rib or ear cartilage... does it really matter?
 

My doctor is telling me I need to do rib because it's stronger and holds up better over time, but I'll have to pay a lot extra for a rib graft too.... scam or not?

Which doctor and why does he say he needs to use it exactly? Is it to hold the nostrils open or build up the bridge?

I guess they're saying it does matter now. I had a rib graft on a reconstructive revision rhinoplasty. The alar valve was 90% collapsed on one side. I had a primary to fix it but it collapsed again and on top of that I got the "shrink wrap effect" where the skin shrink wraps around the grafts, so you can see the outline of the grafts. On the secondary, rib cartilage was used to open my alar valve again and then crushed rib cartilage was wrapped in fascia to cover up the grafts from before. So far it's holding up (8 months) but you never really know for at least 2 years post-op. Hope this helps.

m3luvr- Is this to correct a deviated septum, build up the bridge, or open an airway? If you could tell me that I can probably answer your question.

It's to keep my nostrils open only.

If that's the case then they're saying now rib cartilage is best to use for that. However you never know with these things they'll say something different every decade. Rib cartilage very well might just be the hot fix since it's newer. I think we should first wait and see how it stands the test of time.