Should a 15 year old get a nose job?

Question

I am 15 and have a nose bump, I want to get a nose job to remove it but I feel my nose is still growing. one side of my nose feels fatter.

Oakley Smith, MD, FRCSC · Answer

Is there a physical or medical cause which limits the age for rhinoplasty? For many years surgeons felt early surgery on the nose would alter negatively its growth. The commonly accepted rule was two years after the start of menarche as most teenage girls have reached their full height at this time. However this thinking has been challenged and the opinion is now mixed and no longer clear and reassuring. Much of this work comes from Toronto, where Dr Crysdale has operated on hundreds of child with very severe nasal blockage. These kids, some as young as eight, have been followed into adulthood and no evidence suggests their nasal growth has been affected at all.I believe the decision to proceed with rhinoplasty isn’t so much as physical as mental. It’s a question of emotional maturity more so than physical. Everyone agrees the best outcomes can happen when it’s the patient who wants the nose job surgery, rather than anyone else. Teenagers are transitioning from dependency towards full independence. Their family, most notably their parents, are to some greater or less degree involved and influence the decision. If the surgeon feels the parents are promoting the surgery while the teenager is equivocal, the outcome and success is at risk. Regardless of the objective improvement, success, as defined by the patient, may not occur. There are several possible outcomes of teenage rhinoplasty, many which are not healthy for the teenage patient or the family.

Eric M. Joseph, MD · Answer

If you have reached your full height potential, it may be reasonable to consult several reputable rhinoplasty surgeons with your parents. If your pediatrician thinks you have not finished growing in stature, you should wait to consider rhinoplasty.Hope this helps, and wishing you well.Dr Joseph

Sirius K. Yoo, MD · Answer

Regardless of your age or sex, if you feel that you are still growing, I would dissuade you from having rhinoplasty as you may regret this decision later as your face continues to grow, but your nose does not.  Generally, boys should wait to have rhinoplasty until they are around 17 (or completed their growth) and women 15-16 (or completed their growth).  All the best!

Toby Mayer, MD · Answer

If you are a girl you can have it done now. If you are a boy wait until you are 18 or more if you are still growing. This is based on more than 35 years of  doing rhinoplasty.

Philip Solomon, MD, FRCS · Answer

It's generally recognized that the youngest age for rhinoplasty is 14 for females and  16 for males. At this age the nose is at its adult size.  Mentruation is also a sign of physical maturity for females.

Cory S. Goldberg, BSc, MD, FRCS(C) · Answer

generally, the nose continues to grow until around age 18. however, some people mature faster and so for many it is possible to do rhinoplasty at age 16. When I see patients who are 15 I usually order xrays of the hand which can assess how close someone is to finishing their bone growth. If a 15 year old is reasonably close to that point, it is safe.Also, at that age I am very careful to make sure that patients are mature enough to understand their decision. I also require parental participation in the decision and their consent as well, despite the fact that the law does not require this.

Alexander Ovchinsky, MD · Answer

It is generally accepted that the minimal age for rhinoplasty surgery is 15 in girls and 16 in boys. With that being said, if you are 15 and still growing (height/ shoe size) than I would suggest to wait another year before embarking on surgery.

Shervin Naderi, MD, FACS · Answer

Hi.  Its always best to make sure your face and body has completed most of its growth.  If mom and dad are over 6 feet tall and you are 5'2" then you want to wait as long as possible to make sure there are no major growth spurts coming.  But overall 14-16 is a safe age for rhinoplasty as long as mentally, emotionally and physically you are mature and realistic.  The two sides of the nose are almost never identical before or even after surgery. That does not mean one side is growing more than the other necessarily but there is nothing wrong with waiting another year or so.

R. Stephen Mulholland, MD (retired) · Answer

Dear peachvanilla,

Thank you for your clinical post and it is a common one.  Adolescence is a difficult time to mature
both emotionally and physically.  From a
physical perspective there’s still some controversy as to what is the best time
to operate on a nose particularly a nasal bump or overgrowth of the nasal bone
and septum as it would be prudent to allow full skeletal maturity and nasal
cartilaginous and bony growth prior to removing and shaping the nasal bridge or
some recurrence may occur following the surgery.  Generally, skeletal maturity occurs when the
growth plates in the wrist have fused in teenage women and teenage girls and
this is usually within 2 or 3 years after the age of menarche.  It can be a simple series of physical test to
determine whether you have reached skeletal maturity to the extent that you may
have your nasal bridge refined through a nose job surgery.  However, the most important question is one
of a psychological and emotional maturity. 
It is tough enough to be a teenager in this day and age without being
overly concerned with cosmetic appearance and slight imperfections.

Having said that, there are many body and face asymmetries
and the skeletal abnormalities that we do operate on such as cleft lip, cleft
lip palate, congenital abnormalities of the ear and eyes, as well as cleft lip
nose and even body contouring issues. 
So, there is no black or white answer is 15 the right age.  It depends on the emotional maturity of the
patient on full support of your family and you should seek out the advice of a
plastic surgeon together with your parents, do some computer imaging during
which time the new shape of your nose and nasofacial balance can be discussed.  It would also be a prudent, if not essential
to ensure that you have reached skeletal maturity and your family doctor or
pediatrician can do this through x-ray of your wrist growth plates and
metabolic and biologic history.

I hope this information has been of some assistance and best
of luck.

For more information, please review the link below.

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto

Richard W. Fleming, MD (retired) · Answer

With your name tag I'm assuming you're a lady. If I'm correct I'd feel comfortable doing a rhinoplasty on you. It is very unusual for the nose not to be fully grown on a young female like you.

Should a 15 year old get a nose job?

Answers (10)

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