Comparison of Customized and Prefabricated Silicone Implants in Asian Rhinoplasty Using 3D Technology

Kim TK, Kim M, Yang DJ, Jeong J, Kim JH, Lee DW.

What this paper says

For mild dorsal deviation or hump in Asian silicone augmentation, 3D-printed customised implants corrected deviation and hump angle more precisely than off-the-shelf implants on photographic analysis.

Overview

Prefabricated silicone implants often fail to match individual anatomy, causing malposition or contour irregularity. The Korean authors compared silicone augmentation rhinoplasty using 3D-printed customised implants against conventional prefabricated ones in patients with mild dorsal deviation or hump, analysing photographs for dorsal deviation, hump angle and irregularity. Patient numbers and follow-up are not given in the abstract.

Sections of note

Indication: mild dorsal deviation or hump treated by silicone augmentation.
Outcome measures: dorsal deviation, hump angle, dorsal irregularity on photographs.
Customised implants gave greater improvement in dorsal deviation and hump angle.
The authors attribute this to better anatomical conformity and contour stability.

What it means for a patient

A custom implant can camouflage a slightly crooked or humped bridge better than a stock shape in this comparison.
The abstract lacks numbers, sample size and follow-up, so the size of the advantage is unknown.
Silicone implants carry their own long-term risks regardless of fit.

Why this paper matters

It is a comparative test of 3D-printed versus standard implants, a growing area in East Asian rhinoplasty. Limits: no quantitative data in the abstract, photographic assessment only, follow-up unstated.

Terms

Prefabricated implant: a mass-produced silicone shape trimmed to fit at surgery.
Customised (patient-specific) implant: an implant designed from the patient's 3D scan.
Dorsal deviation: the bridge leaning off the midline.
Hump angle: the angle formed by the bump on the bridge in profile.

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

From the abstract

“In Asian rhinoplasty, silicone implants are widely used for dorsal augmentation, but prefabricated implants often fail to reflect individual anatomy and asymmetry, leading to implant malposition or contour irregularity. This study evaluated whether a 3D-printed customized implant provides more precise dorsal…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.