Silicone implants in augmentation rhinoplasty.

Abstract

During the past six years, we have treated 406 patients with classical silicon augmentation rhinoplasty. The types and incidence of complications after subcutaneous or subfascial implantation were examined and discussed. We proposed that most complications are related to the depth of the implant and the character of the tissues. In order to improve our operation and prove our hypothesis, we performed subperiosteal augmentation rhinoplasty in 22 cases with satisfactory results. At the same time, we investigated the biomechanical properties of human nasal periosteum and fascia, including tensile strength, stress-strain relationship and stress relaxation characters under uniaxial tension. Although less elastic, the periosteum has more tensile strength than fascia. So, in the view of biomechanics, the periosteum is thicker, tougher, and stiffer than fascia, thus more suitable for covering silicon implants.