Biomechanics in augmentation rhinoplasty.

During the past 6 years, we have treated 406 patients with classical silicone augmentation rhinoplasty. The types and incidence of complications after subcutaneous or subfascial implantation were examined. We have 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. In order to determine scientifically which layer the silicone implant should be inserted into, we investigated the biomechanics of human nasal periosteum and fascia, including tensile strength, stress-strain relationship and stress relaxation characters under uniaxial tension. Although having less failure strain, the periosteum has more tensile strength than the fascia. So, in the view of biomechanics, the periosteum is thicker, tougher and stiffer than the fascia, thus is more suitable for covering silicone implants.