ABSTRACT
Objective:To seek a minimally invasive method for costal cartilage harvest by using two different costal cartilage harvest techniques in rhinoplasty and to compare their influence on donor site pain.Methods:Fourty-three female patients who underwent costal cartilage harvest for rhinoplasty from Dec. 2016 to Dec. 2017 were randomly divided into two groups. We harvested the right side seventh costal cartilage in both groups. In control group, we harvested a full thickness segment of costal cartilage in each patient, whereas we harvested a split thickness segment of costal cartilage by preserving the superior strip in experimental group. Donor site pain was evaluated via visual analogue scale (VAS) 6 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after surgery.Results:The VAS scores (mean±standard deviation) at different time points in the control group were (5.515±1.085), (5.250±1.302), (5.315±1.117) and (4.895±1.042). And in the experimental group, they were (2.665±0.713), (2.261±0.642), (1.609±0.398) and (1.383±0.514), respectively. The VAS scores at different time points were significantly higher in the control group than that in the experimental group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The superior strip preserved costal cartilage harvest technique significantly reduces postoperative donor site pain.