Singapore Expats

Does anyone know whether ear cartilage can be used to shape the nose tip?
I had a surgery 2 years ago using one of my ear cartilage to raise my nose bridge. It looks quite natural, however my nose tip is left untouched and I have a high nose with a round, piggy tip which I don't like. The doctor said if I want to have a pointed tip, the only way is to use silicone. Rip cartilage is possible but complicated and expensive, I don't think he can do it.
The doctor also said my nose would look very artificial if I used silicone. I thought ear cartilage can be used for nose tip. Any idea about this ? Thanks

Yes it can. When you say nose cartilage, i presume you're talking about septal cartilage. It's taken from the nasal septum, the wall dividing the two nostrils. Sometimes that can be used, depends on case also. And yes, ear cartilage is very commonly used to do tip work.

Maybe your doctor is not familiar with using cartilage for tip work? Surgeons have their own preferences and if you're not comfortable with his methods, seek out another doctor. May i ask who's the dr you consulted?

When he said that the only way to get a pointed tip is by using silicone, it is worrying. The implant should never be the one giving your tip definition, because as years go by there's a chance it will extrude. No doubt we asians have thick skin so it might be able to withstand the silicon and prevent it from extruding, but ultimately it's your own nose and you decide if you want to take the risks.

I know there's some fellow sgexpat ppl here who've only got implant and had their tip sharpened, 'courtesy' of the implant AND still don't have any problems. But do your own homework and decide for yourself.

At the end of the day, where they get the cartilage from doesn't matter. It's just the case of how much and in what shape they want the cartilage to be in. If little and flat cartilage is required, then a conchal (ear bowl) graft or a septal (nose partition) graft would suffice. If major lifting of the nose is required than a costal (rib) cartilage would be needed. Also rib cartilages by virtue of their size, can easily be reshaped and many plastic surgeons (well, the ones I know) like these.
In terms of synthetic grafts or autologous (harvested from you own body eg cartilage), there are pros and cons. As mentioned in the previous post, synthetic grafts like silicone, med-pore and gore-tex have a risk of extrusion over time which would require them to be taken off. However, synthetic grafts are easier to shape. Autologous grafts are more readily accepted by the body but if too much is used like a rib graft, there is a risk of warping (bending) over time and they are also slightly more difficult to shape.
When it comes to nose surgery, it is arguable whether a ENT surgeon or a plastic surgeon is better. ENT surgeons can harvest cartilage and even bone from the nose itself to use as grafts for rhinoplasty and they can address functional issues as well. But whether they are as good as plastics when it comes to the aesthetics is debatable.

Nah, there is a difference where the cartilage is taken from. The ear cartilage is much softer than the hard and rigid one of the rib, which is why the rib cartilage is almost never used for tip work.

cersepn: sorry, I meant whether ear cartilage can be used to shape nose tip. I also think it is possible. However, my surgeon keeps insisting it can't, the only way is to use silicone. I paid a lot of money for the surgery and not happy with the result, so I am frustrated by the fact that he keeps talking about the limit of cosmetic surgery.
Is there any way I can prove to him that and force him to do another surgery for me?
My surgeon is Dr Gonschier, he's German. He is a very good surgeon, but I guess he is not familiar with this type of surgery for Asian people. I live in Germany btw, I wish I had done the surgery somewhere in Asia.

cersepn wrote:Nah, there is a difference where the cartilage is taken from. The ear cartilage is much softer than the hard and rigid one of the rib, which is why the rib cartilage is almost never used for tip work.

Well, your surgeon may not but I've actually been involved in some of these surgeries and we have used rib cartilages for tip work

lol forget bout what i said. I forgot bergy76 is the one who goes around advertising the clinic

and which clinic is that?

hi,

not too sure if anybody still reads this..but i know of someone who has done a nose job 3months back, using rib to heighten her bridge and septal for her nose tip..altho the results look not too bad, she's quite affected by the hardness of the nose tip...was pretty keen on this procedure until I heard it from her...the nose tip using septal cartilage is indeed quite hard and unnatural. Would ear cartilage be much softer, and feel almost like the original nose tip? Or would it still be much harder than the original, just softer than septal?

Btw, is it possible to remove the rib and septal afterall if she wants her natural tip back?

Any advice would be much appreciated.