Is it normal for a cartilage graft to swell but not the surrounding tissue? Was the graft too large? (Photos)

Question

I had a revision rhino/septoplasty 6 months ago to resolve two small, sunken divots in my anterior lateral cartilage that developed after a car crash. My surgeon placed diced septal cartilage grafts, but didn't do any other external work& no other areas were really swollen. However, I have significant swelling where one of the grafts was placed. It looks like a grain of rice was sewn under my skin. I’m worried the graft is too large. Is this normal? I have medium skin thickness.

Paul Durand, MD · Answer

Hello. The bump you see can be indeed part of the cartilage graft or just fibrous (scar) tissue from healing that has occurred in that spot. This can be very hard to tell from an examination alone. At 6 months it should have significantly improved. If not, you might benefit from a revision procedure to determine what is causing this and correct it by either carving the excess cartilage or removing the fibrous tissue. Make sure this is done a by surgeon who does a high volume of revision rhinoplasty procedures as this is a more challenging surgery than primary rhinoplasty.
Hope this helps!
Paul D. Durand, MDRhinoplasty ExpertMiami, Florida

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