See how a cartilage graft can be used to build up the bridge of the nose
A common concern of rhinoplasty patients is to build up the bridge of the nose. There are a few ways to do this including using your own cartilage as a graft, a silicone implant, or gortex implant.I prefer to use a patient's own cartilage for several reasons. It has the highest safety profile (low risk of extrusion and infection) and provides the most durable result. Also, I find the the results to appear the most natural using this method. So how can cartilage be used to build up the profile?
African American Rhinoplasty: Building up the nasal bridge
This patient came to me looking to create a more masculine profile. You can see how he has an underdeveloped bridge with a low starting point at the radix (area of the bridge between the eyes).
Using a closed rhinoplasty approach (using a hidden incision on the inside of the nose) I was able to harvest septal cartilage and place a custom-made dorsal augmentation cartilage graft. You can see the improvement to the patient's bridge in the after photo on the right. His bridge now starts higher on his face, closer to his upper eyelid lashline. He also has a stronger bridge with a less concave profile. The photo below shows how I fashioned a triple layer graft in which the three layers are secured to each other using sutures.
This next photograph shows the positioning of the graft from a profile view.
Two important factors to keep in mind in these cases is to seamlessly blend the lowest part of the graft with the patient's supratip and to bevel the sides of the graft so they are not visible against the skin.
You can learn more about ethnic rhinoplasty here or set up an appointment or free virtual Consultation here.
