Plastic surgeons' ethnic challenges.

Would Whitney Houston be just as striking if she had Madonna's nose? If Denzel Washington had Kevin Costner's jawline, would he still have the same physical appeal? Would Connie Chung be as attractive with Farrah Fawcett's cheekbones? Probably not, claims W. Earle Matory, Jr., associate professor of plastic surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

When an African-American patient consults a plastic surgeon about making a cosmetic change to his or her face, it's important for the physician to understand the role ethnicity plays in perceptions of beauty, Matory indicates. Otherwise, Caucasian standards of beauty may be used as the guidepost for people of all races.

"We wanted to get a better sense of the anatomy and the aesthetic appeal of the African-American face. The criteria for what is considered |aesthetic' has been clearly defined for Caucasians, but not for African-Americans," he explains. To establish these criteria, Matory measured the facial features of 50 African-American models--25 male and 25 female. He noted such dimensions as the height, length, and width of the nose; angle of the cheeks and the forehead; position of the chin; height of the lips; and length and width of the face.

"For the most part, there are definite differences in...