Ear Grafting (Auricular Cartilage Grafting) and Revision Rhinoplasty

Many patients who are scheduled to undergo revision rhinoplasty require ear cartilage grafting (also known as auricular cartilage grafting) as part of their surgery. This is commonly done when we need to add structural support and/or additional contour to the nose following prior rhinoplasty where too much cartilage or bone was removed. Patients often wonder what the ear is going to look like after the cartilage has been removed from their ear. As I tell any of my patients having this type of procedure, the ear should look essentially the same as it did before I took the cartilage. I use a hidden incision made entirely behind the ear and leave behind a sufficient amount of ear cartilage to maintain a normal shape. The ear tends to hurt a little more than the nose does, but this is managed with low dose pain medication during the first week. I have attached a photo below of one of my San Diego revision rhinoplasty patients who had ear grafting to the nose just one week prior. You will notice that her ear looks almost entirely normal without any obvious evidence that we were there.