APS Aesthetic Plastic Surgery · 2017

Soft and Firm Alloplastic Implants in Rhinoplasty: Why, When and How to Use Them: A Review of 311 Cases

Fanous N, Tournas A, Côté V, Ali Y, Berbari P, Fanous A, Campagna-Vaillancourt M.

What this paper says

Across 311 rhinoplasties using synthetic implants, infection occurred in 5.57 percent of soft implant cases and 0.1 percent of firm ones, while revision rates ran the other way at 2.7 percent and 7.1 percent.

Overview

Not every rhinoplasty removes tissue; some add height to the tip, bridge, or side wall. That can be done with the patient's own cartilage or with a synthetic implant. This article reviews the authors' experience with both soft and firm synthetic implants, covering when each is indicated, how they are placed, and how they performed.

Sections of note

311 nasal implant cases were reviewed, using both soft and firm alloplastic implants.
The stated aim is a simplified, organized approach for both novice and experienced surgeons.
Indications for each implant type are discussed and the surgical technique detailed.
Postoperative infection: 5.57 percent with soft implants, 0.1 percent with firm implants.
Revision rate: 2.7 percent with soft implants, 7.1 percent with firm implants.
The authors state modern rhinoplasty is not just a reduction procedure, and note that many nasal implant types have been reported.
Level of evidence IV. The abstract states no follow-up length and no breakdown of how many cases used each implant type.

What it means for a patient

The two implant families trade off against each other here: the softer ones got infected more often, the firmer ones needed revision more often.
Augmentation can also be done with the patient's own cartilage, which this series does not compare against.
Limits: retrospective review from one group, no comparison arm, no stated follow-up duration, and no separate counts for the soft and firm subgroups.
Implant complications can appear years after surgery, so a short follow-up would understate them.

Why this paper matters

Synthetic implants remain contested in rhinoplasty because of late infection and extrusion, and published complication rates vary widely. A series of 311 with rates split by implant firmness adds a data point. Without follow-up duration or a cartilage comparison group, the numbers are hard to place against alternatives.

Terms

Alloplastic implant: An implant made of synthetic material rather than the patient's own tissue.
Autograft: A graft taken from the patient's own body.
Augmentation rhinoplasty: An operation adding height or volume rather than removing it.
Dorsum: The bridge of the nose.
Revision rate: The proportion of patients needing a further operation.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-09; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

From the abstract

“Modern rhinoplasty is not just a reduction procedure. An optimal nasal esthetic result occasionally requires augmenting the nasal tip, the dorsum or the lateral wall with autografts or alloplasts. A large number of nasal implant types have been reported in the medical literature. Objective: The goal of this article is…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.