Combined anthropometry and photoanalysis of nose in rhinoplasty patients at 15 Khordad Hospital in Tehran

Systematic anthropometric methods are commonly used for measuring the soft tissue of the external nose before surgery. Surgical planning should be carried out according to data obtained from this method and also photoanalysis. Referring to some textbooks Persian nose is similar to Middle Eastern nose. However, there are some differences in a variety of ethnicities of Iranian population. Recognition of these differences is pointed by qualified Iranian plastic surgeon to improve these specific deformities. Study group consisted of 260 patients who were scheduled for rhinoplasty between 2012-2014 in one of the referral hospital for plastic surgery in Iran. The data from direct anthropometry and photogrammetry and photography were also analyzed. The majority of patients were women (73.8%) with average age of 28.6 years. Linear parameters such as length, width, depth, height of nose and also bony base width, alar thickness, tip projection were less in women than men and statistically were significant. The mean of nasofrontal angle in women 142.3º and in men was 145.1º. We found that 37.5% of women and 55.4% of men had over projection tip. Moderate dorsal hump (2-4 mm) was found in 72% of women and 86.5% of men. Although we found out that almost the external nose feature of Middle Eastern nose in Persian patients have some differences that persists. The most common prevalent features of our study were poorly defined tip, deviated nose, moderate dorsal hump, normal radix, wide bony structure and long nose. Tip projection and rotation, radix depth, nasolabial and colomellolubolar angles were the differences with Middle Eastern nose. This study although cannot presented a unique pattern of Persian nose but it could help Iranian plastic surgeons in surgical planning.