Bone and cartilage harvesting techniques in rhinoplasty

Maintaining structural integrity during rhinoplasty often necessitates adding support to the nose. Autologous grafting material is the safest and most reliable source of this structural support. A variety of sources in the body can serve as donor sites for such grafts. The most common sites are septal cartilage, auricular conchal cartilage and rib cartilage. Less common sites include tragal cartilage, calvarial bone and iliac bone. This article reviews the surgical techniques for accessing, harvesting, and modifying these grafts for use in rhinoplasty.