In its simplest definition, ethnic rhinoplasty is nose job on African-American, Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean, Asian, and Hispanic patients (non-caucasian people). The objective of ethnic rhinoplasty is to improve the appearance of the nose while preserving the ethnic characteristics of a patient. Ethnic rhinoplasty takes into consideration that each ethnic group has distinctive nasal anatomy different from Caucasians and other racial groups. In other words, ethnic rhinoplasty is an individualized or “cookie cutter” procedure aimed at addressing the unique nasal features of a patient coming from a particular ethnic or racial group.

What are the common or shared nasal characteristics of ethnic patients that rhinoplasty aims to address? Asians tend to have flat noses with a wide nasal base, rounded and large nasal tips. Asian patients generally seek for augmentation (enlargement) of the nose.

African Americans, like Asians, tend to have broad, short and thick-skinned noses. Their nasal tips tend to be round and bulbous as well, and their nostrils are generally wide and flared. African American rhinoplasty focuses on building the nasal bridge and narrowing the nostrils as well refining a patient’s nasal tip.

Hispanic noses are generally short and broad with abundant fibrofatty tissues and dropping tips. Thick skin, wide nasal bridge, and dorsal humps are other shared nasal features of Hispanic noses. Hispanic rhinoplasty aims to narrow and elevate the nasal tip and remove nasal bump.

Mediterranean patients include patients with Arab, Persian, Greek, Jewish, and Italian blood. Mediterranean noses tend to have dorsal humps and drooping nasal tips. Basically, Mediterranean patients need elevating and narrowing of nasal tips and removal of nasal humps.

Because of these nasal tendencies, the sculpting of the internal nasal structure of ethnic noses tend to need more extensive procedure than Caucasian nose jobs. For instance, to narrow the width of flat noses, three incisions have to be made. Flat noses are improved by harvesting cartilage from other body sites (such as the ear and the ribs) to re-shape or refine nasal tips. Nasal hump is common, and this is remedied by removing some bones from the nose.

But the job doesn’t quite end there. The procedure in ethnic rhinoplasty is not only tailored to refine and improve nasal definition. The procedure’s overall goal is to re-contour the patient’s bone and the cartilage to the desired shape while leaving no or barely visible scars and, just as important, while leaving the appearance of their ethnic heritage intact —- this is what makes ethnic rhinoplasty more complex that Caucasian rhinoplasty.

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