"Mestizo" nose

Written by Escobar MD  

   

The racially mixed nose is defined as the nose that results from the combination of races that has happened mainly in Latin America. The racially mixed nose will therefore have the characteristics of the african-american, native, and white nose in greater or lesser degree, according to the degree of crossbreeding.

This type of nose needs a completely different treatment than that of a Caucasian or white nose. The racially mixed nose can have a wide spine and nasal base, weak cartilages and thick skin; these factors result in the lack of support and definition, which is characteristic of this type of nose.

SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE The rhinoplasty of the racially mixed nose requires reinforcing the weak cartilaginous structure, this way we will be able to improve the support by improving the shape and definition of the nasal tip. We should avoid being aggressive in the cartilage resection, as well as avoiding making the skin thinner through the resection of subcutaneous tissue of the tip. We will give the necessary support through cartilage grafts from the nasal septum of the patient, or given the case, we could also use cartilage from the ear if there is not enough septal cartilage as a result of a prior rhinoplasty that was badly performed.

There are several techniques for the treatment of the nasal tip. One of the techniques with the best results is the Banner technique, created in the 80 by Dr. Pedroza (of which Dr. Escobar is an old student) in Colombia. This technique manages to solve the deficiencies of the racially mixed nose in terms of support, and obtain natural results which are predictable in time. Likewise, if the nasal base is wide, a technique should be used that avoids notorious external scars because racially mixed skins tend to have worse scarring. It will also be important to evaluate the ideal width of the nose, because different parameters must be kept in mind than the ones that are used to establish the ideal nasal width in the Caucasian nose.

In conclusion, if you have a racially mixed nose, consult your case with me for a rhinoplasty in Bogotá or in Madrid. As a facial plastic surgeon I master the specific techniques for your type of nose. Otherwise the results could be bad, and a later reconstruction is more complicated, although not impossible in expert hands.