The real question regarding the age at which you can get a nose job should really be how early in life can you get one because you certainly can get one as late in life as you want. You can be 70, 80, or more, as long as you can take general anesthesia.
So, let’s talk about how young you can be to get a nose job. There are two factors that greatly affect that decision. One is emotional maturity and the other is physical maturity. Emotional maturity is whether or not the patient can withstand the ramifications of surgery and cooperate with me on their after care. I often look to the parents of younger patients to give me insight into that.
As for physical maturity, I don’t want to perform surgery on a patient whose face is going to change a lot, specifically with regards to the continued growth of their noses. Their nose could still be growing which would impact the surgery down the road.
The reality is that our nose is really small when we’re young in comparison to the size of an adult nose, but if you look at the ears of a child, they’re already 80% to 90% the size of an adult ear by the time they’re 5 years sold. When we go through puberty, our nose changes in size. It slims down and gets longer. Sometimes we develop a bump that could be caused by trauma or genetics. Most times our noses look like the nose of one of our parents or a combination of both parents’s noses.
Before I would agree to perform surgery on someone, I want to know that they have already gone through puberty a few years earlier. As a general rule, male skeletons mature later than female skeletons. If the patient is male and they’re body is full size or close to it, usually between 15 and 17 years old, they are probably physically mature enough for a nose job. On the other hand, most women are physically mature earlier, typically by about 13 or 14 years old, or about two years post first menstruation. Next we have to factor in emotional maturity. Thirteen year old girls and 15 year old boys are not that mature emotionally.
In my practice, I will commonly perform surgery on 16 to 18 year old males, but I don’t do that many surgeries on 13 year olds unless they’ve got a major physical problem, such as trauma to their nose that is causing a major obstruction. We also look at nose size and/or a deformity that may cause the child to be ridiculed in school. In those cases, I defer to the parents to decide whether or not to proceed with surgery..
One interesting fact is that I find that my 16 or 17 year old male patients tend to more commonly faint when getting their splints or sutures removed. They think they’re tough, but the minute we remove the split or suture they get lightheaded and/or faint about 90% of the time.
What age do you recommend getting a nose job?
I recommend a nose job for those females ages 14 to 16 years old, and for males between the ages of 16 and 18, preferably at the older end of the scale. I love performing rhinoplasties. They are one of my passions. As a sculpting part of my practice, I love crafting the perfect nose for my patients. Come to see me in my office.
Have questions?
Email Dr. Sykes at [email protected]
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About Dr. Jonathan Sykes
Dr. Jonathan Sykes is a world-famous expert plastic surgeon who performs all cosmetic and functional plastic surgery procedures on the face and neck. He is a past president of The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and served on their Board of Directors for over 10 years. He is also a Professor Emeritus in Facial Plastic Surgery from UC Davis Medical Center, and the former Director of Facial Plastic Surgery at that institution.
He is known as the expert’s expert, and is often called to consult and advise other plastic surgeons in both Northern California and Beverly Hills. He has a special interest in eyelid and browlift surgery, facial rejuvenation surgery including facelifts, and rhinoplasty. He also has a particular interest in facial feminization surgery. Have questions? Email Dr.Sykes at: [email protected]
