Q: I am of Asian and European descent, however I have a short Asian nose. I don’t want to use implants or my ribs, would my ear cartilage be enough to make difference?
A: First of all, wise decision to say no to synthetic implants.
The amount of cartilage required for your rhinoplasty will depend solely on the degree of change you hope to achieve. Will cartilage harvested from your septum and ear be sufficient to give you a significant change? Most definitely. Will it give you the maximal change? No. If you are completely against rib cartilage being harvested, and this is your first rhinoplasty, then a combination of your septal cartilage and one or both ears will give you a significant result.
Rib cartilage is great for patients who have undergone prior surgeries (where cartilage has already been used) and for patients seeking the absolute maximum difference. There is simply much for cartilage available to graft when rib is harvested, allowing for greater augmentation and a nose that is taller.
