Compulsory auricular cartilage use: Modified septal extension graft application in revision rhinoplasty
Ali Seyed Resuli1, Fatih Öktem2
1İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl Üniversitesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
2İstanbul Üniversitesi, Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye
Keywords: Auricular cartilage, low nasal tip, revision rhinoplasty, septal extension graft.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to demonstrate how to perform a tongue-in-groove graft with the method we developed using auricular cartilage to provide adequate nasal tip support in 17 revision rhinoplasty cases.
METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on 17 patients (17 females; mean age: 23.9+3.7 years; range, 19 to 30 years) who underwent revision rhinoplasty (RR) operations for a low nasal tip between February 2019 and September 2020. After auricular cartilage was removed with a standard posterior auricular intervention, it was folded in two to increase its resistance and fixed to the caudal part of the nasal septum as a tongue-in-groove graft.
RESULTS: Solid nasal tip support and satisfactory nasal tip projection and rotation were achieved in all patients. One (6%) patient developed auricular hematoma as a complication on the third postoperative day, and three (17%) of our patients complained of nasal obstruction in their postoperative follow-up.
CONCLUSION: When the use of costal cartilage is limited due to social and cultural reasons in RR cases performed due to a low nasal tip, auricular cartilage can be used as a modified tongue-in-groove graft and provides a satisfactory aesthetic appearance.