Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in the Hispanic Community
Citation: Facial aesthetic surgery with emphasis on rhinoplasty in the Hispanic patient. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery. 2008 Aug;16(4):369-75. Authors: Cobo R
Over the last few decades cosmetic plastic surgeries have been gaining popularity in the Hispanic community, both in the U.S. and abroad. A large percentage of the surgeries being undertaken for women and for men in these communities are facial surgery procedures, often rhinoplasty. As demand for cosmetic surgeries among latinos escalates, it becomes increasingly important to understand the unique needs of this population in order to offer them the best available options in plastic surgery that fit the social and cultural demands that are arising.
This is doubly true because of the rapid growth of the Hispanic community in general; they are among the fastest growing ethnic groups in numerous geographical regions. The authors of this paper point out that the emphasis for providing services to this group increasingly falls into the arena of understanding the range of their natural facial characteristics. This includes the particular types of aesthetic problems and difficulties that Hispanic individuals may tend to encounter and the types of cosmetic plastic surgery interventions that are best suited to correcting them.
Rhinoplasty, the authors contend, is a particularly good example of this need. The “nose job” is one of the most common elective procedures in the cosmetic plastic surgery arsenal, and is in particular one of the most popular facial surgery operations for members of the various Hispanic communities.
The authors conclude that facial aesthetic surgery such as rhinoplasty should be performed only after conducting a full evaluation of the patient’s unique individual facial geography. Any problems or unusual characteristics that the patient present should be accounted for in the planning stages of the cosmetic plastic surgery.
Furthermore, the authors assert that the final goals of treatment should be carefully aligned not only with the unique existing characteristics of the Hispanic patient, but also with their unique aesthetic ideals. A relatively full understanding of the cultural and aesthetic values of the Hispanic community in a plastic surgeon’s area of practice will therefore be helpful in providing services to this population.