Here is a great example of teenage Rhinoplasty performed by Dr. Hilinski. This is a young lady who traveled to San Diego to see Dr. Hilinski because of his renowned skills in rhinoplasty surgery.

As with many teenagers, she was quite concerned about the appearance of her Nose. More specifically, she was unhappy about how large her nose appeared relative to her other facial features.

On the front view of her nose, you can see how her nasal tip dominated the appearance. Her nasal bridge was a bit wide as seen from the frontal view. But it was the wide, drooping nasal tip that was of primary concern. You can also readily see this issue with the tip of her nose on the oblique view provided here.

On her lateral view, you can also appreciate how her nose was simply too big for her face. It was over projected – meaning it stuck out too far. Plus it was under rotated – meaning it was a bit droopy, which confirms what you saw on her front and oblique views.

The overall goal in a rhinoplasty like is to try and make the nose smaller in size by lifting the tip and bringing it back closer to the face. Unfortunately, this case was made much more challenging due to the fact she had fairly thick skin. Thicker skin like hers just doesn’t want to shrink down in size. So Dr. Hilinski had to make sure that whatever he did to her nose was taking into consideration the fact her skin was moderately thick.

Teenagers Undergoing Rhinoplasty

So what is the age cutoff for teenagers considering rhinoplasty surgery? In our San Diego practice, Dr. Hilinski has performed cosmetic rhinoplasty surgery as well as functional nose reconstruction on female patients as young as 14 or 15. Because males tend to mature a bit later, he will recommend they wait until 17-18 years old before having rhinoplasty surgery.

One of the main concerns about teenage rhinoplasty is whether or not the patient will continue to grow after the surgery. If so, this could be a detriment to healing and maintaining the desired shape in terms of the nose. The risk of this has to be weighted in comparison to the potential benefits of doing rhinoplasty in a teenage patient. In many cases, this has more to do with teenagers and their self-esteem as it relates to the appearance of their nose. Critics will often say that these teenage rhinoplasty patients should be counseled to accept themselves as they are with their current nose – and that we as a society should not encourage plastic surgery amongst teenagers because it sends the wrong message about self-acceptance. But the argument to this is the fact that plastic surgery can and does make a significant positive impact on many teenagers who are uncomfortable with their looks – particularly when it comes to cosmetic concerns with their nose since it is so central to their face. We have all heard it before – kids can be so cruel. And the stress and anxiety of having to deal with a large nose or abnormally shaped nose through the teenage years can be overbearing. In today’s day and age of social media and bullying, this can be even more palpable and relevant. If someone can undergo a surgical procedure that creates a more normal looking nose and, thus, reduce or eliminate these type of social concerns, why not have a rhinoplasty surgery as a teenager? Over the years, Dr. Hilinski has performed many teenage rhinoplasties for this exact reason – and has seen hugely positive changes in the way these patients now approach life.

Teenage Rhinoplasty Photos

In this particular teenager, Dr. Hilinski recommended an open rhinoplasty approach because he wanted to be able to really focus on her nasal tip changes. During the surgery, he confirmed that she had fairly thick skin – which would ultimately limit how much definition could be drawn out from her nose. But he was still successful in helping to make very nice changes to the shape of her nose. He performed some reshaping of her nasal bones to try and make them more narrow. Dr. Hilinski also tried to bring her nasal tip back closer to the face while rotating the tip up slightly. In the process, he also narrowed her nasal tip and placed some small cartilage grafts in an attempt to give her more definition.

Here are her actual before and after photos. Overall, you can appreciate how her nose is now smaller in size and more proportional for her face. On the front view, the nasal tip has been lifted and narrowed – along with narrowing of her nasal bones. On the oblique view you can begin to see even more how the nasal tip has been rotated upward. As you then look at her side view, you can really see how the tip was lifted nicely and the entire nose was shortened. In the process of doing this during her rhinoplasty, Dr. Hilinski also brought the nasal tip back closer to the face – called deprojection of the nasal tip. Most importantly, she still looks like herself! Her nose has been altered quite a bit by the rhinoplasty, but she still looks very natural. After all, as a teenager undergoing rhinoplasty surgery, the goal was to simply improve upon certain features of her nose that she just didn’t like – not to change her entire facial appearance.