Do you cut out an entire sector of a rib cartilage for rhinoplasty? (Photo)

I am assuming that you are having a secondary rhinoplasty because I would never use rib in a primary rhinoplasty.  When rib cartilage is use, the rib doesn’t need to be removed, but just a small piece taken off the rib of the size needed.

Hello and thank you for your question.  Only a small portion of the rib needs to be harvested for cartilage.  An alternative to this is MTF cartilage (irradiated cadaveric rib cartilage).   Make sure you specifically look at before and after pictures of real patients who have had this surgery performed by your surgeon and not just a computer animation system.  You should be able to view numerous pictures of actual patients with noses similar to yours performed by your surgeon.  If you cannot find enough real before and after pictures, then consider continuing your search for a surgeon.

Best wishes and good luck.


Richard G. Reish, M.D. FACS

Harvard-trained plastic surgeon