Ethnic Rhinoplasty Shows an Understanding of Unique Racial Features in Today’s Patients

Since rhinoplasty first became a major part of plastic surgery operations, the procedure has been almost exclusively associated with Caucasian patients who strive to have the β€œperfect nose.” Typically, that constitutes a nose that is tall, slender, and somewhat narrow, and this shape is almost exclusively associated with white patients. In recent years, though, plastic surgery professionals have been working to refine their skills and broaden their horizons, embracing different ethnic groups with a diverse number of β€œperfect” looks and facial features.

The result has been what some are calling β€œethnic rhinoplasty” or, in some cases, ethnically-sensitive rhinoplasty. These procedures take into account not only the patient’s goals, but also the natural shape of their nose and the ethnic facial features that set African-American, Hispanic, and even Asian patients apart from their Caucasian counterparts. The result is a more natural look, a greater degree of self-esteem after the procedure, and longer-lasting confidence that doesn’t require a second or even third operation.

Based on Past Findings: The β€œPerfect Nose” Had Mixed Results for Venezuelan Patients

In Venezuela, plastic surgery procedures have only recently become popular among women at all levels of society, and of all racial backgrounds. For quite some time, the most popular request made by rhinoplasty patients of color was that their physician should help them achieve a more perfect nose. Their goal was to transform the wider, flatter noses of those with African and mixed-race backgrounds into the taller, more slender noses associated with white society.

Though a large number of these procedures were performed, the end result of the plastic surgery work was quite stark. Though patients were initially impressed with their physician’s work, and appreciative of their transformed appearance, researchers in Venezuela found that self-esteem levels soon plummeted back to pre-surgery levels. Many patients simply weren’t satisfied with the long-term changes made as part of their surgery, and many actually felt as if they had given up a key part of their ethnic identity.

A Surgery Designed to Promote Better Ethnic Features and Diversity

In light of the research done in Venezuela, surgeons around the world have been focusing on ways to bring plastic surgery to those of all races. Primarily, the goal of this work is to make sure that those with African heritage, or even those with Hispanic and Asian backgrounds, can get the same benefits from plastic surgery that Caucasian men and women have enjoyed since the outset.

Ethnic rhinoplasty, and other race-sensitive procedures like it, is designed to help patients achieve the perfect idea of beauty within their native race. It’s a look that appears much more natural on the surface, and procedures that take this more refined track have been known to produce long-term benefits in self-esteem, confidence, and interpersonal relations.

Ethnic rhinoplasty, then, is just one more example of how the plastic surgery profession is changing with the times, adopting a more nuanced view of beauty and how aesthetic preferences apply to a much more diverse cross-section of society at large.