The Characteristics and Safety of Previous Fillers in Secondary Rhinoplasty

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Filler injection into the soft tissue of the nose is a useful technique for rhinoplasty. The individual characteristics of fillers determine which is best suited for a patient's specific circumstances. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of various fillers and to determine which fillers should be used for primary rhinoplasty in order to yield optimal long-term results. METHODS: Excluding patients treated with hyaluronic acid fillers, we reviewed 17 patients who underwent surgical rhinoplasty due to dissatisfaction with an injection using a different filler. After removing the previously injected filler, rhinoplasty was performed as part of the same procedure using a silicone or Surgiform® prosthesis. RESULTS: Various previous fillers were used in the cohort. During the process of filler removal, skin perforation occurred in 2 cases and infection was observed in 1 case. In the other cases, rhinoplasty using a prosthesis was performed at the time of filler removal and no complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: We found that if surrounding tissue had been maintained stably, a simultaneous secondary operation using implants produced ideal results in most cases without any complications, despite the presence of residual remnant filler material.