Rhinoplasty
Also known as nose job, nasal surgery
The highest-impact facial surgery for most people, and the least forgiving. Surgeon selection matters more here than in any other procedure.
US $8,000–20,000. Europe and Turkey considerably less, but factor in the cost and difficulty of revision abroad.
How it works
The surgeon reshapes the bone, cartilage and soft tissue of the nose. Open rhinoplasty uses a small columellar incision for full visibility; closed rhinoplasty works entirely through the nostrils. Modern structural technique preserves and repositions cartilage with grafts and sutures rather than aggressively removing it, because over-resection is what caused the collapsed, operated look of earlier decades.
How it's used
Consult at least three board-certified facial plastic or plastic surgeons. Look specifically at their before/afters on noses like yours and at ethnicity-appropriate results. Ask what percentage of their practice is rhinoplasty and how many revisions they perform. Bring photographs of outcomes you like rather than of celebrities.
Trade-offs
In favour
- Can dramatically change facial harmony
- Permanent result
- Can be combined with septoplasty to fix breathing at the same time
- Well-established technique with predictable outcomes in expert hands
Against
- Revision rate of roughly 5–15% even with good surgeons
- Final result takes a full year or more to appear
- Highly technique-dependent — outcomes vary enormously by surgeon
- Expensive, and revisions cost more than the original
Risks and side effects
- Breathing impairment if structural support is over-resected
- Asymmetry, irregularities and visible grafts
- Prolonged swelling, particularly at the tip and in thick skin
- Numbness of the nasal tip, usually temporary
- Standard anaesthetic and infection risks
Recovery
Days 1–7: cast or splint, significant swelling and bruising around the eyes, sleep elevated. Week 2: bruising fading, back to desk work. Weeks 3–6: no contact sport, no glasses resting on the bridge. Months 3–12: gradual refinement as residual swelling resolves.
How good is the evidence?
Extremely well-established surgical procedure with extensive outcome literature. Satisfaction rates are high with experienced surgeons but strongly operator-dependent.
Sources
- Rhinoplasty outcomes and revision literaturePubMed
- Find a board-certified surgeonAmerican Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Sources point to guideline bodies and literature searches rather than single papers, so they stay accurate as the evidence moves.