Question:
My surgeon says that my revision rhinoplasty surgery is going to require a graft and I was just wondering how do the grafts remain in place and not move around and how are they secured?
Answer:
Ideally, a graft is placed into a position so that, like a slipper, there is no room for the graft to move around. If you put your foot in a tight shoe, it does not matter if it has shoelaces, your foot has nowhere to go. Ideally when a graft is placed in the nose, if it is done in a position where there is not much room for the graft to be moved, it will then stay in place. However, sometimes grafts are placed in a nose in which the whole nose has been opened up when there is more of a major reconstruction going on and in that case I personally like to sew my grafts in place so they will not move and will stay where I am placing them. I often use permanent 6.0 clear nylon suture which is very small and cannot ever be seen from the outside of the nose and is a permanent suture that can stay in the nose forever without creating a problem.