Abstract

Background: Most of the available literature on grafts being contaminated by dropping them on operating room floors has focused on bones and tendons. By contrast, few studies concern skin grafts, with no existence of rib cartilage grafts. However, due to the lack of protocols when such an incident occurs, the results in the literature are incompatible. Most of the studies recommend managing the situation by sterilizing the graft with antiseptic agents and completing the surgery as well as avoiding obtaining another graft, which might increase morbidity.
Case Presentation: Here, we report a case at the rhinoplasty clinic at King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The case is of a 30-year-old male patient who complained of a saddle nose with a loss of tip support and severely deviated septum grade 5 caused by a history of trauma. The patient also had symptom-free pectus excavatum that had not been corrected surgically. Otherwise, the patient had a good body build with no family history or past medical/surgical history.
Conclusion: The patient underwent reconstructive surgery to the nose using rectus muscle fascia and a rib cartilage graft. During the operation, the cartilage was accidentally dropped on the floor. Due to the patient’s chest configuration, harvesting a new graft was difficult. Thus, the same graft was used after decontamination. Clinicians who treat patients in similar clinical circumstances in the future may benefit from our experience.

Key words: Autologous graft, contamination, rib cartilage, rhinoplasty, case report.