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FAQ: How old do I have to be to get a rhinoplasty?Once you are done with the growth spurt of puberty, it's okay to have a rhinoplasty. That age is about 14 for women, and 15 for men. One way to tell when you're done is to check your height every four months or so. Once you've stopped getting taller, chances are excellent that it's safe to operate on the nose. Inside of the nose, there are places called growth centers, which help control the growth of the nose. If we operate too early, before the face is done growing, we might damage those growth centers, and the nose might not complete its growth in a normal fashion. For example, if we were to remove a hump on the nose at age twelve, the nose might grow crooked as it increases in size over the next couple of years, because some of the growth centers are working and others aren't. And some of the hump might return, too! Also, waiting until puberty has been completed gives the patient time to mature in his outlook and his understanding of the procedure. He'll be able to participate in making a better decision about whether the operation is a good idea, and he'll know more exactly what he wants. |
