Combination of Autologous Costal Cartilage Harvest for Rhinoplasty and Breast Augmentation Through the Same Incision: Experience in a Vietnam Population and Outcomes

Nguyen Van P, Nguyen Hoang N.

PubMed 42329439 Publisher (DOI)Free full text (PMC)

What this paper says

In 114 Vietnamese women having rhinoplasty and breast augmentation at the same time, rib cartilage was harvested through the breast incision in about 15 minutes with no chest complications, 3.5% keloids and 2.63% nasal revisions.

Overview

Patients who want both rib-cartilage rhinoplasty and breast augmentation normally get two chest-area incisions. The authors reviewed healthy patients treated from January 2019 to January 2024 in whom the rib cartilage was harvested through the breast surgery incision (inframammary fold, peri-areolar or trans-areolar), using simple surgical tools.

Sections of note

114 female patients, mean age 31.4 years.
Inframammary fold incision was used in the majority.
Cartilage harvest took about 15 minutes; total operative time 290-370 minutes (mean 312.6).
Keloid scarring in 4 patients (3.5%); revision for nasal deformity in 3 (2.63%).
No pneumothorax, pericardial injury, hematoma or infection.
Level of Evidence III.

What it means for a patient

Combining the two operations can spare a separate rib-harvest scar.
The combined operation lasted around five hours in this series.
Keloid risk applies to the breast incision as with any chest scar; the nasal revision rate was low.

Why this paper matters

It is a sizeable series documenting a practical combined-procedure approach in a Southeast Asian population. Limits: retrospective, single centre, no comparison with separate incisions, follow-up not stated in the abstract.

Terms

Costal cartilage: rib cartilage used for nasal grafts.
Inframammary fold incision: a cut in the crease under the breast.
Keloid: a raised scar that grows beyond the original wound.
Pneumothorax: air leaking into the chest cavity, a known risk of rib harvest.

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

Abstract

Introduction: Concomitant rhinoplasty and breast augmentation are not rare these days because of high aesthetic demands. Costal cartilage harvested through breast surgery incision could be a convenient choice for rhinoplasty, which possibly prevents scarring from multiple incisions. A modified procedure of costal cartilage harvested using simple surgical tools for the concurrence of rhinoplasty and breast augmentation was applied in our hospital. This study aims to share our experience with this approach and its efficacy and safety profile.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that collected data on healthy patients who underwent breast augmentation and rhinoplasty simultaneously using autologous costal cartilage from January 2019 to January 2024. Varied incisions, including inframammary fold, peri-areolar incision, or trans-areolar incision, were conducted to harvest costal cartilage for rhinoplasty. Data relating to patients, surgery, aesthetic assessments, and postoperative complications were retrieved.

Results: A total of 114 female patients (31.4 ± 0.65 years) were included in this study. IMF incision approach made up the majority. Time for costal cartilage harvest was about 15 min, and total surgical time was 290-370 min (312.6 ± 1.71 min). Four cases (3.5%) developed keloids postoperatively. Three cases (2.63%) required revision surgery due to postoperative nasal deformity. No complication of pneumothorax, pericardial rupture, hematoma, or infection occurred postoperatively.

Conclusions: A low rate of complications and acceptable scarring suggested that the combination procedure applied simple tools for cartilage harvest, which was relatively safe to apply for patients who desired to perform these procedures at the same time.

Level Of Evidence Iii: 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).