An Advantageous Donor Site Alternative for Preparing Crushed Cartilage Graft: The Postero-inferior Part of the Septal Cartilage

Crushed cartilage is used in rhinoplasties and crushing carry the risk of devitalization. The most infero-posterior part of the septal cartilage has a rough surface compared with the smooth surface of the remaining parts. This cartilage may be more convenient for crushing with lesser pressure requirements, increasing the viability. Twenty-six patients underwent septorhinoplasty and the infero-posterior part of the septal cartilage was harvested. The rough cartilage was utilized in nine patients (excluded from the study). Seventeen patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 28 (19-37y). Two pairs of grafts were utilized for histological study. In fifteen patients crushing experiment was performed. The smooth-surfaced cartilages were the control group, the rough-surfaced cartilages were the study group. For each case, grafts were reduced to the same dimensions and placed over millimetric-paper and photographed. The grafts were crushed simultaneously. The crushed cartilages were also placed on millimetric-paper and photographed. The data were evaluated statistically. The mean surface increment ratio was 2.26 ± 0.28 for the control and 2.94 ± 0.25 for the study group. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.0048). In two specimen, after applying hematoxylin & eosin stain, the extracellular matrix of the rough cartilage specimen stained darker due to more abundant proteoglycan content. The rough septal cartilage widens more compared with the smooth cartilage under the same crushing pressure. Thus, the rough cartilage requires lesser pressure for widening which may increase the viability. The rough septal cartilage contains more proteoglycan which may explain its softness.