Adding another layer of autologus material after Revision Rhinoplasty?

I had my Rhinoplasty revision surgery 3 months ago to replace silicone implant with ear cartilage. My surgeon used my septal cartilage and ear cartilage to build my tip, and ear cartilage to augment my bridge. And the problem is, one side of my nostril is slanted while the other straight. And my nose does not look great at all with flat bridge and round nose tip. It was almost perfect to me at one month post op. It seems to me that my nose tip was shortened and more rounded during the healing (or even maybe reabsorption).

I want to add another layer of autologus material over my ear cartilage. Is it necessary to take out the ear cartilage and put it back again? I am afraid by the time when I do the revision surgery, the ear cartilage will already grow firmly with my nose bone and it will be traumatizing to my nose to seperate them by force.

Also, if I were to have a third surgery in future, will it be a danger that my nose is going to collapse? I heard that too many surgeries will make your nose weak and leading to collapse. Since my surgeon has already used my septal cartilage as a base to build my nose tip. Will my nose be prone to collapse? What will be the sign in terms of appearance when the nose is collapsing? Thank you.

Read my review "Revision to replace silicone implant w/ear cartilage"

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6 answers to “Adding another layer of autologus...”

A: Wait until nose is fully healed to decide

William Portuese, MD

As far as collapsing of the nose, this will not occur unless you sustain severe trauma to the nose. Collapsing of the nose will be most evident by a saddle nose deformity, which you obviously do not have at this point. This would show up immediately after the surgery if it were going to occur. I would not... more

A: Allow time for current grafts to take

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

AS others have advised, I concur and beleive that you could cause more damage by intervening too soon. Give it time for the current cartilage to take. There are many different sources for autologous materals as mentioned: fascia, dermis, cartilage, etc.

A: You might benefit from an Injectable Filler treatment.

Eric M. Joseph, MD

Revision rhinoplasty is one of the most challenging, and humbling operations I perform. It would be best if this surgery were your last, since your surgeon needed both ear, and septal cartilage after removing the silicone implant. You can have injectable fillers safely placed in your nose to correct minor... more

A: Revision Rhinoplasty

Michael A. Persky, MD

Hi Pumpkin, You should wait at least one year before having further revision surgery on your nose.  You can have more autologous grafting material (other ear cartilage, fascia, rib cartilage). As long as your surgeon maintains adequate dorsal septal cartilage support, your nose should not be in danger of... more

A: Revision Rhinoplasty

Theodore Katz, MD

It's easy to say but BE PATIENT.  The worse thing yo can do is to rush into another procedure before the results of the revision have been fully matured, that is the scar tissue internally and tissues have matured and the transplanted cartilages have been fully integrated.  You definitely wil... more

A: Revision rhinoplasty takes time to assess

Daryl K. Hoffman, MD

You had revision rhinoplasty only three months ago so it is too early to assess the results.  Most surgeons would wait a full year before considering re-operation.  Operating before waiting that long makes no sense because it takes that long for the nose to fully heal, and sometimes longer... more

Comments

pumpkin84
6 posts
10 Jul 2009

Thank you so much for all your kind reply. But if the cartilage have fully integrated into the tissue, will it be a problem to overlay it with soft tissue? I mean do we need to take the cartilage out of the nose then make the chamber of where we placed it bigger in order to accommodate both cartilage and the soft tissue?

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