A graft is a material that is placed in an area from which it did not originally come from. There are many different types fo grafts. Grafts that come from your own body are called autologous grafts. An example of this is when rib cartilage is used to rebuild a nose. Synthetic grafts are those which are not made of living tissue and are manufactured in a lab. An example of this is silicone.
Today, grafts are used in rhinoplasty to both reshape the nose, and re-enforce the nose so that it is built to last (i.e so that it will not collapse or be detrimental to breathing after a rhinoplasty procedure). Grafts are also frequently used in revision rhinoplasty in order to repair a damaged nose.
That being said, grafts to the nose can be synthetic or autologous. Most commonly, autolgous grafts are taken from the patient's own septum. However, if more cartilage is needed or the septum is missing, then other forms of cartilage must be used. Common locations, other then the septum, are from the ear and rib cartilage. The decision on what to use will depend on the amount of grafting that needs to b done and the surgeon's preference.
