Abstract
Over the past seventy‐five years, autologous costal cartilage has been used for diverse surgical reconstructions including reconstruction of the ear, nose, and midface. Despite the wide utilization of costal cartilage grafts, there is little agreement regarding which cartilage level and which particular portion of each costal cartilage is the most optimal for grafts of varying sizes. Furthermore, there have been few studies dedicated to understanding the size of costal cartilage. Therefore, the aim of this cadaveric study was to provide salient measurements that will aid in the selection of optimal costal cartilage harvests. The study analyzed the left and right sides of the most commonly utilized costal cartilages (the 5th, 6th, and 7th costal cartilages) from sixteen cadaveric rib cages. The data presented in this study provides a starting‐point for the development of an algorithm that will enable selection of optimal cartilage for facial reconstructive surgery based upon the desired graft size.Support or Funding InformationWV Research Challenge Fund [HEPC.dsr.14.13]WVU Initiation to Research Opportunities (INTRO) Summer Research Program
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