Rhinoplasty is one of the fastest growing surgeries in high school girls and boys. Dr. Abramson performs a significant proportion of his rhinoplasty surgeries on teenagers as he realizes that any cosmetic disturbance in the appearance of the nose can have a significant impact on one’s self-image and confidence for life. Self-image and confidence is important as we grow into young adults. Rhinoplasty can lead to a very positive change for these patients, especially since they have healthy tissues and generally heal well after surgery. One of Dr. Abramson’s primary goals in teenage rhinoplasty is to be conservative and create a nasal structure that is much stronger than it was preoperatively, so that the nose remains stable over time.
Teenage Rhinoplasty Consultation
The initial consultation is a time for you and Dr. Abramson to get to know each other. During the teenage rhinoplasty consultation Dr. Abramson will evaluate the teenager’s physical and emotional readiness, examine the structure of the nose, and discuss realistic goals with both the teen and their parents. The consultation gives both the teenager and their parents an opportunity to ask important questions, understand the risks and benefits, and make a well-informed decision together.
Dr. Abramson will check if nasal and facial growth is complete (usually around age 15–16 for girls and 16–18 for boys) to ensure surgery will not disrupt natural development. He will also assess the teen’s breathing by examining the internal nasal passages to see if a functional issue like a deviated septum contribute to breathing trouble and can be corrected alongside cosmetic changes.
In this video, Dr Abramson explains the process of teenage rhinoplasty including the consultation:
Teenage rhinoplasty consultation is one of the most important parts of the process. In this video blog, Dr. Abramson describes working with teenage patients to achieve their goals through rhinoplasty.
Teenagers who come in for a Rhinoplasty consultation are some of my favorite patients to talk to. They obviously have to be fairly well informed in order just to get their parents to agree to come in and have a Rhinoplasty consultation.
Teenagers usually have a fairly good idea of the things that they don’t particularly like, but they don’t always have the greatest understanding of what can and cannot be done for them. That’s why the teenage rhinoplasty consultation is so important. Also, we do computer imaging at the same time, so we can go through the challenges that we may face. Also to change the nose in an objective manor on the computer, and this is an exceedingly powerful communication tool.
It’s also important to evaluate for any nasal airway obstructions at the same time. Many of my teenage patients also have some difficulty breathing, whether it’s from allergies, or deviated septum, an enlarged inferior turbinate, which hangs down from the side wall of the nose on the inside that can become enlarged, and also obstruct the breathing. This is not only potentially a quality of life issue on a day to day basis, but may also interfere with athletic endeavors that the teenager may be participating in.
The most common time for a teenager to have a Rhinoplasty is at age 15 or older. Usually that takes into account the patient’s emotional maturity, as well as physical maturity. Sometimes there are exceptions depending on patient to patient, but we will talk about that during our consultation and determine if it is the right time or is it better to wait.
I enjoy seeing my teenage patients and as a matter of fact, now at this stage of my career I am seeing many of my teenagers that are now adults who are coming back with their kids.