A reliable method to avoid contamination during cartilage graft preparation in septorhinoplasty.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to determine the risk of contamination in the cartilage graft materials prepared on the swester table and those prepared in a sterile package, and to reveal a more reliable method by performing the microbiological examination of these materials.

Methods: Cartilages removed from the nasal septum were divided into four pieces. The first part (Sample A) was directly placed into the medium. Sample B was prepared by being crushed in a sterile package. Sample C was prepared on the auxiliary swester table, and Sample D was prepared on the main swester table actively used by surgery team. All samples were transferred in a 1 ml brain heart(BH) liquid medium. From each BH medium, 100 µl culture was performed on blood agar, eosin-methylene blue-lactose-sucrose agar and chocolate agar.

Results: Bacterial growth was detected in 2 of the samples A, in 4 of the samples B, in 24 of the samples C, and in 36 of the samples D. The number of patients with bacterial growth in the samples C and/or D despite no growth in the sample B was 35. When the samples A/B and C/D were compared in terms of bacterial growth, a significant difference was found in all matchings (p < 0.001 for all comparisons).  CONCLUSION: These findings showed that preparation of the cartilage grafts on the swester table was extremely risky for microbiological contamination. Arslan and his colleagues suggest that preparing a graft material in a sterile package is extremely simple, cheap, and it also reduces contamination risk significantly.