It’s an unfortunate but true fact that the original procedures for Rhinoplasty were designed with a Caucasian nose in mind. What about African American features?
Therefore, using a one-size-fits-all procedure on a non-Caucasian person won’t bring good results at all. Just look at Michael Jackson, definitely a victim of surgeons who just didn’t know how to make him look good.
“African American patients always say the same thing to me: I don’t want to look like Lil Kim or Michael Jackson”. Dr Ashkan Ghavami, Rhinoplasty expert.
“And I don’t blame them. It’s really hard to reverse that type of surgery once it is poorly done.” It is however doable, if problematic. “I have handled a lot of difficult revisions for African Americans. The doctor either took too much cartilage off of their nose or too little. It’s a lot of work to deal with scar tissue and to give them back their ancestral features.”
Maintaining ancestral features is very important when it comes to plastic surgery. Luckily, today plastic surgeons train to understand the balance of every type of face. You have nothing to worry about! It’s possible that if you have dark skin, you may also have widely-set nostrils, shorter nasal bones, and slightly thicker skin.
This means that your surgeon will use extra precision. This will maintain the ethnic features of your face. It will also ensure that no complications – such as bleeding – arise when working on the skin. Patients with dark skin are slightly more prone to bleeding after facial surgery. Discuss it with your surgeon and make sure that you both agree. It is very important to know if you are able to heal properly.
Also, dark skin is more prone to scarring than light skin. Your surgeon will bear this in mind.
Surgeons will be able to create incisions, hidden inside the nostrils or otherwise invisible. However, patients also need to prepare for the risks of scarring. Remember to avoid exposing your skin to too much sun after the procedure, since this will increase the visibility of scars. But like with all plastic surgery, it’s very important to discuss anything you concern about with your doctor or surgeon before you undergo any work. A good plastic surgeon will be sensitive to all his or her patient’s racial backgrounds. He surely will be able to work with you to achieve the look you want.
Oct 02nd 2015