Grafting the nasal dorsum with tandem ear cartilage.

A technique for autogenous grafting of the nasal dorsum with ear cartilage is suggested based on the results of 25 consecutive cases. The technique involves (1) harvesting the entire cymba conchae and cavum conchae of the ear; (2) separating them and suturing them to each other in tandem fashion; (3) filling the underside concavity of the cymba conchae part of the graft with scraps of cartilage; (4) avoiding any bruising or crushing of the graft; and (5) filling any minor residual irregularities of the dorsum with soft tissue or cartilage from the cephalic trim of the lateral crus. The results suggest a consistent augmentation of the nasal dorsum for deficiencies from 3 to 6 mm in size.