RHINOPLASTY PATIENTS CRITICAL SELF-EVALUATIONS OF THEIR NOSES

Many applicants for cosmetic rhinoplasty do not appear to have grossly deformed noses. This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy o f nasal evaluations in a group of 20 female cosmetic rhinoplasty patie nts, before and after surgery, relative to a matched nonrhinoplasty co ntrol group composed of 25 subjects. Self-assessments and surgeon asse ssments were obtained for both groups. Compared with those of controls , the noses of patients were found to be more deformed before and bett er shaped after the operation, according to both self-assessments and surgeon assessments. Rhinoplasty patients, in contrast to controls, te nded to downgrade the shape of their noses compared with surgeon asses sments both before and 4 months after surgery. Faulty evaluation was n ot associated with sociodemographic parameters, brief symptoms index ( BSI) scores, or the degree of patient satisfaction from surgical outco me. Replication and longer-term follow-up studies are needed and are a nticipated.