a flat bridge that was never addressed.
limit 02
It does not refine a round tip
A blunt or bulbous tip is treated through tip surgery, and the clinic lists that separately. When the breadth in a front view is coming from the tip, trimming the alae underneath it leaves the widest part of the nose untouched, and the photograph barely moves.
limit 03
It does not change the length of the nose
A short nose, an upturned nose or a long nose is a question of the framework running from the bridge to the tip, corrected under its own listing. Alar surgery works at the base and has no effect on how long the nose reads in profile.
limit 04
It does not straighten a deviation
A nose that leans is a structural problem addressed by bridge and framework work, and Rewind quotes that under its own lines. A base narrowed on a deviated nose is a narrower base on a nose that still leans.

Anything on that list is discussed under rhinoplasty, and a profile complaint about the dorsum under hump reduction rhinoplasty. Those pages exist because the corrections are separate, and separate corrections are how the plans and the figures stay legible.

Decide

Where the width is coming from

How the examination decides whether the base is the whole story

Five checks, in the order they happen. By the end of them the plan is either one line long or it is not, and either way the reason is on the table.

01Fifths

The front view is divided and the base is measured against it

Split the face into five vertical parts and the base should occupy one of them, finishing level with the inner and outer eye corners and reading close to the gap between the eyes. A base inside those limits does not need this operation, and saying so is where a consultation earns its keep.

02From below

The base view separates the wall from the opening

From below, the nostrils should form something close to an equilateral triangle, and their length should read as roughly two thirds of the nose. This view separates a thick fleshy wall from a large opening, and the two lead to different work even inside a base-only plan.

03Tip test

The tip is assessed before the base is agreed

A round tip sitting over correctly measured alae is the most common reason a base-only request is refused. The clinic names that presentation directly: where the front view reads broad because of the tip sitting above the alae, a plan usually carries tip work as its own line, and a standalone narrowing would satisfy nobody.

04Columella

The column between the nostrils is checked in the same sitting

Where the columella is broad as well, the thread route becomes relevant, because drawing the special thread in reduces alar and columellar width in one movement. Where the columella needs its own correction, it appears as a separate listed line and the plan is no longer one line long.

05One line

What a base-only plan looks like on paper

A single named operation, its published figure, the anaesthetic fee already inside it and VAT shown as an addition. Nothing else is attached because nothing else was found. If a second line ever appears on that page, there is an examination finding behind it, and it is stated next to the line it pays for.

Operating team at work during surgery at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 02 — The smallest operation that answers the complaint is still an operation
Rewind

Why offered alone

Why the nose base is offered as an operation of its own

A clinic that sells the nose as a package has an interest in every complaint needing the package. Listing the base separately removes that interest, because a plan can end after one line without anyone having to negotiate their way down from a larger one.

01Smallest sufficient

The operation is sized to the finding, and the finding is often small

Where the measurement puts the problem at the base, the base is what gets treated. Nothing is opened to justify a larger figure, and the reasoning behind the single line is given to you in the same sentence as the price.

02Both routes stay open

A standalone plan still has a choice of method inside it

Being a one-line plan does not make it a one-option plan. The incisional reduction and the thread cinching are both available and separately listed, and which of them a base-only plan uses follows from how thick the alar skin is, how much width must go, and whether the opening itself needs changing.

03Room to add later

A base done well does not close the door on the rest of the nose

Bridge and tip work remains available afterwards as its own operation, assessed at the time on what the nose then looks like. Patients abroad are answered in their own language from the first message, the clinic being KHIDI-registered for foreign patients, so a staged plan can be talked through long before anyone travels.

Private room on the treatment floor at Rewind Plastic Surgery
Fig. 03 — One room, one decision, and no package waiting at the end of it
Session

A single-line session

What a base-only session involves at the clinic

Operating room at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Richro Building

Fig. 04 — The same operating room, whether the plan holds one line or four

Reception at Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong, Seoul

Fig. 05 — Reception, fourth floor, by appointment only

Rewind runs across two floors of the Richro Building in Apgujeong, seeing patients by appointment between 10:00 and 19:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and until 16:00 on Saturday. A base-only case is carried by the same surgeon from the first measurement to the last review, and it is operated in the clinic's own theatre like any other.

One named operation on the quotation
Choice of the incisional or the thread route
Anaesthetic fee counted inside the listed figure
VAT added on top of the listed figure
Target width set from your own facial proportions
Bridge and tip left untouched by the plan
Dr. Jonghwan Choi operates every case himself
Further nose surgery possible later, assessed then
Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeon at Rewind

Board-certified plastic surgeon

A one-line plan is still carried out by a surgeon holding Korean board certification in plastic surgery and membership of the specialty's national societies. Patients arriving from overseas are treated under KHIDI registration M-2025-01-08-09288.

Scale

One line against four

What a base-only plan is listed at, next to a full nose plan

The two alar figures are what a standalone plan can cost. The two rhinoplasty figures are here for scale, so that the decision to stay at the base is made against a real comparison and not against a guess.

Alar reduction, incisionalA base-only plan by the excision route
₩700,000
Alar cinching with a threadA base-only plan by the non-incisional route
₩600,000
Rhinoplasty, bridge and tip by the open approachThe larger operation a base-only plan is usually being compared against
₩3,500,000
Tip plasty without an implantThe listing for a tip that would still be round after the base had been narrowed
₩3,000,000

All four are list prices for a first operation, quoted with VAT still to be added and with the anaesthetic fee already inside each one. Choosing the base alone is not a discount on a larger plan; it is a smaller operation with a smaller figure attached. Where a nose has been operated on before, none of these applies and the clinic's revision rates are used instead. Any plan that runs to several lines is written out in full at the consultation before a date is held.

Fit

Suitability

Who is a candidate for narrowing the base alone

A base-only plan tends to fit

  • Someone whose alar width overruns its fifth while the bridge height and the tip shape are already acceptable to them
  • A fleshy or thick alar wall that stays wide whatever the face is doing
  • An opening that dominates the base view, where the incisional route can work on the opening as well as the wall
  • A broad columella alongside broad alae, where one thread movement addresses both widths
  • Someone who wants the least surgery that answers the complaint and is content to leave the rest of the nose alone
  • Someone considering a staged approach, treating the base now and reassessing the rest much later

A base-only plan is the wrong plan

  • Width that traces to a round or blunt tip, where narrowing the alae leaves the widest part of the nose untouched
  • A complaint that is really about bridge height, nose length or a nose that leans, none of which base surgery reaches
  • A base already sitting inside its proportion, where the operation is declined and the discussion moves elsewhere
  • An expectation that the whole nose will look different afterwards, which is the reason this request is most often turned down
  • Any nose that already carries surgery or an implant, which is read as revision work on separate rates
  • A keloid or hypertrophic scarring history, clotting problems, daily blood-thinning medication, pregnancy or breastfeeding, or active inflammation inside the nostril
After

Recovery

What a one-line plan still asks of you afterwards

A smaller operation is not a smaller set of instructions. Rewind's published notes for alar surgery apply in full to a base-only plan, and the shortest of them is the one people underestimate.

The first days
The nose is left strictly alone
Discharge is dabbed off with gauze or clean tissue. Nothing goes inside the nostril, and the nose is never pinched in order to blow it. These apply whether your plan held one line or four, because the base heals the same way either way.
Each night
Sleep with the head raised
The clinic's single instruction about position, and the one most visible in the mirror the following morning. It costs nothing and it shortens the period during which the base is fatter than it will be.
About a month
Glasses off the nose
Spectacles and sunglasses stay off for around four weeks. This is the item that decides whether a base-only plan is convenient or awkward for you, and it is worth settling before a date is taken.
Not published
No borrowed numbers
There is no published suture-removal day and no published swelling duration for this operation, and the thread route is described only as quicker with no figure attached. Nothing has been carried over here from another procedure. The surgeon gives you the dates.

A base-only plan carries the same named risks as any alar surgery: bleeding, infection, swelling that lasts longer than expected, alae that settle unevenly, altered sensation at the nostril, a line in the crease that remains readable, and a rim left with a step. Any of them can require another operation, priced from the revision rates. Results vary from person to person and cannot be promised. Bring every earlier nose operation and every daily medicine to the consultation before a date is agreed.

Doctor

Professional

Telling somebody that one operation is enough, and meaning it, is a decision with no upside for the clinic and a large one for the patient. It is easier to make in a practice where the same surgeon carries the case from the first measurement to the last review.

Dr. Jonghwan Choi, board-certified plastic surgeonRewind,
Dr. Jonghwan Choi presenting at an academic session
Fig. 06 — Presenting at an academic session, surgical programme

Rewind's Doctor

Dr. Jonghwan Choi Medical Director

The right operation is the
smallest one that works.

A board-certified plastic surgeon in plastic surgery, with ten peer-reviewed papers indexed under his name and published work in craniofacial and nasal reconstruction.

Board-certified plastic surgeon (Plastic Surgery)
10 peer-reviewed publications
Medical Director, Rewind Plastic Surgery
Korean Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons
Former chief director, Apgujeong Y&T Plastic Surgery
Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
J Craniofac Surg · JKMS · Arch Craniofac Surg
Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association
Ask

Questions

Narrowing the base alone, as patients ask about it

Can I have just the nostrils narrowed and skip everything else?
You can, when the measurement supports it. Rewind lists the base as an operation in its own right with its own figure, so a quotation may hold one line and end there. What decides it is whether your width sits at the base while the bridge and tip measure acceptably.
Who is a good candidate for a standalone narrowing?
Someone whose alar base overruns its fifth of the facial width, with thick or fleshy walls or an opening that dominates the base view, and who is content with the bridge and the tip as they are. A broad columella alongside broad alae also fits, since one thread movement reaches both.
Will my whole nose look different if only the base is narrowed?
The base will. Rewind's own wording about the rest is measured: with alar width reduced the nose can read as better balanced, so a tip may appear more defined and a bridge higher, with individual variation. Nothing was added to either, and anyone expecting a new nose from one line will be disappointed.
Does a base-only plan cost much less than a full nose operation?
It is a smaller operation with a smaller listed figure, and the rate section above sets the alar lines beside the bridge-and-tip lines so the gap is visible. Every figure there excludes VAT and already contains the anaesthetic fee for that operation.
Could I add bridge or tip work later instead?
Bridge and tip surgery stays available as its own operation, assessed at the time on what the nose then looks like and quoted from the same published lines. A staged approach is a legitimate plan, and it is worth saying out loud at the first consultation so the base work is designed with it in mind.
Is recovery shorter because only one thing was done?
The published instructions for alar surgery apply in full either way: nothing inserted into the nose, no pinching while blowing, sleeping with the head raised, and glasses off the base for about a month. The clinic publishes no day counts for this operation, so none is offered here as a comparison.
What does a full nose operation involve that this does not?
Bridge and tip surgery builds the dorsal and tip line with an implant, worked either through the inside of the nostrils alone or with the columella opened for a direct view of the internal structure. A standalone alar plan opens neither, since it works only at the base.
How do I know my width is at the base and not the tip?
By measurement at the chair rather than from a photograph on a phone. The front view is checked against the facial fifths and the eye corners, and the base view against the nostril triangle. Where those come back inside their targets, the width is above the base and the alar line comes off the plan.
Voices

Google Reviews

What our patients say.

G 5.0 ★★★★★ 51 Google reviews · Rewind Plastic Surgery, Apgujeong — live-synced from Google Business Profile
★★★★★

Came to REWIND to get my facial treatment and i'm absolutely obsessed about it💞 the doctor is so kind and is an expert! Everyone must visit!

YunHee Hong2 weeks ago
★★★★★

There are just way too many cosmetic clinics in Korea and I'm so happy I found Rewind Clinic in Gangnam. Dr. Choi was so kind and patient while explaining the different face-lifting options, from threads to mini-lifts to deep-plane lifts…

J. S.5 months ago
★★★★★

I found Rewind clinic through a Korean chat forum and many local clients highly recommended it. The clinic is brand new, featuring large, clean rooms and many private waiting areas so it doesn't give off that "factory" clinic vibe. All the…

J. Siou5 months ago
★★★★★

Really nice environment. Doctor is easy to communicate and understands my visions. Waited two weeks to make a review and I confirm the results exceeded my expectations and I am super happy with it. Can't wait to come back!! :))

Kristie Chu5 months ago
★★★★★

I received a thread lift at Rewind Plastic Surgery. The clinic was clean and the atmosphere was comfortable. The consultation was thorough, and I felt confident because they kindly explained everything tailored to my facial condition. They…

한주연2 weeks ago · Translated by Google
Booking

Reservation

REWIND,booking

Tell us what you want left alone as well as what bothers you, and we reply as soon as possible, in your language.

Visit

REWIND,visit

For international patients — interpreter-assisted, from your first message to your follow-up.

Location
Apgujeong, Gangnam
4F & 5F, Richro Building,
812 Nonhyeon-ro,
Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Hours
Mon·Tue·Wed·Fri 10:00–19:00
Sat 10:00–16:00
Closed Sundays & Thursdays
Lunch 12:00–13:00
Consultation
In your language
WhatsApp · Instagram
Interpreter-assisted
consultations available
Registration
KHIDI Registered
Registered institution for
international patients
Reg. M-2025-01-08-09288

Scientific evidence

Published work on the base and on the operations it is being compared with

One of these is about the base itself; the other three describe the work a base-only plan is choosing to leave out. Grafting for the framework, support for the tip and the dorsum are all their own literatures, with their own techniques and their own comparisons, which is the clearest argument for quoting them as separate operations. The studies report other surgeons' patients under other surgeons' conditions, none concerns Rewind, and none can say what a single nose will do.