Aesthetics of Numerical Proportions in Human Cosmetic Surgery

BACKGROUND: Beauty is a universal phenomenon and debate over what constitutes beauty particularly beauty to human body, has raged since philosophy began. The beauty of individual features depends on “ideal” proportions, and it is suggested that expressing beauty in terms of geometry is possible. Assessment of some used parameters in facial surgeries and harmony of various facial features are essential to surgeon, who requires facial analysis. One of these parameters, is nasolabial angle, in patients undergoing rhinoplasty. This study based on theoretical definitions of beauty and proportions performed the search for the application of this numerical proportions in modern cosmetic surgery. METHODS: Twenty-three samples [16 (69.5%) female and 7 (30.5%)] male] were enrolled from patients who underwent rhinoplasty, by a single surgeon. The nasolabial angle was measured in these patients from their lateral profile photographs with adobe Photoshop, before and after surgery. RESULTS: Ideal post-operative angle was 111.54±26.5 degrees from this study and 18.8(◦) increase in male and 14.68(◦) increase in female were seen. There was no significant difference between men and women. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that an ideal proportion can be very useful and practical to assess patient’s preoperative expectations and to evaluate the results after surgery and satisfaction of cosmetic surgery process.