Surgical outcomes and complications of septal extension graft supported by 3D printed polycaprolactone plate.

[BACKGROUND] Tip plasty using a septal extension graft (SEG) is useful in the Asian population. However, complications such as decreased tip projection, infection, or deviation are noted post-surgery, and additional support using an SEG is often necessary. We aimed to transplant an additional 3D printed polycaprolactone (PCL) graft to the tip plasty using the SEG to reinforce the SEG.

[METHODS] The study included 43 patients (20 males and 23 females; mean age, 28.7 years; range, 17-58 years) who received rhinoplasties using the SEG method combined with a 3D printed PCL graft from November 2016 to August 2017. The mean observation period was 14.8 months (range, 12-20 months).

[RESULTS] Twenty-six patients rated their satisfaction level as excellent, 13 rated good, 3 rated fair, and 1 rated poor. In total, 28 patients did not exhibit tip drooping at the 1-year follow-up; 13 patients demonstrated mild to moderate tip drooping, and 2 patients demonstrated severe tip drooping. Thirty-one patients demonstrated "stiffness" of the nasal tip, of which 11 patients reported discomfort, and 20 patients reported none; two patients demonstrated deviation of the tip.

[CONCLUSION] Although the 3D-printed PCL graft provided support, biocompatibility, and manipulability, care is required to prevent complications.

[LEVEL OF EVIDENCE] 4 Laryngoscope, 130:1680-1685, 2020.