Irvine, Calif. — Recently released study results suggest that rhinoplasty may make a patient look more than a year younger as well as improve his or her looks.
A research team led by Irvine plastic surgeon Ali Sepehr, M.D., had 50 observers look at photos of 53 rhinoplasty patients taken before and a year after their respective procedures. The researchers instructed the observers to estimate the ages of the patients, who ranged from 15 to 61 and whose average age was 35.
HealthDay News reports that the observers’ responses indicated they thought the rhinoplasty recipients looked 1.5 years younger, on average, with the more youthful look more evident in older patients than in younger ones.
“The rejuvenating effect of rhinoplasty can now objectively be listed as one of the benefits of undergoing this procedure,” the researchers wrote in their study. HealthDay News quotes Dr. Sepehr as saying, “It’s not a significant effect, as much as a facelift and necklift would do, but it is something.”
Some doctors familiar with the study attribute the more youthful look not so much to the physical results of the surgery, but to the positive impact it can have on a patient’s self-image. HealthDay News quotes Seth Thaller, M.D., chief of the division of plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, as saying, “I have noted a complete change in people’s own self-perception. They frequently feel better about themselves. They may change their hairstyle, clothing and makeup. This may in fact also help to make them appear younger or rejuvenated.”
The study appears in the January/February issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
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