Facial Surface Anthropometric Features and Measurements With an Emphasis on Rhinoplasty

Overview

Facial features and measurements are used for surgical planning, communication between surgeons, communication with patients, and evaluation after surgery. The authors state these descriptions are scattered across the literature with no current compilation. They conducted a narrative literature review through MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar, plus citation searching, to assemble them.

Sections of note

• Narrative literature review; no patients, outcomes or follow up are involved.
• Sixty one facial features were identified in total.
• These comprised 45 points, of which 25 are bilateral and 20 unilateral.
• They also comprised 5 lines, 3 bilateral and 2 unilateral, plus 8 planes and 3 areas.
• One hundred and twenty two measurements were identified.
• These comprised 48 distances, 6 bilateral and 42 unilateral, and 57 angles, 13 bilateral and 44 unilateral.
• They also comprised 17 ratios.
• Supplemental figures depict every feature and measurement on frontal, lateral or basal views.

What it means for a patient

• The measurements a surgeon quotes during a consultation come from this body of defined landmarks and angles.
• The sheer number, 122 measurements, indicates there is no single agreed set used across the field.
• This is a reference compilation. It reports no results and recommends no particular measurement.
• The review was narrative rather than systematic, so inclusion was not governed by set criteria.

Why this paper matters

Objective assessment of rhinoplasty outcomes depends on measuring the same things the same way, and the literature has used inconsistent definitions. This compilation is the reference point for standardizing that. Which measurements actually correlate with patient satisfaction is not addressed.

Terms

• Anthropometry: the measurement of body dimensions, here of the face.
• Facial landmark: a defined point on the face used as a reference for measurement.
• Bilateral: occurring on both sides of the face.
• Basal view: the view of the nose looking up from below.
• Narrative review: a literature survey without formal systematic search criteria.