Use of Medpor in Rhinoplasty for a Flat Nose?

    Everyone will have a different opinion on this, but the rates of infection are definitely in favor of autologous tissue, your own cartilage.  Any implant in the nose will have a greater incidence of infection.   I have had to take out several of these after infection, but that does not mean that using these implants is wrong for you.  If rib harvest is your only option, this harvest is not insignificant and has complications of its own.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

I think most nasal surgeons would agree that synthetic implants to the nose are not a wise idea. We all have seen these implants both extrude and become infected. Particularly Medpor is problematic because when there are problems, it is very difficult to remove it due to significant tissue ingrowth. There are plenty of non-synthetic alternatives for nasal dorsum augmentation including your own rib, cadaveric rib, AlloDerm (collagen matrix) and cartilage. It is not unreasonable to wait a year or two for the final results of nasal surgery and everything costs more in New York.......

 

I agree with the rest of the surgeons, that medpor is not recommended for a rhinoplasty and this is an old material not frequently used anymore.  I would guess your surgeon is older.  It is easy to build up the nose with a combination of diced cartilage harvested from you septum (or ear if no septum available) and wrapped in temporalis fascia.   There are many good rhinoplasty surgeons who can easily do this, myself included.  You should never pay $20,000 for a rhinoplasty.   Try getting other consultations. 

Best regards,

Dr. Lane Smith

It depends on how much augmentation you need but septum, ear or rib cartilage can be used.  Medpor has been used successfully in the nose but my preference is the patients own tissue.

For 35 years of doing rhinoplasty I have used septal or ear cartilage with NO infections and at half the cost of your quote. I feel there is no reason to use a foreign material when you can use your own without fear of rejection or infection.