The effect of cigarette smoke on the viability and integrity of cartilage grafts on rabbits? ears (Experimental study)

PURPOSE:In this study, it was aimed to observe the effects of cigarette smoke on the viability and integrity of cartilage grafts on rabbits? ears.MATERIAL AND METHOD: 16 White New Zealand rabbits were used with two groups of 8 rabbits for cigarette group and 8 rabbits for the control group. The cartilage grafts including perichondrium with a 30x20 mm size were taken from the left ears of all rabbits. These grafts were divided into parts with 10x10mm size. Each rabbit?s cartilage as intact, crushed once and crushed twice was placed in 6 pockets which were composed on its right and left dorsal paraspinal area. The smoke group was exposed cigarette smoke for 4 hours in a specially designed cage. This process went on for 6 weeks. In the end of this period, both the grafts of smoke and the control group on the left paraspinal area were removed and sent for histopatologic analysis. Cigarette smoke exposure went on 6 weeks more. No additional process was done for the control group in the whole study time. In the end of the 12nd week the cartilage grafts on the right paraspinal area were removed. Then these grafts were sent for histopatologic analysis.FINDINGS: The cartilage grafts of the smoke and control group were histopatologically analysed. In this analysis,the viability, sclerosis, osteoid tissue development and regenerationwere assessed. For each parameter, scoring from a certain scale was done. The scores were assessed statistically. In comparison of the grafts which were kept intact, crushed once and crushed twice for a period of 6 weeks and 12 weeks no statistically significiant difference about viability was seen. In comparison of the grafts which were kept intact, crushed once and crushed twice for a period of 6 weeks and 12 weeks no statistically significiant difference about sclerosis was seen. . In comparison of the grafts which were kept intact, crushed once and crushed twice for a period of 6 weeks and 12 weeks no statistically significiant difference about regeneration was seen. . In comparison of the grafts which were kept intact, crushed once and crushed twice for a period of 6 weeks and 12 weeks no statistically significiant difference about osteoid tissue development was seen.In the comparison between the smoke and control group and also in the comparisons made in each group no statistically significiant difference was found.The statistically significiant difference was found in the smoke group about viability, between the intact kept cartilage graft and once crushed cartilage graft in the 12nd week. Similar to this, about viability, statistically significiant difference was found between the intact kept cartilage graft and twice crushed cartilage grafts in the 12nd week. Also in the control group, about regeneration, statistically significiant difference was found between the intact kept cartilage and twice crushed cartilage graft in the 12nd week.RESULT: In the operations where cartilage grafts are used,the graft must be used with its perichondrium and kept intact. But if we have to crush it for better aesthetic outcomes, it must be crushed as little as possible. As the violence of the crushing process increases, also the loss of viability and regeneration of the cartilage graft increases. If the cartilage graft will be used as diced it will bring great advantage about viability when it?s wrapped with fascia. In our study, the decrease of the viability observed after the crush process in the smoke group was found statistically significiant. This situation mustn?t be ignored in the patients which smoke or the ones which have smoke exposure by some way when they happen to have an operation including the cartilage graft use. However our study is an experimental animal study and the results about humans may just be obtained by the human studies.KEY WORDS: Cigarette smoke, cartilage, rabbit.