How to Prevent Costal Cartilage Graft Warping in Secondary Correction of Cleft Lip Nasal Deformity.

INTRODUCTION: Autologous costal cartilage dorsal onlay graft is widely used for dorsum and radix augmentation in secondary cleft lip nasal rhinoplasty. The most common drawback of costal cartilage dorsal onlay graft is warping. The purpose of this article is to describe our chimeric autologous costal cartilage graft technique, which prevents warping significantly. "Chimeric" means the combination of 2 different tissues (bone and cartilage) to make a single dorsal onlay graft.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: From June 2011 to June 2014, 16 cleft lip patients who underwent rhinoplasty and needed dorsal onlay grafts with costal cartilage graft using the chimeric autologous costal graft method were identified. All patients were operated by the corresponding author. Patients' nasal profiles were documented and photographed preoperatively and postoperatively.

RESULT: There were 5 males and 11 females with ages ranging from 20 to 52 years (averaging 29.5 years). There were 14 unilateral and 2 bilateral cleft lips. The average follow-up time was 12.1 months. Six patients received revision surgery, including 1 (6%) warping and 5 (30%) revisions. All patients were harvested rib cartilage graft as cartilage donor and there was no complication with the donor site.

CONCLUSION: From the clinical observation of all patients during the follow-up period, this technique is effective for preventing cartilage warping.