How Close Can Plastic Surgery Of The Face Come To Matching The Golden Ratio Mask Results?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in having multiple facial changes done by you and want to look as attractive as possible. I am a 22 year-old male whose face is a little out of balance and proportion. I have taken the golden ratio mask picture of which I am sure you are familiar and applied it to my face. It shows clearly where my facial imbalances and deficiences are. I know you would do what is best for one’s face but would you go for different results if you were masculine or feminine. The one I used was the female golden pic and there’s a male one as well. Of course I would much rather go for the male look. How close can you come with surgery to achieving these golden ratio mask results?

A: I am very familiar with the golden ratio masks and you are not the first person that has presented it to me. They are very interesting for assessing facial beauty and do provide at least a measureable target for which to aim. They can help surgical planning and, for those who may not be experienced in assessing faces and making the diagnosis by examination of where the deficiences are, they can provide a sort of blueprint to follow. What I do not like about them is that they can create unrealistic or artificial goals for patients as surgery is not like Photoshop nor can it create that degree of precision or change. Perhaps worse, those patients that use them before surgery are going to assess their after surgery results with them. This is a near certain setup for disappointment and an initiator of the need for revisional plastic surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana