African American Rhinoplasty in Miami, FL

In recent years, the number of African American patients seeking nose surgery has increased dramatically. Today, more patients of African ethnicity are interested in the potential refinements of a rhinoplasty procedure while wanting to maintain their distinct ethnic features. Dr. Bared’s main objective in rhinoplasty is to provide natural results that achieve the patient’s aesthetic goals.

After spending years working with Hispanic patients, Middle Eastern patients, Indian patients, Caucasian patients, and people of many different ethnicities, Dr. Bared has cultivated a deep understanding of how to address nasal concerns while preserving the patient’s unique heritage. Regardless of the patient’s race, Dr. Bared tailors each ethnic rhinoplasty to perfectly blend with the patient’s overall facial features and align with their specific cosmetic objectives.

The African American Nose: Features and Characteristics

The nose is an essential facial attribute that is often the first thing people observe about another person. It can also symbolize a part of their ethnic background or cultural background, as well as a feature that ties generations together. While noses come in all unique shapes and sizes, African noses are broader and wider than other ethnic groups. Additionally, they usually have flared nostrils, rounder tips, and a slight, flat nasal bridge.

An African American nose job is a plastic surgery procedure that addresses cosmetic or functional nasal concerns, like a wide bridge or flared nostrils, while respecting the African patient’s family heritage. As with traditional or other ethnic rhinoplasty procedures (Asian rhinoplasty, Caucasian rhinoplasty, Middle Eastern rhinoplasty, or Hispanic rhinoplasty), the African American rhinoplasty aims to improve specific areas of the nose to achieve a natural, harmonious facial appearance that complements other features of your face.

Goals and Challenges Of An African American Rhinoplasty

Dr. Bared aims to provide African American patients with ethnically appropriate refinements of the nose that retain their native features when performing nose surgery. Though treatment should be tailored to each case, certain steps need to be taken for a successful outcome in all cases.

Tip Support in African American Nose Job

The most important of these maneuvers is tip support and definition. If the tip cartilage remains weakened after surgery, the tip of the nose will droop in time. To avoid this, Dr. Bared utilizes cartilage grafts from the patient’s body to provide support. Most of the time, grafts are harvested from the nasal septum, which is the cartilage that divides either side of the nose. However, in cases where the septal cartilage is too small, additional cartilage is taken from the ear from an incision concealed behind the outer ear.

Grafts, in general, are used to provide shape while, at the same time, supporting the nasal structure. Grafts ensure that the results you see are present for a very long time, as the nose structure will be adequately supported. And since they are from your own body, studies have shown that they decrease the risk of complications from infections more prevalently seen when implants are used in the nose.

Nasal Bridge Refinements in an African American Rhinoplasty

While tip support is uniform in all African American rhinoplasty cases, other maneuvers may be used in each specific case, including bridge and width refinements. For one, improvements to the tip are usually balanced with refinements to the width of the bridge to achieve a harmonious facial balance.

Then, the width of the bridge is usually narrowed by means of osteotomies (bone reshaping), where the nasal bones are reset into a more narrow width. In African American rhinoplasty, osteotomies need to be performed at a lower level, given that the African American nose typically has shorter nasal bones.

Finally, to balance the refinements made to the tip and bridge on the frontal view, the width of the base may need narrowing and alar (nostril) bases reduced. The alar base reduction can be a complex maneuver that can be fraught with risks if not performed correctly by a specialist.

Dr. Bared understands how precise a plastic surgeon needs to be when performing alar base reductions to prevent noticeable scarring, as well as an overly narrowed and unnatural appearance.

Additionally, if the alar base reduction is performed too aggressively, the wide nostrils lose their natural rounded appearance and take on more of a triangular shape.

When performing alar base reductions, Dr. Bared uses a small measuring device called a caliper. This device measures the changes made to the size of the nostrils to the millimeter, allowing him to make exact calculations of how much to remove. The placements of the incisions for an alar base reduction are also of utmost importance. Dr. Bared carefully places these incisions in areas of the nostrils where they would be best camouflaged. 

Improving Nasal Skin with African American Nose Surgery

Another surgical technique employed in African American rhinoplasty, which further helps refine the tip of the nose, is the careful de-fatting of the nasal tip skin. Often, the skin thickness of the tip in African American patients is higher and presents a secondary fat layer. This layer can be carefully removed to allow the skin to re-drape over the cartilages and allow the refinements made to the cartilages to become more evident. The de-fatting of the nasal tip skin needs to be done very carefully and meticulously to avoid injuring the skin.

Narrowing A Widened Bridge with African American Nose Job

The nasal bridge may appear wide and flat due to either widened nasal bones or a low bridge. A widened nasal bridge can be narrowed via two approaches. First, if the nasal bones are found to be wide, osteotomies are used to reset the bones into a narrower position. The second component of narrowing a bridge may be due to the flatness of the bridge. A lower bridge will also give the appearance of a widened bridge.

Bared’s Approach to African American Rhinoplasty Surgery

Dr. Bared’s approach to cosmetic nose surgery is to, whenever possible, only use the patient’s cartilage during the cosmetic procedure. Implants are often used by facial plastic surgeons during African American Rhinoplasty to augment the dorsum (bridge) of the nose. Augmentation of the dorsum is utilized to narrow the bridge and create height for a lower bridge.

However, Dr. Bared’s practice is to not use synthetic material to augment the dorsum as these can be prone to infections and even extrusion. Infections and extrusions have been reported to occur even years after surgery. Instead, Dr. Bared will often use ear cartilage and temporalis fascia (removed from a small incision hidden within the hairline). Although this augmentation process requires more technical skill and surgical time, Dr. Bared feels that it is in the best long-term interest of his patients to avoid the use of artificial implants.

Ideal Candidates for African American Nose Surgery

An ideal candidate for ethnic or even traditional rhinoplasty is someone who is unhappy with the appearance of their nose and has realistic expectations about what can be achieved through surgery. They should be in good overall health and have fully developed facial features. It is important for candidates to have a thorough consultation with a qualified surgeon to determine if they are a suitable candidate for the procedure.

Procedure and Recovery Process after an African American Rhinoplasty

Ethnic nose jobs are a complicated cosmetic surgery that needs incredibly strict attention to detail and hence will typically take 3-4 hours. During the procedure, bone and nasal cartilage will be adjusted and shifted to design and refine the nose. Before your operation, Dr. Bared will advise either an open or closed rhinoplasty, depending on the type of transformation required.

The open rhinoplasty technique entails making a small incision across the columella (the strip of skin that connects your nostrils) to gain access to the internal structures of the nose. The scar from this incision typically heals exceptionally well and becomes virtually invisible.

The closed rhinoplasty technique involves making incisions inside the nostrils. Dr. Bared performs the majority of his procedures using the open approach.

During the first days after surgery, particularly patients with thicker skin are expected to have more extended periods of residual swelling. In some cases, Dr. Bared may place small amounts of anti-inflammatory steroid injections into the nose to help with the swelling after surgery. If used, these are usually started one month after the procedure. Swelling in the tip area is the most persistent, taking up to one year to subside completely during your healing process. It is recommended to avoid smoking during recovery since nicotine causes blood vessels to contract. 

African American Rhinoplasty Frequently Asked Questions