Book Now
Nobody can answer the question for you, but three points to resolve may help you decide.
- How badly does the appearance of your nose bother you? If you generally like your appearance but see a mild irregularity or something you occasionally dislike in a selfie at a particular angle, it is not usually worth rhinoplasty surgery. Sometimes, filler injection can resolve the issue. Although filler may be temporary, if you really like the result after injection, a longer lasting filler, microfat transfer, or a small acellular graft inserted under local anesthesia may offer the same effect and improve the issue permanently. If your preoccupation with aesthetic disproportion in size and/or shape of your nose is frequent, if your confidence suffers, if you have already thought about the changes you want in your nose, and if you believe the change would significantly improve your appearance, then maybe rhinoplasty should be a door you pass through. No personality should be limited by an external feature that can be resolved and refined to your satisfaction. Social science has proven that our internal identity, our confidence, and how others respond to us is in greater or lesser measure related to our physical appearance. Aesthetic surgery improves appearances, but the true justification for these procedures is to promote your position in life, to help you better appreciate your appearance and enjoy greater confidence in all situations.
- Can I afford rhinoplasty (nose-job) surgery? This should be a non-issue, because if it is indicated, the change in your life can be significant enough that the amortized cost of the procedure is negligible. This is true ONLY if the change for you will be dramatic and exactly what you want. That will happen ONLY if you find the right surgeon. The cost of an operating room, anesthesia, and surgical care is similar. These expenses are commodities, so rhinoplasty costs are similar across many surgeons. However, the vision, aesthetic sense, commitment, and technical skill of your surgeon is anything but a commodity if that surgeon can produce beauty for you. Great rhinoplasty is art. Quality and consistency of surgical results are variable among surgeons. Many technically and /or artistically challenged plastic surgeons avoid rhinoplasty. The value of your procedure is proportional to your satisfaction with the result. If you LOVE the result, rhinoplasty is priceless. If you’re disappointed with the result, whatever you spent on it was too much. So do not shop price, shop results, and shop surgeon. Find a doctor whose gallery shows before to after results you like, preferably on noses with some similarities to yours. Rhinoplasty surgery can be financed, and if you’re young, maybe loved ones will help.
- What if I’m not happy with my rhinoplasty result? The time to resolve this question is before your surgery, and surgeon choice plays a role. Choose a doctor who understands that you’re not presenting for rhinoplasty, you’re requesting (a) specific change(s) to your nose. Rhinoplasty is only the method for producing the change(s), but if rhinoplasty is not successful or only partially successful, the doctor should explain to you in advance what he/she/they do as a next step to improve your outcome. Pre-surgical imaging and/or graphic simulation of your expected rhinoplasty result is important so you and your surgeon agree on the nose you want beforehand. Your surgeon must be able to create the changes you desire, and you must agree on the simulated result that he/she/they graphically represent can be accomplished for you. Your surgeon, like you, should be results oriented rather than procedure oriented. Such physicians want to see you in the office after surgery several times over many months as swelling subsides and your final rhinoplasty result becomes apparent. If there is an issue or problem that bothers you, good plastic surgeons will want to adjust it if possible at minimal or no cost to you.
Steve Laverson MD, Feel Beautiful Plastic Surgery, 858-295-4001, https://feelbeautiful.com
