Normal and abnormal nasal growth after partial submucous resection of the cartilaginous septum.

Using the nose of growing rabbits as an experimental model, the effects on nasal growth of various Killian-type partial resections of the cartilaginous septum were studied. Larger resections in young animals caused decreased height and length of the nose in the adult stage. Partial resection of the basal rim of the cartilaginous nasal septum demonstrated no effects on the postnatal growth of the nasal dorsum. This is in agreement with the hypothesis that the growth of the nasal dorsum is mainly the result of expansion of an area of thick cartilage within the nasal septum extending from the sphenoid to the nasal dorsum.