Rhinoplasty for Middle Eastern noses. 2009

Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
Dallas, Texas; and Beverly Hills, Calif. From the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

BACKGROUND Rhinoplasty remains one of the most challenging operations, as exemplified in the Middle Eastern patient. The ill-defined, droopy tip, wide and high dorsum, and thick skin envelope mandate meticulous attention to preoperative evaluation and efficacious yet safe surgical maneuvers. The authors provide a systematic approach to evaluation and improvement of surgical outcomes in this patient population. METHODS A retrospective, 3-year review identified patients of Middle Eastern heritage who underwent primary rhinoplasty and those who did not but had nasal photographs. Photographs and operative records (when applicable) were reviewed. Specific nasal characteristics, component-directed surgical techniques, and aesthetic outcomes were delineated. RESULTS The Middle Eastern nose has a combination of specific nasal traits, with some variability, including thick/sebaceous skin (excess fibrofatty tissue), high/wide dorsum with cartilaginous and bony humps, ill-defined nasal tip, weak/thin lateral crura relative to the skin envelope, nostril-tip imbalance, acute nasolabial and columellar-labial angles, and a droopy/hyperdynamic nasal tip. An aggressive yet nondestructive surgical approach to address the nasal imbalance often requires soft-tissue debulking, significant cartilaginous framework modification (with augmentation/strengthening), tip refinement/rotation/projection, low osteotomies, and depressor septi nasi muscle treatment. The most common postoperative defects were related to soft-tissue scarring, thickened skin envelope, dorsum irregularities, and prolonged edema in the supratip/tip region. CONCLUSIONS It is critical to improve the strength of the cartilaginous framework with respect to the thick, noncontractile skin/soft-tissue envelope, particularly when moderate to large dorsal reduction is required. A multitude of surgical maneuvers are often necessary to address all the salient characteristics of the Middle Eastern nose and to produce the desired aesthetic result.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008877 Middle East The region of southwest Asia and northeastern Africa usually considered as extending from Libya on the west to Afghanistan on the east. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988) Gaza Strip,Near East,West Bank,Gaza Strip (Palestine)
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D012189 Retrospective Studies Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons. Retrospective Study,Studies, Retrospective,Study, Retrospective
D012225 Rhinoplasty A plastic surgical operation on the nose, either reconstructive, restorative, or cosmetic. (Dorland, 28th ed) Rhinoplasties

Related Publications

Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
January 2013, Eplasty,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
February 2010, Facial plastic surgery clinics of North America,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
November 2002, Facial plastic surgery clinics of North America,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
December 2018, Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
January 1991, Annales de chirurgie plastique et esthetique,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
January 2016, Clinics in plastic surgery,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
January 2013, Iranian journal of otorhinolaryngology,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
October 2007, The British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
August 2014, Facial plastic surgery clinics of North America,
Rod J Rohrich, and Ashkan Ghavami
November 2009, Plastic and reconstructive surgery,
Copied contents to your clipboard!