Standard rhinoplasty techniques primarily dealt with Caucasian bone and facial structures until a scant few years ago. For this reasons, there’s an increasing demand for experienced ethnic rhinoplasty surgeons, who have the skills and know-how of advanced surgical techniques to work with variations in facial structure and still provide the outstanding results that patients are after.
Dr. David Mashhadian is a Diplomate of American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, a credential that comes with extensive experience and training in rhinoplasty, delivering excellent results to all patients while helping them to gain an aesthetically pleasing balance to their unique facial features. Gaining a general understanding of what goes into ethnic rhinoplasty can help you determine whether nose reshaping surgery is right for you.
TRADITIONAL RHINOPLASTY VS. ETHNIC RHINOPLASTY: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
As one of the five most popular plastic surgery procedures, rhinoplasty makes it possible to modify the nose’s characteristics to achieve a more aesthetic effect in terms of facial symmetry and overall beauty. Rhinoplasty entails sculpting the bone and cartilage to create the look the patient desires. Nose reshaping surgery can also help correct structural defects as well as defects that cause breathing problems.
More specific applications for rhinoplasty include:
- Adjusting the size of the nostrils
- Altering the profile of the nose
- Straightening the septum to allow for improved breathing
- Altering the tip of the nose for an enhanced shape and contour
- Straightening a crooked nose
ETHNIC RHINOPLASTY
While ethnic rhinoplasty works towards the same ends as traditional nose surgery, differences in facial structure between people of European, African, Asian, Hispanic and Native American descent require specialized techniques that take these structural differences into account. Each ethnicity not only possesses different bone structures but also varied skin textures. Likewise, differences in ethnicity can also influence what each person perceives as aesthetically pleasing, so what is as attractive to one person may not be seen in the same way by another.
Ethnic rhinoplasty uses many of the same techniques as the traditional approach but must also work with the different bone structures that characterize individuals of different ethnicities. For example, patients of Asian descent tend towards smaller nose structures with a less defined tip than the Caucasian nose. The overall bone structure of the face is also different. As an ethnic rhinoplasty specialist, Dr. Mashhadian takes the patient’s desired outcome into account while balancing the reshaping effect to blend with the natural features of the face.
SPECIALIZED TECHNIQUES USED IN ETHNIC RHINOPLASTY
The techniques used in ethnic rhinoplasty require advanced surgical training that specifically addresses the variations in the facial structure for different races to enhance overall facial balance and symmetry.
Techniques often used in ethnic rhinoplasty procedures include:
- Sculpting bone and cartilage to lengthen, straighten or reduce the width of the nose
- Using cartilage grafts to remodel the structure of the nose
- Using artificial implants to add definition to the bridge of the nose
- Refining and lengthening the tip of the nose
Other factors taken into consideration include skin texture and pigmentation. For example, people of African descent tend to have thicker skin tissue which inevitably adds to the size and contour of the nose. This characteristic must be accounted for or skin regrowth during the healing process will alter the intended result. Likewise, this particular skin type is also prone to hyperpigmentation and scarring so that new skin may grow in darker than the rest of the face. Dr. Mashhadian has the level of training and experience needed to take these factors into account during the planning stages and produce the outcome you expect, with minimal scarring.
WHO’S A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR ETHNIC RHINOPLASTY?
If you’re unhappy with one or more features of your nose and have an idea of the changes you’d like to see, you may be a good candidate for rhinoplasty. While specific features, such as a flat bridge or a dorsal hump may characterize particular ethnicities, the result of nose reshaping surgery works to enhance your natural features, so they blend with the rest of your face. Other features of the nose that can be modified include:
- A wide nose base
- A drooping nose tip
- A retracted columella, which is the area of the nose between the nostrils
- Large nostrils
- A wide or flat nose bridge
The best way to determine if ethnic rhinoplasty is right for you is to schedule a one-on-one consult with Dr. Mashhadian. A consultation offers the perfect opportunity to discuss the changes you’d like to see and go over all available options for accomplishing these ends. Bringing a picture that shows how you want your nose to look provides the doctor with a good starting point. At the same time, Dr. Mashhadian can show you before and after pictures of other patients to give you a sampling of the type of results he delivers.
GET THE RESULTS YOU EXPECT – GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT
Dr. Mashhadian, a world-renowned cosmetic surgeon and founder of Rodeo Surgical Art, combines his training and experience as a plastic surgeon with a lifelong passion for art. The name of our cosmetic surgery office reflects these two themes in Dr. Mashhadian’s work. The doctor’s ability to deliver outstanding results derives from an appreciation of natural beauty as portrayed within the balance and symmetry of the face.
