Background: Algorithms define a sequence to approaching a subject. This study represents a scoping review seeking to define the role of surgical algorithms in rhinoplasty.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted. Pubmed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, as well as a citation searching was performed to find eligible studies for review. Eligibility criteria included studies published in English, human subjects ≥ 15 years old, and all included surgical algorithms were for primary cosmetic rhinoplasty.
Results: In total, 514 studies included the key search terms. Thirty-nine studies were evaluated for data extraction. The majority of the algorithms were from USA-based publications (22/39). Flow-chart type algorithm was used in 23 and text-based algorithms in 15 of the 39 studies. Algorithms related to tip shape and/or position were most frequent (19/39), followed by those for crooked nose and dorsal height. Only 7 of the algorithms described outcomes for utilizing the algorithm.
Conclusions: Very few surgical algorithms have been published for cosmetic rhinoplasty. A minority of these studies have published outcomes. This study provides a description and summary of these algorithms and also shows that future studies could be done to further develop surgical algorithms for rhinoplasty and evaluate outcomes.
Level of evidence iii: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors http://www.springer.com.
Keywords: Algorithm; Operative plan; Rhinoplasty; Scoping review; Surgical algorithm.
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