Preferred Nasolabial Angle in Rhinoplasty: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Overview

The nasolabial angle, formed where the base of the nose meets the upper lip, is one of the features that defines a nose in profile. What angle people consider ideal varies, and the authors set out to capture that preference across four populations. An online questionnaire was completed by patients attending outpatient clinics, plastic surgery residents and medical students.

Sections of note

• Design: cross sectional questionnaire study, 197 respondents across four countries.
• Respondents chose an ideal angle from fixed options: 85, 90, 95, 100 and 110 degrees for a male nose, and 95, 100, 110 and 115 degrees for a female nose.
• 81.2 percent of respondents were female, and 84.3 percent were aged 20 to 39.
• Mean ideal male nasolabial angle: 97.1 degrees, standard deviation 6.39.
• Mean ideal female nasolabial angle: 109.5 degrees, standard deviation 5.32.
• The ideal male angle correlated significantly with respondent age, p equal to 0.044, and work status, p equal to 0.019.
• For the ideal female angle, age was a significant factor, p equal to 0.012.
• The abstract does not report differences between the four countries.

What it means for a patient

• Preferences differ by about 12 degrees between what people consider ideal for a male and a female nose.
• Because respondents chose from a fixed list rather than a continuous scale, the reported means are constrained by the options offered.
• The respondent group skewed heavily female and young, and included medical students and residents, so it does not represent the general public.
• The abstract reports no country by country breakdown, despite that being the stated aim.

Why this paper matters

Surgeons plan tip rotation against a target angle, and published ideals were derived from narrow populations. Measuring lay and trainee preference across several countries tests whether those targets hold. The reported data does not resolve whether preference varies by culture, since national comparisons are not given.

Terms

• Nasolabial angle: the angle between the base of the nose and the upper lip.
• Tip rotation: the upward or downward angle of the nasal tip.
• Cross-sectional study: a study measuring a group at one point in time.
• Standard deviation: a measure of how spread out a set of values is.
• Aesthetic ideal: the proportion a group of people considers most attractive.