Rhinoplasty, commonly referred to as a nose job or cosmetic surgery of the nose, is designed to improve certain aspects of a patient’s nose. The nose is an extremely elaborate structure, and its appearance is determined by a complex anatomical configuration of bone and cartilage under the overlying skin.
For most of us, the nose is fully developed early during adolescence, before puberty is complete. Thus many of the youngest patients who are interested in undergoing rhinoplasty surgery are in their teenage years, and can already notice characteristics about their noses that they would like to change.
The size and shape of the nose, and other features patients often seek to correct, such as a bony hump and boxy tip, are already visible at that age and will not change significantly as they progress into adulthood. Many patients who have undergone cosmetic nasal surgery early on will maintain those results over their entire lives.
As aging progresses in later years, the soft tissues including nasal cartilages tend to become weaker, and eventually bony resorption occurs as well, often causing the nose to appear wider, longer, and droopy. Some patients will thus present for rhinoplasty in middle age or later, looking to restore their nasal appearance to a more youthful one.
Patients occasionally benefit from revision nose jobs, as cartilages may warp over time, and additional surgery can correct changes in appearance and new nasal deformities. In patients who have functional breathing issues, often due to a deviated septum, septoplasty surgery to correct septal deviation may be performed concurrently with rhinoplasty to address both the respiratory and aesthetic features of the nose.
