Another concept that I had confirmed at my recent American Society of Plastic Surgeons meeting was considering rhinoplasty an element of a facial rejuvenation strategy. In youth, facial skin is tighter, more elastic, and holds softening fat in the right places. This all can make a sub optimal nose less noticeable. With aging, however, the sub optimal nose becomes a more obviously unattractive feature. Accordingly, a rhinoplasty in an older patient may not make her look more attractive, but it will likely have an even greater overall improvement to her attractiveness. As a younger surgeon, I was taught to not bring up body parts that the patient did not ask to be evaluated. I think this, in general, a good rule – it has to be the patient’s idea. But with more experience, I also think it is okay to use some judgment and make the suggestion that may not be so obvious. My heart is in the right place. So, with the right nose and the right aging face, I will suggest a rhinoplasty. Patients usually see the point immediately. Often, they will say, “I have always disliked my nose.” So when I went to a day long rhinoplasty course and one of the lectures reported that he offered a rhinoplasty to a large percentage of his facial aging patients, I was not surprised. I saw many nodding heads in the audience as well. Below are some links to rhinoplasties I have done in older patients.
Rhinoplasty / Rejuvenation example 1
