Human fingernail as interpositional graft material in the treatment of nasal septal perforations.
OBJECTIVE
The etiology of nasal septal perforations involves iatrogenic, traumatic, inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, and caustic causes. To ensure successful closure, an appropriate interpositional graft material should be selected, and this graft material should be covered with healthy tissue.


METHODS
The study included 18 New Zealand white rabbits weighing 2 to 2.5 kg. Nasal septal perforations were created in group 1. After the creation of defects in group 2, repair was performed with cartilage graft and bilateral mucoperichondrial advancement flaps. After septal nasal perforations in group 3, the defect was covered with fingernail and bilateral mucoperichondrial flaps.


RESULTS
At week 12, the rabbits were sacrificed. The septum site that had been repaired with fingernail was intact. No nail exposition, wound site decomposition, or re-perforation was observed. No findings of a breach of the structural integrity of the fingernails or disintegration were encountered.


CONCLUSIONS
Fingernails can be used as an interpositional graft material in place of cartilage in eligible cases for the repair of nasal septal perforations. Fingernails have several properties that enable their use in such cases, such as form preservation that is similar to cartilage, the lack of live cells, easy availability, and a lack of donor-site morbidity at removal.
Assistant Professor, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey. Electronic address: ozcanarzu79@yahoo.com.
Arzu
A
Akçal
Associate Professor, Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Semra
S
Karsidag
Associate Professor, Okmeydanı Training and Research Hospital, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Ozay
O
Ozkaya
Associate Professor, Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Selami Serhat
SS
Sirvan
Associate Professor, Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Kamuran Zeynep
KZ
Sevim
Associate Professor, Pathology Clinic, Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey.
Fevziye
F
Kabukcuoglu
D000818:Animals; D002102:Cadaver; D002356:Cartilage / Q000637:transplantation; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D015743:Giant Cells, Foreign-Body / Q000473:pathology; D064593:Heterografts / Q000637:transplantation*; D006644:Histiocytes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D009262:Nails / Q000637:transplantation*; D061270:Nasal Septal Perforation / Q000601:surgery*; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome