Nose job for teenager? What does she need to know?

Question

My daughter has her grandfather's nose. Lets just say it gives her character. She'd like a little less character...

Is 15-1/2 too young for a nose job? How long is the recovery period? Is it done under general anaesthesia? Did you have one done, and are you glad or not?

Answer 1

I would wait until she was graduating high school. Although her facial skeleton may be done growing, there are a few girls who continue to grow until about 18 yrs old. It is also a good time to perform cosmetic surgery (if she wants it) because she will likely go off to college and make new friends (who won't notice the sudden change). She will also be the age of majority at that time, so she can consent for her own surgery. It may seem like no big deal if she's 15 and wants it, but she is still a child an may have a different opinion about rhinoplasty as an adult.

Surgery on a child's face can affect the growth of the face with unacceptable consequences. I know it will be hard for her to endure high school with her family trademark, but we all deal with these types of things in our lives and it may be a more valuable lesson for her to accept herself instead of immediately changing things. She has not finished developing emotionally and I personally have seen (as patients) those girls who want to change everything they don't like about themselves with surgery.

I am not criticizing you, I hope you understand. I am telling you the same thing I tell every parent who brings a child to me for cosmetic facial surgery. The only ones I will do are scar revisions, trauma/cancer reconstructions and otoplasty (setting ears back).

Best of luck to you. I think you daughter will do fine with such a caring parent and a little extra reassurance. Revisit the issue at graduation.

Answer 2

15 1/2 is too young. She might really dislike her nose right now, but she could still grow into it and start liking it later.

What happens if she gets the nose job and then regrets it later on down the road?

I think that for anyone under the age of 25, any kind of unnecessary cosmetic surgery should not be done.

Tell her to wait and finish growing. I would also tell her to save her money because she should be paying for it herself.

Answer 3

Yes 15 1/2 is too young! She will need to wait until her growth rate slows down. I cannot imagine that you will find someone to do a nose job at her young age. Recovery is a couple of weeks....she will have gauze stuffed up her nose that will have to be removed. A friend of mine had one done and she likes it but it left a small scar on the end of her nose at the point of the incision.

Answer 4

Most reputable plastic surgeons will want to wait until she is older to make sure her body is done growing and to make sure they don't put any undo stress on someone who is so young. She needs to remember that there are a lot of risks in surgery. Urge her to wait a little longer.

Answer 5

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