Ear deformity after cartilage harvested. Can this problem to be fixed ? (photos)

Question

Can this problem to be fixed ? I have rhinoplasty using cartilage from both my ears and now my concha bowl deformed :(

Alejandro Nogueira, MD · Answer

I am a so-called "rhinoplasty surgeon", this means a subvariety of rare species who feels comfortable doing any kind of challenging or difficult noses, even those in need of cartilage harvesting from ear. As you can imagine I had the opportunity to harvest hundreds of ears in my career, and I hope to harvest many hundreds more.The donor are of the ear's area called "concha" is the perfect one, in texture, elasticity, shape, etc, is perfect to build up tips, alar cartilages, dorsums, supratips, etc., so it is very common its usage in revision rhinoplasties and in those primary ones with ethnic requirements.In the concha we have two available portions:-one lower, of square shape, near the ear duct, ideal for tips and small grafts-one higher, of oval and long shape, near the upper pole, ideal for dorsum, alar cartilages and long graftsThese two areas can perfectly be harvested without causing any distortion, deformity, prominence, collapse or consequence to the visible ear. Why so? read on...Between them there is a "taboo" area of the concha, it is a kind of reinforcement of the cartilage coming as an extension of the radix of the helix fold, horizontally shaped, sometimes slightly oblique, that joins the anti-helix fold with ear duct crossing transversely the concha, this "strut" or support area of the concha is critical, ESSENTIAL to avoid the collapse of the ear, if you don't respect it, if you harvest it... even if you don't harvest the two donor areas... just for harvesting this area you produce a grotesque collapse, ptosis and serious consequences in that ear.Sadly seems that your surgeon is not experienced in harvesting cartilage grafts for the ear, in all my career I never had such complication in no one of my grafted rhinoplasties. Moreover, seems weird but true that the orthodox harvesting areas are intact in one of the ears, and also the anti-helix was included in the graft in other.You have a deformity due to a very basic technical error: harvesting the whole concha or harvesting the critical support pillar of the concha, and as a consequence your ears collapse and are deformed.You need to find a very good surgeon expert in harvesting ears and in their repair, I know your problem and I know how to fix it: with the still available areas of harvesting cartilage in your ears and, if necessary, with additional pieces taken from nasal septum you need a rebuild of the support of your ear's skeleton or cartilage framework. In expert hands it is a very very delicate and creative technique but higly successful and can provide a return to the anatomical normality of your ears, if not totally very very close to it, at least a socially acceptable shape of the ears, which unfortunately you don't have now.Don't hesitate to travel wherever you find the right surgeon for your ears, you have serious problem and the solution is technically challenging, not any one can do it.Best luck!

C.W. David Chang, MD · Answer

Looks like a difficult problem. When I harvest auricular cartilage for rhinoplasty, I try to avoid getting too close to the antihelical fold, reducing distortions of the ear. It appears that there is a lack of cochal bowl support because of cartilage resection. In addition, there appears to be relative excessive skin as a result of cartilage removal and subsequent distortion. It may be possible to try to excise the "extra fold" in the bowl to improve the appearance. Otherwise, if there is lack of adequate cartilage support, additional cartilage (rib?) may need to be grafted.

Naveen Somia, MBBS, PhD, FRACS · Answer

It may be possible to improve the appearance of your ear. You should see a plastic surgeon who can examine you in person. Conchal bowl reduction is commonly performed to correct a prominent ear, so removal of the conchal cartilage is an accepted procedure that does not leave a deformity

Ear deformity after cartilage harvested. Can this problem to be fixed ? (photos)

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Ear deformity after cartilage harvested. Can this problem to be fixed ? (photos)

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Ear Surgery

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.