New Guide Developed for Nasal Analysis of African-American Women.

2001 JUN 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- Nasal analysis is the first step a surgeon takes prior to performing rhinoplasty, or plastic surgery to change the shape and size of the nose. In plastic surgery literature, "ethnic" and "non-Caucasian" are terms most commonly used to encompass people with African, Asian, and Latino heritage.

Many plastic surgeons use a Caucasian standard to perform nasal analysis on all their plastic surgery patients, regardless of ethnic background. In recognition of the growing diversity of Americans seeking plastic surgery, new research now provides a guide for performing a nasal analysis on African-American women.

The authors of the study are Jennifer Parker Porter, MD, and Krista Olson, MD, both from The Bobby R. Afford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Their findings were presented May 13, 2001, before the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Spring Meeting.

The Baylor College of Medicine institutional review board approved a study that recruited 107 African-American women as research subjects. The participants were required to be between the ages of 18 and 30 to minimize aging effects on nasal proportions. Additionally, each subject was required to have both parents be of African-American heritage, no prior plastic or reconstructive surgery of the face, no major trauma to the face, a body mass index [less than or equal to] 27, and no history of craniofacial syndromes.

Approximately 1,400 anthropometric measurements (those associated with the human body) were taken of the test subjects' face and nasal region, the researchers explained. These included measurements of nose length, nose width, special upper face height, distance between the eyes, mouth width, ...