Getting their nose reshaped is the most common cosmetic surgery done among American teens.

It's usually an outpatient procedure done under general anesthesia. This means you go to where the surgery is done and then go home the same day.

Getting a "nose job," which doctors call rhinoplasty, can be very simple or very complex. When done correctly by an experienced surgeon, it can make a big difference in how a person looks.

When Can Teens Have Rhinoplasty?

Teens should not have a nose job until the nose has reached its adult size. This normally happens at about age 15 or 16 for girls. It usually happens a year or so later for boys.

What Are Some of the Types of Rhinoplasty?

Types of rhinoplasty include:

  • Removing a hump on the nose
  • Straightening the bridge
  • Reshaping the nose's tip
  • Increasing or decreasing the size of the nostrils
  • Correcting the nose after an injury
  • Opening breathing passages
  • Making the nose bigger or smaller

Nose jobs can be done to change how you look or for medical reasons. For example, some people may need surgery to repair a problem with the cartilage that divides one nostril from the other. Others may just want to make their nose smaller.

 

What Are the Risks of Rhinoplasty?

Any type of surgery has risks. These include bleeding, infection, and allergic reaction to anesthesia. Risks of rhinoplasty include:

  • Numbness
  •  Nosebleeds
  • Scarring at the base of the nose
  • Bursting of small blood vessels on the skin's surface
  • Swelling
  • Permanent nerve damage
  • Need for a second or third operation

Before getting a nose job, teens and their parents or guardians should talk extensively with the surgeon and weigh all of the risks and benefits. Honest communication between you, your parents, and the surgeon is very important to the success of the operation.

Many plastic surgeons take a lot of time to talk with teens before doing surgery. They want to make sure the teen is mature enough to handle it, is doing it for the correct reasons, and has realistic expectations about the results. For instance, thinking changing your nose will change your whole life and make you more popular is not being realistic.