Bone scanning in the early assessment of nasal bone graft viability

This study examined the role of radionuclide bone scanning in the early assessment of free autologous cancellous bone grafts in augmentation rhinoplasty and compared the failure rates of grafts taken from the calvaria and ilium. Twenty patients had three-phase bone scanning of the facial regions performed between 2 and 15 wk after rhinoplasty, and a comparison was made with the results of clinical assessment and X-ray findings 3 mo after surgery. Eleven patients had grafts taken from the calvaria and nine had iliac grafts. On lateral views, bone graft uptake of isotope, which was less than or equal to the adjacent soft tissue, was found in 2 out of 20 patients and this finding predicted subsequent graft failure as measured by clinical assessment and X-ray evidence of bone resorption. Both failures had grafts taken from the calvaria while none from the ilium failed. These failure rates, however, were not significantly different.