Infection in the Nasal Tip Caused by Acellular Dermal Matrix

A 19-year-old female patient visited our clinic for rhinoplasty. She complained about her low take-off point, which was apparent in profile view, and wanted slight tip projection. She refused additional cartilage harvesting from ears or ribs but consented to the use of homologous tissue, including acellular dermal matrix, for her dorsum and tip. Septoturbinoplasty was performed, and only a very small amount of septal cartilage could be harvested. It was used as both the columellar strut and the alar rim graft. Nasal dorsum and tip were augmented with acellular dermal matrix. Three months postoperatively, she experienced a few episodes of edema and redness on her nasal tip, followed by pus exudation from the nasal skin. Six months postoperatively, she underwent revision rhinoplasty for removal of inflamed grafts, and onlay tip graft with homologous rib cartilage was performed. Nasal dorsum or tip grafts are an integral part of Asian rhinoplasty. Autogenous tissue is the gold standard for grafting materials. However, the limited availability of autogenous tissue and the preference of patients and surgeons for artificial surgical implants make Asian rhinoplasty challenging. Unavailability of autogenous cartilage and patient refusal of artificial implants led to the use of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) in the nasal dorsum and tip for this case. This is the first report of postoperative complication because of infection rather than absorption after ADM use.