Should I Tell my Friends That I'm Getting a Nose Job?

Hi Anne Onymous -

Consider telling friends who you feel will be a source of comfort and support during the healing process.

Sincerely,

Tom Kaniff

The motivations to have Rhinoplasty surgery are complex and multifactorial.  Appropriate causative factors are frequently related to an individual's self image and subsequent self confidence, history of nasal injury, problems with nasal function, and desire to improve facial aesthetics and/or harmony.  Only motivated patients who display a realistic sense about possible outcomes are appropriate patients.  Although you may have friends who are able to empathize with your concerns, there will always be those who are not.  The challenge for the patient is differentiating between the two groups.  A large majority of my patients will share with their most trusted confidants, while a minority will share with everyone or tell no one.

The emphatic answer, in my opinion, is NO, do not tell anyone, except those you are counting on to care for you after the procedure.  Aesthetic surgery is a personal matter.  Jealous friends may try to talk you out of it, not wanting you to look better than they do.  Close friends, who don't suffer the anguish you do about your nose, may say you don't need it, and make you feel guilty about doing it.  You are doing it for yourself, and nobody else.  They don't need to know until afterward, and then, only if they ask or if you wish to tell them.  You do NOT need their approval, they aren't paying for it, and they're not dissatisfied with your nose, YOU ARE.  Cosmetic surgery is all about YOU!