Is it okay for teenage kids to have rhinoplasty surgery? How early is too early when it comes to teens and teenagers and a nose job? Corey S. Maas MDTM of The Maas ClinicTM in San Francisco, explains:
“We’re talking about rhinoplasty this week, and we’ve had a number of questions. I had a number of consultations this week, and one of them was a younger person and the parents of the child came in, and asked “When can we do a rhinoplasty on someone that’s of younger age?”
In general terms if we’re changing the shape of the nose, just in general, and it’s not a breathing problem, I like to have the patient themselves and their parents involved in the decision process so that they can give some feedback as to what they want. It was very common in the 60’s for parents to bring kids in when they were 13, 12 maybe 14 years old tell the surgeon what kind of nose they wanted the patient to have, and the patient got what the parents wanted. I think it’s a much better approach to have the patient involved in that decision.
So, depending on the maturity level and the severity of the deformity of the nose, the bump, the irregularity, the twist that the patient might have to the nose, we will typically recommend no younger than about age 14. But, 14, 15 and 16 are common ages for people to have rhinoplasty. Another common age is right before they’re off to college. As long as the patient can intelligently participate in the decision about the shape that they want for their nose and the parents are involved and proactive but not pushing the person into doing it, I think it’s a great way of addressing a rhinoplasty in younger people. Again, Dr. Maas on looking your best, don’t hesitate to send your pictures, videos or questions to DrMaas.com. Thanks.”
