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African-Americans show facial aging in eyes
often a decade sooner than Caucasians
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While
it is no secret African Americans' skin may
keep its youthful appearance longer than
other ethnicities, many people don't know
African Americans show facial aging in the
outer corner of the eyes earlier than
Caucasians, according to March's Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery(R) (PRS), the
official medical journal of the American
Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
In fact, African Americans require extra attention to their eyes
because of their particular ethnic
characteristics.
"African Americans have a slight slant to their eyes, much like
Asians do but not as pronounced," said
Julius Few, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and
study co-author.
"During aging, we found not only do the outer corners of the eyes
of African Americans droop lower than
Caucasians, they also droop sooner."
In the study, the median eye slant for African American women aged
45 years or younger was 3 degrees and
decreased to 1 degree for those older than
45.
The median eye slant in Caucasian women aged 45 years or younger
was 1.3 degrees and decreased to 0 for those
older than 45.
While the forehead and eyebrow areas of Caucasian women tend to
drop a decade earlier than African American
women, the aging effects to the outer corner
of the eye is exactly opposite.
With aging, the outer corner of the eye droops down, making
under-eye bags more noticeable, lower lids
looser and aging more evident.
During an eye lift, if the outer corner is not raised up enough to
recreate the slant, many African American
patients will feel their ethnically unique
features have been changed.
"On top of honoring their ethnic uniqueness, one of the biggest
concerns African American women have is
their tendency to show scars," said Dr. Few.
"By going through the inside of the lower eyelid and hiding a small
scar in the upper eyelid crease during a
lift, the scarring will not be visible."
In 2006, more than 233,000 eyelid surgeries were performed in the
U.S., according to the A SPS.
More than 783,000 cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were
performed on African Americans in 2006.
Visit www.plasticsurgery.org for referrals to ASPS Member Surgeons
and to learn more about cosmetic and
reconstructive plastic surgery.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest
organization of board-certified plastic
surgeons in the world. Representing more
than 6,700 physician members, the Society is
recognized as a leading authority and
information source on cosmetic and
reconstructive plastic surgery.
ASPS comprises more than 90 percent of all board-certified plastic
surgeons in the United States. Founded in
1931, the Society represents physicians
certified by The American Board of Plastic
Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Canada.
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