Revision Rhinoplasty: Q&A

Ask a Question

My Columella Has Retracted and Cartilage Reabsorbed. Am I Too Old for my Own Rib? I'm 49

my columella has retracted and cartilage reabsorbed. Am I too Old for my own Rib I'm 49 I have had 4 surgeries. It has retracted I Know that and I feel that it has reabsorbed as it's a lot thinner right inside of the columella, also when I lift my nose a bit I feel better and it feels more support. My last surgery was in 2007 I know the anterior portion of the septum has thinned in I was told. I was told I was too old for my own rib? it also seems like the sides have widened?

Tags:

columella absorption options rib graft

Comment on this

4 Doctor Answers | Asked by dakota2010

Doctor Answers (4)
Community Comments (0)

Retraction of columella after surgery

The columella is an easy part to support with grafts. Rib is usually not needed since enough good cartilege can be harvested from behind the ear.

At 49 am I too old for rib graft to retracted columella?

No, there's no age limit for rib graft however, IMHO of over 20 years performing Rhinoplasty, rib graft is not the preferred cartilage for nasal grafting as it has a tendency to dissolve unevenly over years. From the photo, it appears that the columellar cartilage dissolves along the inferior aspect, creating a retracted columella. The easiest approach to fill in the retracted lower columella is a crushed cratilage graft taken form behind your ear. Other... more

Too old for rib

You are not to old to have your rib used. You just need to realize that for some people the recovery is very uncomfortable in the chest area and do you want to go through that for this degree of deformity? If your ears have not been used in previous surgery, end to end septal extension graft with PDF foil has proven to be very effective for this problem and will not be as big a procedure. Another option is to use donor irradiated homologous rib as well. Good luck!

Michael L. Schwartz, MD

3 reviews

Fort Lauderdale Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.palmbeachface.com

Comments (0)

Ask a Question

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.