Irradiated costal cartilage in augmentation rhinoplasty

Numerous materials are available for use in augmentation rhinoplasty. For the moderate-to-severe saddle nose deformity, we prefer use of irradiated homologous costal cartilage. This method has been effective in augmentation of the nasal dorsum as well as nasal tip modification, when septal or auricular cartilage is lacking. During the past 25 years, we have used irradiated costal cartilage at our institution via the external rhinoplasty approach for robust and versatile reconstruction of the nasal framework and esthetic nasal tip modification. This article contains a detailed discussion of the technique as well as selected illustrative cases.