At Raj Kanodia Plastic Surgery, we see a wide range of ages for rhinoplasty. The question becomes how young is too young?!
Well the answer is unfortunately not a simple number. Its about the anatomy and whether or not the nose has matured enough to undergo surgical change. We assess this based on the feel of the cartilage and the nasal bones to determine the maturity of the nose. There are some 15 year olds whose noses are mature enough to undergo surgery. There are some 18 year old noses whose noses are NOT mature enough to undergo surgery. So the answer to “how young is too young” is “we’ll see!”
Teenage Rhinoplasty does have a number of significant benefits – IF and when done appropriately. First and foremost, expectations must be set to make sure the teenager understands the realistic changes that occur with a rhinoplasty. The parents and the child must be on the same page. This is paramount. We have had situations where the parents are forcing the teenager to have the surgery. We carefully ask questions to understand the desire and the motivation. If we find there is any external pressure for getting in (i.e. parents pressuring the teenager, a boyfriend pressuring the teenager) we refuse to operate and help manage expectations instead. If we identify a true healthy and mature reasoning for wanting a rhinoplasty as a teenager, then we can proceed forward.
Benefits include:
1) Improved breathing for the rest of their life!
2) Improved appearance in a subtle manner that most of their friends wont even realize. This can boost self esteem and confidence immensely. Dr. Kanodia has performed a scarless rhinoplasty on many “younger sisters” of famous celebrities who were in the shadow of their older sister due to self-esteem issues with their appearance. After the surgery, these same “insecure” teenagers, are shooting Vogue magazine covers and recording platinum selling albums. We understand that a knife cant fix everything, but sometimes when a small insecurity in the form of a bump on the nose is holding someone back, its important to address it with the options.
3) Removal of excuses and dedicated focus to conquering the world! We tell young girls routinely, they don’t “need” a rhinoplasty (nosejob) to be successful, happy or motivated. We routinely reject young girls for a number of reasons and tell them to go and conquer the world! Sometimes hearing it from a Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon is all they need. In other cases where we deem it appropriate to have nasal surgery, we also explain that the nose is now “out of the way” and their focus should be 100% on success, motivation and determination to live a fulfilled life and conquer the world! The excuse of focusing on the nose is now gone!
Our services for closed scarless rhinoplasty (nosejob) are only offered if all the pieces fit and we believe the motivation for it is pure and realistic.
Deepak Dugar, MD