Experimental study of the use of auricular cartilage with and without Gelfoam® on the nasal dorsum of rabbits.

INTRODUCTIONS There are several materials for reconstruction of nasal dorsum deformities, which are divided into four categories: autologous, homologous, heterologous, and alloplastic grafts. OBJECTIVE To compare experimental conditions through inflammatory time reactions in ear cartilage grafts with and without Gelfoam® when grafted on the nasal dorsum of rabbits. METHODS This study included 30 rabbits, divided into two groups of 15 rabbits each (Gelfoam® and cartilage group and cartilage group), and then divided into three sub-groups of 7, 30, and 60 days of follow-up, where the 1.5 cm long and 0.5 wide grafts were placed in the stock grafting on the nasal dorsum of rabbits, half with and half without Gelfoam®. After the specified period, the rabbits in each group were euthanized, and the grafts were then submitted to a histological study. RESULTS The experimental group revealed more neovascularization and granulation tissue formation; in terms of the presence of acute and chronic inflammatory process, the results were virtually identical in rabbits from both the control and experimental models in all three groups. CONCLUSION There was no statistical difference to justify the use of Gelfoam® surrounding cartilage graft for nasal dorsum reconstruction.