A New Approach for Alar Grafting Technique to Support Soft Triangle.

UNLABELLED: Rhinoplasty is 1 of the leading surgical procedures among all aesthetic and plastic surgeries. Grafting is an important part of both primary and revision rhinoplasties. The grafts are used for improving the functional and as well as aesthetical deformities of the nose. The choice of a graft is important for long term results in rhinoplasty operations. In present research, the author aimed to present a new approach for alar grafting in a special patient group for providing better cosmetic and functional outcomes. The patients who received rhinoplasty, who had a retraction in the soft triangle region, who had a wide alar base and who gave permission for sharing their photos for medical purposes were included in the study. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria 21 patients were included in the study. All patients included in the study completed the Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation (ROE) before operation and at their 1-year follow-up appointment. Twelve months after surgery, the ROE scores ranged between 90 and 100 points. The median score increased from 56.8 to 91.5 points (P < 0.001). Patient satisfaction was excellent in 100% of the included cases according to ROE scale. Physical examination and assessment of postoperative photographs demonstrated that there were no asymmetry or functional problems in all participants. This new alar graft approach has advantages such as; because the alar graft was obtained from the similar tissue, the accordance of the graft will be much more compared with other tissues. Another advantage is not making an intervention to septum, rib or auricle and this advantage can bring more suitability for both patients and as well as surgeons.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.