Aim: The present study was taken up with an objective to derive reference values in relation to nasal tip projection (NTP) of Tamil Nadu population.
Materials and methods:The present study was conducted with the approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee. A total of 118 medical students from Velammal Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, participated in the study. Consenting students were included and individuals with noticeable facial disfigurement and with history of previous facial surgery were excluded. Goode method was used to analyze NTP.
Results:The present study reports NTP of 0.65 (0.66 in males and 0.64 in females) with standard deviation (SD) of 0.06 in South Indian population of Tamil Nadu region.Conclusion: Nasal tip projection can be considered as a ratio that can be used while planning corrective nasal surgeries, and can be used in a simple and effective manner than other parameters like nasal angles and indices, and nasal morphology.Clinical significance: The present study results will help surgeons avoid complications by anticipating the healing forces and take into account support mechanisms of the nasal tip when planning an optimal approach for esthetic nasal surgeries on patients, especially of our geographical area, and of the ethnic group that has been studied on. Also, surgeons from other parts of the world can use the present study results as reference while planning similar surgeries.