Ethnic Rhinoplasty Questions Answered By Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon
Hi, I’m dr. Dan Shapiro. I’m a board-certified plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of plastic surgery I’ve been practicing a Scottsdale Paradise Valley area for over 21 years.
Today we’re going to talk about ethnic rhinoplasty. What’s the difference between a Caucasian rhinoplasty and an ethnic rhinoplasty. I’m asked that a lot because I see a lot of people that want their nose done or have a nose job that are ethnic. I see a lot of Latino people I see a lot of Mediterranean patients I see a lot of African American patients and there are some differences in those rhinoplasties versus a Caucasian rhinoplasty. What are they? Well the first thing is that the cartilage if you will is a little bit different in an ethnic rhinoplasty. Generally an ethnic rhinoplasty has a bit more soft tissue and not as much cartilage. Hence they don’t have the kind of shape to start out as with that a Caucasian rhinoplasty patient would.
That is why when I perform an ethnic rhinoplasty oftentimes I will augment that nose to give it some angularity using your own cartilage. Where does that cartilage come from? It comes from the septum which is on the inside of a nose. It’s kind of fun for me because when I see a rhinoplasty patient whether it be Caucasian or ethnic I will often image that patient’s nose. Â I’ll take a picture and image, save that on a computer and I ask the patient to do some homework. Bring in pictures of noses that they like so we can kind of come together and come up with a plan that the patient wants. Not something that I want but the patient agrees to and finds aesthetically appealing.
The first thing is that the cartilage needs to be added to the nose generally. The second thing is that I usually do a lot different suturing techniques to bring much more harmony to that nose. Oftentimes in an ethnic rhinoplasty I will have to fracture the nose as I do in Caucasian rhinoplasties. Almost always I need to fracture those bones to make the nasal bones narrower and make the nose look more elegant. The nostrils, a lot of time in ethnic rhinoplasty are larger and they need to be reduced. That is done with an incision placed inconspicuously along the edge of the nostrils. That will make it more elegant. Lastly and this is a little frustrating for ethnic patients who have rhinoplasty, because the skin is so thick it really takes a while to see the results. So oftentimes I will say to patients that you’re going to have to wait a year sometimes two years to see that elegant change that I made. That is helped by having the patient come in after the procedure and oftentimes will inject some steroids in the in the nose to help bring a reduction of that swelling. So they can see those prettier results sooner. I find that ethnic rhinoplasty are incredibly rewarding for me as a plastic surgeon because it just makes people feel so pretty and so beautiful. The greatest compliment to me is when people say that no one could figure out what was done, that I think is a beautiful rhinoplasty. Thanks a lot.
