How Do You Know if You Have Thick Skin? (photo)

Question

I keep reading about people who say they have thick skin and how it affects rhinoplasty results... but how do you know? What effect does it have on rhinoplasty?

William Portuese, MD · Answer

When patient's have thick skin it blunts the results of the cartilage sculpting that occurs in the tip. Patients with thick skin tend  to take much longer period of time to heal.

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

Thicker skin limits how much the nose can be refined.  If you can see the tip cartilages through the skin, the skin is thin.  Find a plastic surgeon with ELITE credentials  who performs hundreds of rhinoplasties and rhinoplasty revisions each year.  Then look at the  plastic surgeon's website before and after photo galleries to get a  sense of who can deliver the results.	Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Stephen P. Smith, Jr., MD · Answer

A rhinoplasty surgeon will be able to tell you if you have
thick skin. When patients have thick skin, the refinements made during surgery
don't translate as well through that thick skin envelope. As surgeons we are
limited with the result we can deliver when skin is thicker. Thin skin
challenges us in different ways. Any irregularities that remain or are created
in the cartilage or bone of the nose during surgery will translate through the
skin and be readily visible. The skin therefore creates some limitations which
surgeons need to keep in mind when counseling patients.

Richard J. Brown, MD · Answer

You are correct with what you have heard. Having thicker skin can make Rhinoplasty surgery very challenging. The only way to know is to find a trusted board certified surgeon who can give you a proper in office evaluation.

Peter V. Driscoll, MD (license suspended) · Answer

Just feel it.  Pinch it.  Feel whats underneath.  If you can't feel much underneath, you have thick skin of the nose.  What this means in terms of your nose job is that the surgeon you pick must have a lot of experience dealing with thick skin and how to make BIG changes under the skin to make a difference in the mirror 6 months later after the swelling has gone done!!  Hope that helps!!Dr. D

Jay M. Pensler, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Skin thickness affects the ability to define the underlying structures. Your skin does no appear to be prohibitively thick.Fat also decreases the refinement that can be achieved.

How Do You Know if You Have Thick Skin? (photo)

Answers (6)

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