Nose Job for Teenagers

Among American teenagers, the nose job procedure becomes more and more popular (for both girls and boys). Only in New York City, there are tens of thousands of teenagers who undergo nose job surgery each year during their school‘s summer breaks – or as they call it “the summer of the NJ” in which NJ is an abbreviation of “nose job”. These teenagers may be shy and very self aware, and by using their summer vacation to do the procedure, they have the proper recovery period that is needed after undergoing nose surgery. They come back to school with a new and better looking nose. Many teenagers who do nose jobs are concerned about their physical appearance and have been emotionally affected, feeling awkward about their noses, which may be too large or too small compared with the rest of their face. When friends or classmates turn their attention to their noses, it often results in teens emotional distress, lower self-confidence, reduced self-esteem, and these phenomena can last for a long time. Parents may not be aware of the severity of the situation until they grow up and the experience has already been tagged as a childhood trauma.

Samieh Rizk M.D., a well-recognized New York City Facial Plastic Surgeon, mentioned that the nose job procedure in teenagers could be quite sensitive since their problems/concerns can affect them both physically and emotionally for a long term if not treated correctly. Therefore, recommends Dr. Rizk, teens should talk with their parents and have realistic and clear goals before coming to consult with a plastic surgeon. He added that in order to perform a nose job on a teenager, the candidates should be no less than 14 years old for girls and 15 years old for boys – at this point, the nose completes its development. He warned against surgeons who are willing to perform the surgery prior to these ages.

Dr. Rizk added that the surgeon should also evaluate the teen’s physical and emotional maturity before performing any type of surgery, including a nose job, on them. He also suggested that the teenager should be the person who desires the nose job him/herself, not adhering to pressure from the parents, peer pressure or by trying to imitate a famous celebrity which he/she likes. The most important thing is that this teenager should understand the possibility of risks and complications in before, during and post-operative nose job and understand how the procedure would be performed. This should be coupled with developing realistic expectations by looking at previous works of the doctor they chose; after all, the nose is a compound of tissue, blood vessels and bone – it is not made from clay.

Dr. Samieh (Sam) Rizk further states that teenagers sometimes have breathing problems in addition to a cosmetic concern. This breathing problem can arise from a previous sports-related injury which can cause a deviated septum (the parting wall between the right and left nostrils). The deviated nasal septum can not only cause breathing problem but can impair the functioning and energy level of a teenager and result in sinus problems as well. Many times, Dr. Rizk will perform an operation on a teenager to correct not only a cosmetic issue but also a functional breathing problem.

Dr. Rizk performs many rhinoplasties on teenagers who do very well. Rhinoplasty can be an emotionally and physically gratifying operation in teenagers. Dr. Rizk's minimally invasive 3D techniques allows the operation to be performed painlessly and with a rapid recovery. (To read more on Dr. Rizk's 3D and rapid recovery approaches, see other sections of this website)

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  14 year old female requests reduction rhinoplasty. Note also when she smiled, the tip dropped even more. Patient shown at 8 days post surgery with open rhinoplasty approach and alar (nostril reduction) as well. Defatting the thick skin with 3D technology as well as multiple cartilage grafting to the tip from the septum was the key to this result. Dramatic improvement can be seen, although patient is still swollen. Teenagers with large noses may be psychologically traumatized by ridicule, but the earliest Dr. Rizk would do a female teenager is 14 years of age.

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  15 year old patient who underwent septorhinoplasty to correct a breathing problem by correcting a deviated nasal septum and to improve the profile and front views of the nose. Patient is shown 2 months after surgery and although tip is still swollen the columella is not hanging and the bump has been removed. Tip swelling improves over a period of months and up to one year after surgery.

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