By: Thomas Buonassisi, MD

At my plastic surgery clinic in Vancouver, BC, I perform rhinoplasty, face lifts, and a number of other facial procedures for both men and women. While each patient has different goals and challenges that need to be met individually, male patients create some specific challenges. Here are some important questions men need to ask before their Vancouver rhinoplasty to help plan for good results.

Technical Challenges

• What to ask your surgeon: What kind of special considerations do you take to ensure good results in male rhinoplasty, specifically?
• Why: Most men’s noses are naturally larger than women’s and tend to have a higher amount of bone and cartilage that they would like to reduce or reshape. This leads some surgeons to overcompensate surgically for very large or very prominent noses, and in the process reduce the nose far too much. More experienced surgeons will in most cases opt for a more conservative approach that will prevent an “over-aggressive” procedure and help avoid the need for revision surgery. An honest surgeon will also be upfront with you about whether thicker skin or other factors will limit the extent of change you can achieve.

Aesthetic Challenges

• What to ask your surgeon: May I see pictures of past male rhinoplasty patients to evaluate their results?
• Why: At my facial plastic surgery clinic in Vancouver, BC, my personal goal is to make sure each patient’s results are a “good fit” for their natural features. I mentioned already how some surgeons tend to “overcompensate” for larger noses, but some will also tend to narrow the nostrils or nose tip and / or reduce the nasal bridge too far. This can damage the masculinity of the features by softening the nose and creating a more feminized appearance, so when you look at your surgeon’s rhinoplasty photos, take into account how well he or she created a nose structure that matched the patient’s natural facial angles.

Expectations

• What to ask yourself: What specific characteristics about my nose would I like to see changed, and which ones do I think look good already?
• Why: Younger male patients are typically the hardest to please when it comes to rhinoplasty results. Partly, studies suggest that this is because men, and young men in particular, tend to come to their rhinoplasty consultations with a much more general idea of how and why they want to see improvements.

A good Vancouver rhinoplasty surgeon will take the time to help you make your goals and expectations much more specific, and make sure they match up with reasonable and healthy objectives. Before you meet with your surgeon, ask yourself how and why you want to see these changes, look at your nose from multiple angles, and don’t be shy of getting input from other people. Healthy expectations can go a long way to promote a more effective surgical plan and more satisfying results.