NASAL PROSTHESIS AND RHINOPLASTY METHOD USING THE SAME

Abstract

A nasal prosthesis to be inserted into a bridge of a nose of a human body includes an insertion tip having a pointed end, a conical body portion whose diameter gradually increases rearward, and a rear end portion provided at the rear of the conical body portion. The rear end portion is formed in a hemispherical or conical shape.

Claims

1. A nasal prosthesis to be inserted into a bridge of a nose of a human body, comprising: an insertion tip having a pointed end; a conical body portion whose diameter gradually increases rearward; and a rear end portion provided at the rear of the conical body portion, wherein the rear end portion is formed in a hemispherical or conical shape.

2. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein a position adjustment thread is further provided at the rear end portion of the prosthesis.

3. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein net protrusions are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion.

4. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein circular protrusions are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion.

5. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein longitudinally extending protrusions are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion.

6. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein spiral protrusions are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion.

7. The nasal prosthesis of claim 1, wherein longitudinally spaced-apart protrusions are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion.

8. The nasal prosthesis of claim 2, wherein the prosthesis and the position adjustment thread are made of a non-absorbent material including silicone and nylon.

9. The nasal prosthesis of claim 2, wherein the prosthesis and the position adjustment thread are made of an absorbent material selected from the group consisting of polydioxanone, poly-L-lactic acid, polycaprolactone, and calcium hydroxylapatite.

10. A rhinoplasty method for inserting a nasal prosthesis into a bridge of a nose of a human body, comprising: (a) forming an insertion hole by an injection needle on a front surface of a bridge of a nose (S10); (b) inserting the nasal prosthesis having a position adjustment thread into the insertion hole (S20); (c) inserting and stacking an additional prosthesis while holding the position adjustment thread of the inserted prosthesis by hand; (d) cutting the position adjustment thread exposed to the outside; and (e) attaching a regeneration tape to cover the insertion hole.

11. The rhinoplasty method of claim 10, wherein in (b), both the body portion and the position adjustment thread of the prosthesis are positioned inside an insertion device and then inserted into the nose.

12. The rhinoplasty method of claim 10, wherein in (b), only the position adjustment thread of the prosthesis is positioned inside the insertion device and then inserted into the nose.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are views showing incisions at the time of a conventional rhinoplasty method.

[0047] FIG. 2 is a view showing a process of inserting a silicone nasal prosthesis during a conventional rhinoplasty method.

[0048] FIG. 3 is a view showing a process of inserting an insertion thread during a conventional rhinoplasty method.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a view showing a rhinoplasty method according to the present invention.

[0050] FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) are views showing various examples of a nasal prosthesis according to the present invention.

[0051] FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c) are views showing a rhinoplasty method according to the present invention.

[0052] FIG. 7 is a view showing a process of inserting an additional nasal prosthesis during a rhinoplasty method according to the present invention.

[0053] FIG. 8 is a view showing a process of a rhinoplasty method according to the present invention.

[0054] FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) are views showing a state of use of an insertion device during a rhinoplasty method according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] Hereinafter, a nasal prosthesis and a rhinoplasty method using the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

[0056] First, a nasal prosthesis (hereinafter simply referred to as ‘prosthesis’) according to the present invention will be described.

[0057] As shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e), the prosthesis 50 of the present invention includes an insertion tip 51 having a pointed end, a conical body portion 52 whose diameter gradually increases rearward, and a rear end portion 53 provided at the rear of the conical body portion 52.

[0058] The reason why the body portion 52 is formed in a gentle conical shape is to consider the structure of the nose, which becomes higher as it goes down.

[0059] If the prostheses are stacked while keeping the diameter of the body portion 52 constant, the upper part of the nose becomes too high and the aesthetic appearance thereof is not good.

[0060] By using the structure of the prosthesis 50 described above, as shown in FIG. 4, a fine insertion hole 13 can be formed with an injection needle on the front surface of the bridge of the nose 10, and a plurality of prostheses 50 can be successively inserted through the insertion hole 13.

[0061] Accordingly, there is no need to form a long incision as in the case of inserting a silicone prosthesis, and there is no need to sew the incision after the operation.

[0062] In addition, the rear end portion 53 of the prosthesis 50 is preferably formed in a hemispherical or conical shape.

[0063] With the above structure, as shown in FIG. 7, a space is created between the prostheses 50 adjacent to each other, and the prosthesis 50 with a pointed end can be easily inserted through this space.

[0064] According to the present invention, a position adjustment thread 54 is further provided at the rear end portion 53 of the conical prosthesis 50.

[0065] Since the position adjustment thread 54 is not an insertion thread (see FIG. 3) used during a lifting operation, but is a thread for adjusting the position of the prosthesis, the spinous protrusions are not formed on the position adjustment thread 54.

[0066] In the prosthesis 50 according to the present invention, it is preferable that as shown in FIG. 5, protrusions having various shapes are formed on the circumferential surface of the body portion 52.

[0067] As shown in FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e), the protrusions may be formed as net protrusions 55, circular protrusions 56, longitudinally extending protrusions 57, spiral protrusions 58, and longitudinally spaced-apart protrusions 59. However, the shape of the protrusions is not limited thereto.

[0068] When the prostheses 50 are stacked, the frictional force is increased by the protrusions, so that the adjacently stacked prostheses can be stably fixed.

[0069] In addition, if the height of the protrusions is too high, it may be difficult to insert the prosthesis. Therefore, the protrusions are formed to have an appropriate size and height in consideration of the size of the prosthesis.

[0070] In addition, the prosthesis 50 and the position adjustment thread 54 of the present invention may be made of a non-absorbent material such as silicon or nylon.

[0071] Alternatively, the prosthesis 50 may be made of an absorbent material that is melted over time and absorbed into the human body.

[0072] Examples of the absorbent material preferably include polydioxanone (PDO), poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA).

[0073] Next, a rhinoplasty method using a nasal prosthesis according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.

[0074] The rhinoplasty method according to the present invention is a rhinoplasty method for inserting a nasal prosthesis 50 into the bridge of the nose of a human body, including: (a) forming an insertion hole 13 by an injection needle on a front surface of a bridge of a nose 10 (S10); (b) inserting the nasal prosthesis 50 having a position adjustment thread 54 into the insertion hole 13 (S20); (c) inserting and stacking an additional prosthesis 50 while holding the position adjustment thread 54 of the inserted prosthesis 50 by hand (S30); (d) cutting the position adjustment thread 54 exposed to the outside (S40); and (e) attaching a regeneration tape to cover the insertion hole 13 (S50).

[0075] In step S10, as shown in FIG. 4, a fine insertion hole 54 is formed by an injection needle on the front surface of the bridge of the nose 10. In step S20, the prosthesis 50 provided with the position adjustment thread 54 is inserted into the insertion hole 13.

[0076] In the present invention, since the insertion tip 51 of the prosthesis 50 has a pointed end, a plurality of prostheses can be inserted through the insertion hole 13 formed by an injection needle.

[0077] Accordingly, unlike a silicone prosthesis, there is no need to form a long incision, and there is no need to sew the incision after an operation.

[0078] In step S20, the conical prosthesis 50 may be directly inserted by hand or may be inserted using an insertion device as shown in FIG. 9(a).

[0079] At this time, as shown in FIG. 9(a), both the body portion 52 and the position adjustment thread 54 of the prosthesis 50 may be positioned inside an insertion device 60 (usually called a cannula) and then inserted into the nose, or as shown in FIG. 9(b), only the position adjustment thread 54 of the prosthesis 50 may be positioned inside the insertion device 60 and then inserted into the nose.

[0080] In the case of FIG. 9(a), the insertion device 60 is inserted into the nose, the prosthesis 50 is pushed inward by a push pin (not shown), and then the insertion device 60 is pulled out while pressing the body portion of the prosthesis.

[0081] In the case of FIG. 9(b), only the position adjustment thread 54 is positioned inside the insertion device 60 and the prosthesis 50 is pushed inward by the push pin.

[0082] In step S30, as shown in FIG. 7, the additional prosthesis 50 is pushed inward through the insertion hole 13 while holding the position adjustment thread 54 of the already inserted prosthesis 50 by hand.

[0083] At this time, since the position adjustment thread 54 is held by hand, a situation in which the previously inserted prosthesis 50 is pushed inward together with the additionally inserted prosthesis 50, or the position of the previously inserted prosthesis 50 is changed does not occur.

[0084] In addition, since the rear end portion 53 of the prosthesis 50 is formed in a hemispherical or conical shape, a certain space is formed at the rear end of each of the prostheses 50 stacked adjacent to each other.

[0085] Accordingly, the prostheses 50 can be successively inserted by pushing the sharp insertion tip 51 into the space.

[0086] FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c) show examples of the rhinoplasty method according to the present invention. FIG. 6(a) shows a case where the prosthesis is inserted in the entire nose bridge, FIG. 6(b) shows a case where the prosthesis is inserted in the tip of the nose, and FIG. 6(c) shows a case where the prosthesis is inserted into the nasal column.

[0087] After inserting all of the appropriate number of prostheses 50, the threads exposed to the outside of the nose are cut away.

[0088] Subsequently, a skin regeneration tape (not shown) is attached to cover the insertion hole 13, whereby the operation is completed.

[0089] The conventional rhinoplasty method using a silicone prosthesis 20 (see FIG. 1) is inexpensive and can reliably raise the bridge of the nose. However, the incision must be made large and must be re-sewn after the operation. It is difficult to insert the prosthesis into the correct position at once. The adhesion of the prosthesis with human tissue is poor.

[0090] In addition, the conventional rhinoplasty method using an absorbent thread (see FIG. 2) does not have to form an incision. However, it is difficult to push the thread 30 into the nose due to the spinous protrusions 32 formed in opposite directions, and it is difficult to stack a plurality of prostheses.

[0091] The present invention utilizes only the advantages of the silicone prosthesis insertion method and the absorbable thread insertion method. The rhinoplasty method according to the present invention is a method in which the body portion of the prosthesis is formed in a conical shape at a small diameter and a plurality of prostheses are stacked.

[0092] Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, multiple prostheses can be inserted through the insertion hole 13 without forming an incision.

[0093] In addition, since the plurality of protrusions are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the body portion of the prosthesis, the prostheses stacked on each other can be stably fixed without slippage.

[0094] In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, since the rear end portion of the prosthesis is formed in a hemispherical or conical shape, additional prostheses with sharp ends can be successively inserted through the space between adjacent prostheses.

[0095] In addition, since the additional prosthesis is inserted while holding the thread of the already inserted prosthesis by hand, the position of the already inserted prosthesis can be prevented from being changed, and the position of the already inserted prosthesis can be adjusted if necessary.

[0096] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention defined in the claims.