The diamond-tip rasp

A new nasal rasp has been developed from tungsten-carbide steel and is available in eight different cutting grits. One-hundred rhinoplasties were completed using a single tungsten-carbide steel rasp without evidence of dulling or loss of cutting effectiveness. Both a conventional stainless steel Fomon rasp and the diamond-tip tungsten-carbide steel rasp were wear tested on an accelerator for comparison. The testing involving the conventional stainless steel rasp was discontinued after the removal of 20 mm of bone. At this time, there was severe loading of the instrument with bony debris and there was an apparently complete lack of cutting ability. The test involving the diamond-tip tungsten-carbide steel rasp was electively discontinued after the removal of 300 mm of bone, at which time there was no evidence of either debris loading or diminished cutting effectiveness. The scanning electron microscope photographs of the two instruments support our conclusions regarding the clinical and laboratory studies.