Auricular Cartilage in Revision Rhinoplasty

ABSTRACT
Revision rhinoplasty is a challenge in reconstruction to the rhinoplasty surgeon, both in the techniques of repair and the choice of implant material for augmentation grafting. Often, patients seeking revision or reconstructive rhinoplasty have previously undergone septoplasty with sacrifice of major amounts of septal cartilage. These situa­tions confront the surgeon with the need for a decision about the material that will be used for structural grafting. The senior author follows the time-tested approach of gener­ ations of surgeons who have used exclusively autogenous material for nasal reconstruction because of its superior long-term survival characteristics, its ready availability in the head and neck region, its resistance to infection and resorption, and its bendability and flexibil­ity when implanted in the nose. With this in mind, the subject of this article is the use of auricular cartilage in revision rhinoplasty. Careful strategic planning must be undertaken to get the maximal and ideal benefit from the auricular cartilage. The revision rhinoplasty surgeon must understand the anatomy of the external ear and must be able to manage the precious cartilage supply to get the maximum use of it in reconstructive rhinoplasty.

KEYWORDS: Revision rhinoplasty, auricular cartilage, autogenous implant, alloplasts

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