Concepts of Facial Aesthetics When Considering Ethnic Rhinoplasty.

Facial plastic surgeons must understand nasal aesthetics in the context of race, ethnicity, and culture. The lack of aesthetic norms and ideal standards in non-Caucasian patients and the variation in nasal anatomy and morphology among races can create a challenge in approaching ethnic rhinoplasty. Preoperative assessment of nasal and facial features that contribute to a nose that is unpleasing for a non-Caucasian patient cannot be based on neoclassical canons. This article describes the concepts of facial aesthetics important to approaching ethnic rhinoplasty. Understanding these features will allow the surgeon to achieve nasal symmetry and improved definition without effacing ethnicity.