About Ethnic Rhinoplasty

Ethnic rhinoplasty typically refers to cosmetic nasal surgery performed on a person that is not white. For example on a Hispanic, middle eastern, African American, or some other race. I think the name “ethnic rhinoplasty” is outdated, since in today’s world, basically all cultures and races are mixed. So really, what is the difference between a rhinoplasty performed on a white person instead than on an “ethnic”, for example? Well, the deference is varies depending on the race. Every race has different features.

Several things happen to the face during the aging process.  The two most constant changes with most faces are DESCENT and DEFLATION. Descent refers to the descent of the facial tissues. This is most evident in the midface, or cheeks, where the fat pad descends downward and in the lower face and neck where the skin and underlying tissues descend downwards.  Deflation refers to the loss of facial fat.

If you have been thinking about getting dermal fillers such as Restylane or Perlane, one of the tings that may be holding you back is the fear of being “overfilled.” Most people want to look like themselves, only better, and avoid looking fake and overfilled. This is exactly what I want for my patients.

Should you have surgery now at a “Plastic Surgery Center” or save money and have it with the right doctor?

Over the last few years, I have seen a good number of patients that once consulted with me return to my office after they had surgery somewhere else. I recently saw “Jospeh” (not his real name) in my office this week, which is what prompted me to write about this. Joseph is a 28 year old graphic designer that I first saw 2 years ago in consultation for a rhinoplasty. After the consult, he was in contact with Jessica, my scheduler.

There was a recent story on the news about Nadia Ilse, a teenager who underwent otoplasty, rhinoplasty and a chin augmentation after being bullied at school for her looks. The story received a lot of attention from the media. RealSelf.com, a plastic surgery website, created a survey to get an inside look at how the public was responding to the news. They questioned 650 people, asking them if they would allow their children to go under the knife in order to avoid bullying.

Over the past few years, there have been many reports and articles discussing the increasing popularity of plastic surgery among men. There was a time when men would shy away from cosmetic surgery, because many thought it was only for women. The modern man has changed in many ways, and today men are not shy about discussing plastic surgery out in public. In fact, I am seeing more and more men in my office for consultation about their faces. Men probably account for about 25 to 30 percent of my patients.

The eyes are one of the first areas of the face that demonstrates aging. It is therefore not a surprise that one of the most common facial surgeries is blepharoplasty, or cosmetic eyelid surgery. This procedure improves the droopy, tired appearance of the upper eyelid by removing the excess skin and fat. Eyelid drooping is caused by the weakening of the eyelid muscles and loss of skin elasticity due to natural aging processes. The puffiness of the lower eyelids is caused by the shifting of the fat from under the eyelid forward.

As women reach their early forties, they can start to develop a “drop zone,” i.e., the skin between your neck and jaw. This area, which was once a tight right angle, can sag and have a droopy appearance. The aging jaw and neck are can be a challenge to many women. Several things happen to the neck with age. The neck muscles begin to sag and spread apart, producing those two distinct bands or cords in the neck The skin in this part of the neck is one of the thinnest in the body, which can make it seem crepy.

I am often asked by patients when is the best time of the year to have surgery. My answer is very simple…the best time is when ever it is most convenient for you! This way the patient can recover with the least amount of stress.

Most people believe that the best time is winter or fall.  The potential advantages of having surgery during these cooler months are two; one the cooler weather is better for swelling and two the decreased sunlight is advantageous for scarring and swelling.  While these two potential advantages sound great, the reality is that even in the hottest climates, such as Miami, people can rarely choose to avoid the heat and sunlight for a couple of weeks. Realistically, we can easily choose to recover indoors for two weeks. Going out in the evening or early morning for a breath of fresh air is easily done. In fact, most people do not go out in the sun, unless they are doing outdoor activities such as sports.

In today’s busy world, it’s difficult enough for people to put aside 2 weeks to recover from surgery. It’s even harder to aside two weeks in a specific month or season. For this reason, I think that people should plan to have surgery whenever it’s easiest for them to take two weeks off. This way they can recover with less worry and stress. I rather someone recover stress-free in a hot month than worried that they have to be back at work or in time for an event in a cold month.