Is It Possible to Use Septal Cartilage for the Nose Bridge/dorsal Augmentation?

Hello,

 

If you are only unhappy with the bridge of your nose, cannot get glasses to fit, ect, there are 2 options.

 

1) Nonsurgical rhinoplasty.  In the office injectable fillers like Juvederm or Radiesse can be placed along the bridge of your nose to add height.  There is no real downtime, it is economical, and the fillers last about a +/- year.

 

 

2) Limited rhinoplasty:  If you are only concerned with the bridge of your nose a limited rhinoplasty can be performed to place a graft to increase the height of the nasal bridge. 

Cartilage, silicone and gortex all have the same longevity in that they are all considered permanent.  All three grafts are frequently used to augment the bridge of the nose.  If you ask 10 different surgeons you will get 10 different opinions on which material is the absolute best choice and why you should avoid the other two.
I believe them all to be acceptable options that can lead to good results.  Silicone implants come presized and Gortex needs to be sculpted by the surgeon.  Both are synthetic and have the potential for infection.  That being said, hip replacements, heart valves, and hundreds of other implants are safely and reliably used throughout the body. 

Cartilage has less risk of infection, needs to be expertly sculpted, and his the risk of warping over time.  Because there is no clear best option all three grafts are routinely used and your surgeon will likely have a preference for one.

 

 

Hope this helps

I agree. why use foreign material when you can use your own cartilage. For an Asian augmentation Rhinoplasty I often use cartilage from the nasal septum to both augment the bridge and the tip as required. If you have had previous surgery on your nose and the septal cartilage is no longer available then that is a different story. 1st time Rhinoplasty? septal cartilage is excellent choice.

Dear Kim,

 

Septal cartilage is a great choice given the fact that enough cartilage could be harvested from that site to achieve your desired augmentation.

Without photos and physical examination, it is hard to be definitive about a particular site from where a surgeon can harvest the autologous material for a cartilage graft; ear and rib cartilages are other options as you may already know.

That said, I recommend that you seek a consultation with a board certified surgeon of extensive experience in rhinoplasty who will guide you to make a well informed decision.

Being an Asian patient, your facial features are to be taken into consideration because if you are looking for conservative changes then a delicate surgical approach is to be adopted.

Finally, if you desire permanent results I would advise you to disregard the option of resorting to dermal fillers to achieve your goal.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for your inquiry and the best of wishes to you.

Dr. Sajjadian

I agree with you.  Septal cartilage grafts are ideal to augment the bridge of the nose.  The cartilage is easily harvested at the time of surgery.  The piece of cartilage may not be as large as a silicone implant, but it may be an option worth exploring.  Adorsal cartilage graft using septal cartilage is a standard and routine plastic surgical procedure and works well if you are the right candidate.

Septal cartilage less forgiving and less abundant (especially in Asian nose) than diced cartilage and fascia graft, composed of septal and/or ear cartilage.  You may need tip graft as well, and restricting yourself to septum as the only source limits the amount of correction that can be achieved.

I am not sure why it should be that much more expensive since you do not have to pay for the price of implants. You have another options available to you which is ear cartilage from one or both ears.

My response to your question/post does not represent formal medical advice or constitute a doctor patient relationship. You need to consult with i.e. personally see a board certified plastic surgeon in order to receive a formal evaluation and develop a doctor patient relationship.

Septal cartilage for nasal augmentation has been my first choice for 35 years of rhinoplasty. If there is not enough cartilage I can also use ear cartilage and almost never need rib cartilage.

Here is a link below to our website page that discusses various options for Asian rhinoplasty patients with regard to augmenting the nasal bridge. Good luck with your decision!

It is possible to use nasal septal cartilage for nose and dorsal augmentation in an Asian rhinoplasty.  However, there needs to be enough cartilage is needed in the nose to perform the augmentation.  Frequently in an Asian nose the septum is quite thin and a double or triple stack of the patient’s own cartilage is needed to create enough augmentation.  This is performed under general anesthesia as an outpatient procedure.  It is important to perform computer imaging and have a frank discussion with the surgeon to make sure that the goals can be accomplished.

Septal cartilage may definitely be used for augmenting the nasal bridge.  If there is not enough septal cartilage to raise the bridge to the desired height, cartilage from the ear may be safely combined for dorsal augmentation.

 

Personally, I prefer non-surgical rhinoplasty for augmenting the nasal bridge.  I use Restylane, Perlane, Radiesse, or Artefill to augment the nasal bridge.  This method has the following benefits:


Contouring may be done in a very smooth and detailed manner.

The patient can give the doctor feed back on the results.

The results are immediate

The risks are a lot less than with a surgical procedure


I find that with Restylane and Radiesse, the results last longer each time and there is some build up of the patients own collagen.

I hope this was helpful, good luck in your search for information!