Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.

Posted underRhinoplasty q&a

How long until hydrogel based expansion scaffold grafts (not spreader grafts!) are available for rhinoplasty nose lengthening?

A
AskaQuestionToYouJan 17, 2026

In both revision and primary rhinoplasty, lengthening of the nose is performed with cartilage grafts, but the skin envelope and potential scarring is often limiting lengthening. This can be solved with hydrogel based expansion grafts, that slowly take up water, and expand the soft tissues, allowing the skin to adapt to the new size. An added benefit is that the hydrogel based graft is resorbed and replaced with autologous tissues (which ones depend on the signaling molecules within the hydrogel scaffold). This technology seems to solve a lot of issues in augmentation rhinoplasty and revision rhinoplasty. Why are there no early experiments for the nose (or even in animal studies?). As an example, this is a study on hydrogel based expansion grafts for skin expansion in the scalp: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41236852/ It can be used to expand bone and soft tissue, and therefore may be modified for applications in the nose (lengthening, dorsal augmentation, widening of nasal bones perhaps, if dECM bone scaffolds do not work).

Answers (1)

From board-certified doctors and trusted medical professionals
Answer

More Rhinoplasty Questions

See all Rhinoplasty Q&A