Nasal abscess left me without cartilage in my nose, what is the best surgery for me?

Question

After an abscess in my nose when I was 7 years old I was left with no cartilage. This caused severe dip within my nose . I underwent surgery to try and reduce the problem, the plan was to take cartilage from my nose and place it in my nose reducing the dip. The process did work and has made my nose look slightly more normal, but you can see the outline of the cartilage within my nose making it obvious that I have had something placed in there. Is there anything else that can be done? Thanks Jake

Douglas J. Kibblewhite, MD · Answer

Part of the dip will be secondary to loss of cartilage underneath, and likely that cartilage loss has affected the growth of your nose as well.  There are two basic approaches.  One is onlay grafting where cartilage is placed in the dip, which sounds like what you have had done.  It is a camouflage technique.  The second, newer method is to rebuild is to rebuild the top of your septum ("dorsal strut") with rib cartilage, which returns your nose to a more normal shape and function.  You would need to find a surgeon with significant experience in open approach nose surgery, particularly revision surgery.

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Nasal abscess left me without cartilage in my nose, what is the best surgery for me?

Answers (1)

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