15502-m-pleumeekers

[15]. By using a prefabricated mould, diced autologous cartilage was formed into the shape of an ear [16] and later nasoseptum [17, 18] and fused into a living prefabricated cartilaginous framework. However, due to its heterogeneous outcome, disappointing long-term survival and severe donor site morbidity, diced cartilage grafting has never achieved widespread use. In addition, its clinical use was soon forgotten after introduction of prefabricated alloplastic material implants. Nowadays, its use is only destined for specific nasal reconstruction therapies, such as dorsal nasal augmentation and nasal tip reconstruction. From the 60’s until now, numerous alloplastic material implants have been used in reconstructive surgery (e.g. silicones and silicon-based elastomers, polymers such as Medpor ® , Proplast ® Mersilene ® , and Gore-Tex ® ). [19] Their use in the head and neck area is however questioned, since these implants poorly integrate and are prone to induce a foreign body reaction and frequently lead to implant extrusion in this area (3.1-8.9%). [20, 21] Figure 2. Cartilage tissue engineering. CHAPTER 1 14