How Old Do You Have to Be Before Dorsal Hump Can Be Removed?

The answer for my practice is when patients have clearly established skeletal maturity.  Some people hit puberty earlier than others, and so develop younger as well. That translates to around 16 for most kids, but as the other answers imply, women develop earlier. Not only are the results more predictable for a lifetime of a balanced result, but patients are better equipped emotionally for the process. Be patient, it will pay off for you!

Hello,
Generally we wait until 15 years old for a female and 16 for a male. When performed properly by a highly skilled surgeon, rhinoplasty with hump removal can yield excellent results. Hope this helps answer your question. Thank you and best of luck.
Dr. Nassif

 There are exceptions to this, but this is a good general rule. Once the nose is done growing. A good surgeon will not make the nose look worse.

The issue here is that current dogma (not supported by good studies) is that surgery on the nose (especially the septum) can affect growth centers of the midface area. So, for an elective procedure, we'd rather wait until growth is complete rather than take that risk. While maturation will vary for each individual, for young women most facial growth is probably complete by 14-16, and for young men 16-18. Again, each individual should be evaluated separately and some doctors may be more conservative than others.

Hope this helps.

The age where it is safe to do rhinoplasty varies per individual as some boys and girls go through puberty and their growth spurt earlier and later than others. Operating before the growth spurt can allow the nose to grow after surgery requiring a revision rhinoplasty to maintain results. The age range I think is safe for girls is 15 to 17 and boys 16 to 18.
There are extreme cases where we will do surgery earlier when a child's self-esteem is so damaged by their appearance that it impedes their social development and affects their mental health.