Application and Efficacy Observation of Autologous Bilateral Auricular Cartilage Combined with Nasal Septal Cartilage in Nasal Tip Shaping During Rhinoplasty

Wang L, Li X, Li Z, Xiao S, Deng X, Li J, Li C, Wen L.

PubMed 41857160 Publisher (DOI)Free full text (PMC)

What this paper says

In 66 patients at a Shenzhen aesthetic clinic, building the tip from both ears' cartilage plus septal cartilage, with a silicone or ePTFE implant on the bridge, gave excellent or good results in 93.9% at 6 to 12 months.

Overview

Septal and ear cartilage are thin and often insufficient for tip work in Asian patients. The authors modified their harvesting and tip-support strategy, using conchal cartilage from both ears combined with septal cartilage for the tip framework, while routinely augmenting the bridge with silicone or ePTFE. They retrospectively reviewed patients treated from January 2020 to May 2023 and compared nasal measurements before and after surgery.

Sections of note

Tip angle decreased and tip projection and nasal length increased significantly (P < 0.05) at 6-12 months.
65 of 66 patients healed normally; one had delayed wound healing.
One patient had swelling lasting 20 days; most swelling settled by about 1 month.
Outcomes graded excellent in 40 (60.6%), good in 22 (33.3%), poor in 4 (6.1%).
Level of Evidence V.

What it means for a patient

Ear cartilage from both sides can supply enough material for tip reconstruction when the septum is small.
In this series the bridge was still augmented with a synthetic implant; the autologous approach was for the tip only.
Outcome grading was done by the treating clinic without a validated patient questionnaire in the abstract.

Why this paper matters

It documents a common East Asian practice pattern, autologous tip plus implant dorsum, with outcome figures. Limits: retrospective, single clinic, subjective grading, short follow-up, Level V.

Terms

Conchal cartilage: cartilage from the bowl of the ear.
ePTFE: expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a porous synthetic implant material.
Nasal tip angle: the angle formed at the tip on profile view.
Tip projection: how far the tip extends from the face.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-08; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

Abstract

Background: Due to the inherent fragility of septal and auricular cartilage, insufficient graft availability during surgery, and technical limitations in nasal tip framework construction, we modified the cartilage harvesting techniques and refined the nasal tip support strategy to investigate its clinical efficacy.

Objective: This study evaluates the clinical efficacy of autologous bilateral auricular cartilage combined with septal cartilage in nasal tip reconstruction during rhinoplasty.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical data from patients treated at Shenzhen Jinli Medical Aesthetics Clinic from January 2020 to May 2023. Nasal tip framework was constructed using bilateral conchal cartilage combined with septal cartilage. Silicone implants and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) were routinely applied for nasal dorsum augmentation. Sutures were removed 1 week postoperatively, with follow-up assessments comparing pre and postoperative nasal aesthetic parameters and statistical analysis of nasal morphology excellence rate.

Results: (1) Improvement in Nasal Aesthetic Parameters Before and After Surgery: During the 6-12-month postoperative follow-up period, the nasal tip angle (A) showed a statistically significant reduction compared to preoperative measurements (P < 0.05). Concurrently, significant improvements were observed in nasal tip projection (B) and nasal length(C), with both parameters demonstrating statistically superior outcomes relative to baseline values (P < 0.05).(2) Clinical Outcomes: Among the 66 patients, 65 achieved satisfactory wound healing, while one case experienced delayed wound healing. Postoperative swelling persisted for 20 days in one patient, with most of the swelling subsiding after approximately 1 month. The morphological outcomes were graded as excellent in 40 cases (60.6%), good in 22 cases (33.3%), and poor in 4 cases (6.1%), yielding an overall favorable outcome rate of 93.9%.

Conclusions: The combined use of autologous bilateral auricular cartilage and nasal septal cartilage in nasal tip plasty demonstrates stable efficacy, achieving natural-looking and durable postoperative outcomes with high patient satisfaction. This technology can serve as a viable approach for clinical rhinoplasty.

Level Of Evidence V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Abstract as indexed by PubMed; the article is open access (PubMed Central).