I’m African American and I’m about to get a nose job. I’ve heard African American have thick nasal skin. Does this affect the recovery at all and is there anything special that I will need to do to take care of my nose?

Thick nasal skin may result in swelling of the nasal tip after surgery. This swelling will resolve over time. The majority of the swelling will resolve within the first 2 months of the surgery. However, subtle resolution of the nasal tip swelling will continue to occur over 6-12 months after surgery. Another issue to consider is nasal tip refinement as a goal for your rhinoplasty. With thicker nasal skin, refinement of the nasal tip can be challenging. At my Orange County plastic surgery practice, I use a variety of surgical techniques to achieve refinement of the nasal tip in thicker skinned patients.