One doctor wants to use Gore Tex for my nose, but I need a second opinion about it. How risky is it to use Gore Tex?

Using tissue from your own body will create the most permanent results in the safest manner.  The biggest risk with Gore-tex long-term is the risk of extrusion through the skin.  Since Gore-tex is a synthetic material it will never become incorporated as a living part of the nose as your own cartilage will.  A rhinoplasty specialist experienced in autologous grafts will be able to precisely and safely augment your nose using only tissue from your own body.  

The reason Gortex is often recomended for augmenting the bridge of the nose is that it can be made any thickness that is required. Your own cartillage is thin and soft and is in limited supply. For areas that require significant volume augmentation Gortex is excellent. It is possible to augment the nose with your own cartilage but the amount of augmentation would have to be quite small. I prefer to use septal cartillage for the tip work as it is more firm.


Good luck

Hello dOneGun, Thank you for your question.Without examining you, physically feeling the tissue, assessing your desired outcome, taking a full medical history, and discussing the pros and cons of any treatments it is difficult to be comprehensive.It sounds as though you need the dorsum of your nose built up.  Gore-Tex has been well studied and in the United states the published risks of infection range from 3-4 percent.  In other countries such as China or Philliphines where it is used in their population more consistently the risk is actually less than 1 percent.  The other risk that the surgeon is talking about is migration of the implant necessitating revision.Other options include using rib cartilage if you did not want to have an implant.   There are risks associated with this process as well. I would go back to your surgeon and discuss the risks of each approach once again. Good luck, Dr. Shadfar