Abstract
The normal values of nasal dimensions and position have been established for various racial and ethnic groups. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information related to these values in South Indian females, leading to surgeons being forced to use statistical data from Caucasians in their decision making. The objective of the present study was to compare statistically the nasal anthropometric measurement of South Indian women (SIW) with published norms for North American white women (NAWW) using independent t-test. Anthropometric analysis was done on standardized frontal, lateral, and basal photographs of South Indian woman's noses (n = 375) ages 18 to 35 years. Comparative analysis showed significant differences between SIW and NAWW in 15 of 17 measurements. All 14 nasal indices revealed significant differences that were calculated. SIW had relatively shorter, wider, and more horizontally oriented noses, and the noses have ellipsoid appearance in submental view, deeper nasal root, underrotated nasal tip, flared alae, and rounded nasal tip. As cosmetic surgery becomes more popular among South Indians, the obtained normative mean values might serve as a prototype for facial surgery.