Augmentation rhinoplasty: observations on 1200 cases

Over the past 14 years, from January of 1975 to December of 1988, we have done 1263 aesthetic rhinoplasties using ear cartilage. In the field of augmentation rhinoplasty, many kinds of materials, such as bone, septal cartilage, ear cartilage, and prostheses, were used. In this paper, we limit discussion to our experience with the technique for the augmentation of the nasal dorsum using the ear cartilage and compare this with other materials. Patient ages ranged from 15 to 72 years, with an average of 24 years. Some 95 percent of patients (1199) were female, and only 5 percent (64) were male. Patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 20 months, with average follow-up only 8 months. Of course, we know that this is a very short follow-up period, but we could not follow patients longer because if they had no complaint about the results at the 6-month visit, they never returned, despite our efforts. Five-hundred and ten of the 1263 patients (40 percent) had been augmented elsewhere, and the silicone prosthesis was already in place. However, 753 patients (60 percent) had no previous operation. For the 510 patients (secondary rhinoplasty patients), too-high or too-large a prosthesis was the largest complaint in number, totaling 378 cases (74 percent), and psychological dissatisfaction, such as pain or an uncomfortable sensation, was the second largest in number, totaling 104 cases (20 percent). For the 753 patients (primary rhinoplasty patients), the main complaint was too-short or too-flat a nose (100 percent).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)