Rhinoplasty

Question: I am an African-American female interested in rhinoplasty surgery. I have read that with ethnic noses, there are added obstacles that surgeons must be aware of. What are these obstacles, and how likely is it that I will have a successful surgery?

When performing rhinoplasty on African American patients, do you more commonly use an open or closed approach and why?

It depends on what the patient needs. African American nose has certain features such as flat dorsum, wide tip, flaring nostrils and thick skin. Most of my patients request dorsal augmentation, tip refinement and narrowing of the alae. These are best done using the open technique.

I’m an African American male in my early 30s and am contemplating ethnic rhinoplasty. Is it possible to fix flared nostrils while also narrowing my nose?