Rib graft concerns. What's the chance of trouble down the road?

Rib cartilage can be an excellent source of cartilage for rhinoplasty grafting. Using rib cartilage successfully can be technique (surgeon) sensitive, though. There are several methods that can be used to prevent warping.

In my experience (and in various studies published in the facial plastic surgery literature) rib cartilage doesn't have clinically significant absorption issues.

That being said if the indentation that is being treated isn't very big you may be able to use ear or septum cartilage (if they is some still available). Your surgeon can discuss your options best since that's who has actually examined your nose.

      If you have ear cartilage available and you have a small defect, you can certainly consider grafting with the ear cartilage.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials who performs hundreds of rhinoplasties and rhinoplasty revisions each year.  Then look at the plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a sense of who can deliver the results.

Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA