Can your body reject cartilage used for the Rhinoplasty? (5yrs post-op)

Question

I had a Rhinoplasty performed in 2017. The surgery was to file down the 'hump' in my nose, and try to correct the slight deviation. Cartilage was taken from my ear and added to the nose tip. Now all the swelling has gone, i can feel the cartilage edge at the rostral tip. If i stretch my face, i get a white line where the cartilage sits under the skin. Is this a sign my body is trying to get rid of the cartilage or is this due to skin thickness etc? Would i see rejection 5yrs post-op?

Robert Ciardullo, MD · Answer

Are you rejecting your cartilage graft? The term “Rejection “refers to our body‘s natural defensive ability to attack immunologically material, particularly protein which is foreign. This would apply to people who have had a transplant of an organ such as a kidney from a separate donor. The Cartlidge graft which was used in your nose was no doubt taken from your own body. If therefore cannot be rejected in the immunologic sense of the word. However two other phenomena could occur. One is the graft coming into more prominence over the years as scar tissue has resorbed and the skin over the graft has contracted with time, making the graft simply more visible. this is analogous to seeing something better when it is covered by a thin sheet then when it is covered by a thick quilt. It can take years for the scar tissue after a rhinoplasty to resorb and the skin to contract to its final size . When this happens the nose may in some cases look better but in other cases faults and irregularities beneath the surface may show up. When you make certain expressions that pull the skin tight over the edge of the Cartlidge it blanches the overlying skin and blood vessels so it appears as a white line. That is most likely what is happening in your case. There is a rare phenomenon called “extrusion“ whereby a graft dislodges from its original location and gradually works its way out of the body through some openings. This is due to mechanical forces rather than immunologic factors . It does not sound like this is the case with you, but a check up with your plastic surgeon would be a good idea.

Omer Faruk Deveci, MD · Answer

Usually, cartilage taken from our own tissues is not rejected. The problem here is that the skin is thin and the cartilage is visible from the outside.

Can your body reject cartilage used for the Rhinoplasty? (5yrs post-op)

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Can your body reject cartilage used for the Rhinoplasty? (5yrs post-op)

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about Rhinoplasty

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