Asian nose surgery or rhinoplasty, in many ways, is completely different from the non-Asian nose surgery. The reason is that most Asians tend to have a nose that is flattened at the top as well as at the tip, whereas Caucasians tend to have a pretty good hide under the dorsum, which is the top of the nose. The tip of the nose is also well projected in most Caucasian noses. Therefore, in Asians, the difference is that there is a need to put in the nose to make it taller, which is not the case with Caucasians.

The tip of the nose in Caucasians usually needs to be shaped and maybe raised a little. But in Asians the entire nose needs to be built up. Therefore, the technique here becomes radically different. Just because a surgeon knows how to do a Caucasian nose, he may not necessarily know how to do an Asian nose. Only a select few plastic surgeons operate on Asian noses for this reason.

When performing rhinoplasty on the Asian patient, the goal is not to reshape the nose to look completely Caucasian, but to reshape the Asian nose to fit in with surrounding facial features in a way that promotes harmony and balance. Caucasian men and women, much of the time, seek to have the nose reduced, whereas the Asian patient often needs the nose to be built up in order to become more prominent on the face.

In his more than eighteen years of experience performing rhinoplasties, Dr. Kwan has seen successful techniques, as well as those which miss the mark. The key is to treat the Asian nose differently than a Caucasian nose in order to avoid:

• Poor tip projection. Treating the Asian nose in the same way as a Caucasian nose would include the removal of tissue from the tip so as to narrow this area, sometimes using suture techniques that create the right shape by folding the cartilage. This technique could lead to an undesirable outcome because the Asian patient most often has weaker cartilage at the tip of the nose, and the technique will ultimately fail. Dr. Kwan understands the various characteristics of the Asian nose, and is able to successful reshape and redefine this facial feature using the right technique.
• An overly large bridge. Without the proper understanding of Asian aesthetics as it relates to the nose, a surgeon may begin building up the bridge of the nose too high. If the bridge is too large, the nose as a whole will look more Greek than Asian, and will lead to ethnic confusion.

The various characteristics of the Asian face are beautiful, and should remain so even after enhancement with an Asian nose job in our New York City facility. Contact us in Manhattan, Flushing, or Jersey for your consultation with Dr. Edmund Kwan.