Should I Narrow the Width of my Nose if I Am Asian? Would It Look Unnatural?

You have high cheekbones, a heart shaped face, beautiful smile, and you have already identified that you want to improve the appearance of your nose to fit with the rest of your face.  I agree with your plastic surgeon that both the bridge of your nose and the base of your nose should be narrowed.  Your tip lacks definition, and instead of taking cartilage out of your nose, I would actually take some from your ear and put it back into the tip of your nose.  The little bridge of skin between the two nostrils is called the columella.  Yours is up inside your nose and cannot be seen from the side.  By placing cartilage from your ear in the columella and up towards the tip of your nose, you can get tip definition, show a little bit of the columella, and narrow the nostrils at the base all at the same time. 

The more attractive Asian noses have a slightly narrower base and better tip definition, therefore, if you do an Asian rhinoplasty, it would look very natural, just more beautiful.

Ultimately the look you want to achieve is a combination of your ethnicity, your facial features, and your personal style.  You sound like you want a very natural-appearing nose.  Looking at your 3rd pictures, I can see that you have a very pretty face, and from frontal view the width of your nose looks appropriate.  Typically we look at the medial canthal-alar relationship, meaning we compare the distance between your eyes and the distance between the width of your nostrils.  It should be approximately equal, which for you seems to be the case.  A special consideration for Asians is how we scar.  Even the best designed and executed incisions in this area can leave scars that are not completely invisible, so I always prefer to avoid making extra incisions in patients that do not need them.  Increasing the projection and refinement of your tip will make your nose appear less wide.

If you're surgeon is referring to "bringing in" your nasal bones, then that is certainly something that may be warranted after reducing your dorsal "hump".  I like to use computer morphing with my patients to align my patient's vision with mine, and if your surgeon offers it, may be a good way to make sure you know exactly what you prefer.   

The key to Asian rhinoplasty is to achieve refinement in the appearance of the nose, but to maintain Asian features which balance the rest of your face. Certainly, what might look good for someone of Caucasian background, might not be the right appearance for someone of Asian background.

That said, you have excellent facial features with high cheek bones and a well defined jaw line. I think a more contoured and refined nose would suit your face nicely. This would involve creating a straighter bridge along with creating more definition to the nasal tip as well as decreasing the width of the base of the nose slightly. When done conservatively, I do not think you will be left with an unnatural appearance. Rather, I think the overall balance of the nose would be improved.

Jamil Asaria, MD

FACE Toronto