Rhinoplasty in the Hispanic patient

Abstract

In the United States, rhinoplasty has traditionally been performed in Caucasian patients. Ethnic rhinoplasty is often thought of as a procedure done to reshape the nose of a black or Asian patient. Little attention has been paid to rhinoplasty in Hispanic patients. There has been a large increase in the Hispanic population of the United States, and plastic surgeons will see a concomitant rise in requests for rhinoplasty among this population. In an effort to increase our understanding of Hispanic rhinoplasty, a retrospective review of a senior surgeon's experience was performed. A retrospective chart review was done examining the senior author's (S.S.) rhinoplasty practice over the past 10 years. Hispanic patients presenting for aesthetic and corrective rhinoplasty (cleft patients were excluded) were analyzed. The Hispanic nose was divided into three archetypes. Type I is characterized by a high radix and prominent vault; these noses should be corrected by dorsal reduction and resection of caudal septum. Type II is characterized by a dependent tip with inadequate projection; dorsal augmentation with diced cartilage and tip support with cartilage grafts are important. Osteotomies should generally be avoided in this group. Type III noses are characterized by a broad nasal base with thick skin and a wide tip; rhinoplasty in this group requires correction of the dorsum-base disproportion using several techniques including columellar struts, tip grafts, and dorsal augmentation. Hispanics are projected to become the largest minority population within the next 10 years, and rhinoplasty in this population will become more frequent over time. It behooves plastic surgeons to become familiar with the different archetypes of Hispanic noses and appropriate corrective techniques for each.

Abstract as indexed by PubMed; the article is open access (PubMed Central).