How to Know if You’re a Good Candidate for a Nose Job (Rhinoplasty)

A rhinoplasty, commonly known as a nose job, is one of those procedures that can check two boxes: cosmetic and functional. And sometimes, a nose job can do double duty — we can reshape your nose and help you breathe easier.

This might explain why the nose job has historically been so popular and remains so today, with nearly 50,000 performed each year in the United States.

If you’re looking for guidance, we turn to the team at Michigan Avenue ENT (ear, nose, and throat), which operates under Michigan Avenue Primary Care. These specialists have a good amount of experience with rhinoplasty, and here’s what we want you to know about candidacy for this procedure.

What a nose job can accomplish

As we already mentioned, a nose job is a multi-tasking tool that can not only help people reshape their noses, but also help them breathe easier.

Cosmetically, the nose is located smack dab in the middle of your face, so its impact on your overall appearance is significant. If you feel that your appearance can be better served with a differently shaped nose, a rhinoplasty is the best way to accomplish that.

On the functional side of things, some people opt for a rhinoplasty because they’re struggling with breathing, congestion, and/or chronic snoring due to structural issues.

No matter what’s driving your decision to explore a rhinoplasty, it’s important to make sure that this procedure is right for you — or you’re right for it.

Determining candidacy for a nose job

When we sit down with patients to discuss whether a nose job is right for them, here’s what we consider:

Stage of growth of your nose

We only perform rhinoplasties on people whose facial growth is complete. This typically happens before age 18, which means nose jobs aren’t recommended for kids, since their noses haven’t reached their final shape. 

Good physical health

While we perform most rhinoplasties on an outpatient basis, we still use anesthesia and/or sedation, so you should be in good health for this. 

In fact, any time you undergo surgery, it can be a shock to your body, so we want to make sure that you’ll recover well and quickly, which you can’t do if your health isn’t great.

You can’t smoke (or vape)

One of the biggest hurdles to healing well is smoking, which includes vaping, as tobacco and nicotine can damage your body’s cardiovascular system and impair healing.

Your expectations are in line

A cosmetic nose job is designed to complement your natural appearance, not completely overhaul your appearance. So, it’s important that you understand that a nose job is a reshaping of an existing structure, and we’ll get as close to your goal as possible.

Thanks to computer modeling, we can give you a visual of the final result, but bear in mind that people heal differently, and this computer model is an approximation. But a good one nonetheless.

The best way to determine whether you’re a good candidate for a rhinoplasty is to sit down with one of our surgeons for a consultation. To get that ball rolling, please contact us at our clinic in Chicago, Illinois, in The Loop, to schedule an appointment.