Working in Beverly Hills has given me the opportunity of operating on patients with various ethnicities. Though the majority of my patients are Caucasian, I still treat many who are Latino, African and Asian.

In most instances, their desire is to have features that more closely resemble the Western European ideals. However, one must be careful to preserve elements of the patient’s heritage so as to avoid a possible disharmony with the remaining features when performing a rhinoplasty surgery.

In general, one must approach each patient individually so as to determine how much of a change they desire. In the African and Asian patients, and to a lesser degree the Latino patients, the bridge usually needs to be augmented. This is most commonly accomplished using nasal septal, ear or rib cartilage which is diced and placed within a rolled covering of fascia taken from the temple. Although, in rare instances, a synthetic material like Gore-tex may be used. Also, because the skin in each of these ethnicities is usually thick, the nasal tip needs augmenting to produce a more projected, angular appearance. Once again, cartilage is used, in the form of a rigid strut placed between the nostrils. And finally, the nostrils have to be addressed. Though projecting the nasal tip may bring the nostrils in slightly, an additional procedure such as excising tissue or narrowing with cinching sutures may be needed.