New York City surgeon performs first revision rhinoplasty cases with FDA approved PDS Plate

Dec 13 2010

Today Dr. Steven Pearlman, prominent facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in New York City, will be performing one of the first revision rhinoplasty cases with the newly FDA approved PDS Plate. This revolutionary procedure will mark a giant leap in the world of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.

The PDS plate, parent company Mentor, is an absorbable and structural support, indicated for nasal soft-tissue and cartilage reconstruction. While FDA approved in the US this past fall, the device has helped physicians in Europe succeed in rhinoplasties and septoplasties for several years.

PDS plate supports the nasal structural for roughly three months, providing the nose with enough stability for permanent cartilage bonding to occur. This three month sequence allots enough time for re-growth to occur before the PDS material absorbs on its own, eliminating all evidence of foreign material within the human anatomy.

Today, Dr. Pearlman will be performing a nasal reconstruction with the PDS plate on a 6-year old patient, who fell and smashed his nose. After his initial accident, the young child underwent a rhinoplasty procedure with a local physician. Weeks after the surgery, the boy's nose began dropping, and he was having terrible trouble breathing, as he was loosing air flow in both nostrils. The doctor who performed the surgery referred the patient to see Dr. Pearlman, who is specializes in revision rhinoplasty and is abreast of the latest technology in this field.

"The cartilage in our nose is fragile and the reconstruction needs to be correctly and thoroughly supported to heal perfectly," states Dr. Pearlman. "The PDS plate is an excellent new product that will help improve the results in revision rhinoplasty and revision septoplasty."

For the surgery, Dr. Pearlman will perform an open nose surgery, and remove the septal cartilage completely from the patient. He will then rebuild a new septum (outside the nose on a back table) at the correct height and shape using the PDS plate as a scaffold. Likely pieces of cartilage may be either too smashed or missing so they will be replaced with cartilage from his ear. He will then reattach the upper lateral cartilages (tent walls) to the new septum at the restored height. Lastly, he will support the nasal tip with stitches and possibly additional cartilage to the original height.

Both Dr. Pearlman and the patient's parents are available to discuss this surgery further. Before and after images are also available upon request, as is b-roll of the surgery.