Evaluation of Preoperative and Postoperative Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Rhinoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Overview

Many individual studies report satisfaction after rhinoplasty, but they vary in size and setting. This systematic review searched electronic databases for studies using the Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation scale and combined their results statistically, with subgroup analyses by follow-up length and age.

Sections of note

• 377 articles were retrieved; 8 studies were included in the final analysis, all observational.
• Results were pooled with a random effects model; effect size reported as standardized mean difference with 95 percent confidence intervals.
• Overall satisfaction improved: standardized mean difference 5.87, 95% CI 3.55 to 8.19, I squared 100 percent.
• Younger patients derived greater benefit, SMD 6.69, 95% CI 3.65 to 9.74, I squared 99 percent, than older patients, SMD 3.48, 95% CI 3.01 to 3.96, I squared 0 percent.
• Maximum improvement in satisfaction occurred at 6 to 12 months of follow-up, SMD 11.07, 95% CI -8.79 to 32.12, I squared 100 percent.
• Level of evidence IV, therapeutic.

What it means for a patient

• Satisfaction rises substantially after rhinoplasty across the studies pooled here.
• The 6 to 12 month estimate has a confidence interval crossing zero, so that specific timing finding is not statistically reliable.
• Heterogeneity of 100 percent means the included studies disagreed strongly with each other, which weakens the pooled figure.
• Limits: only 8 observational studies, no randomized trials, one satisfaction instrument, and no data on who was dissatisfied or why.

Why this paper matters

It is one of the few quantitative syntheses of rhinoplasty satisfaction data and gives a headline effect size. The extreme heterogeneity is the main caveat and reflects how differently rhinoplasty outcomes are measured. Pooling observational studies cannot separate the effect of surgery from expectation and selection.

Terms

• Meta-analysis: Statistically combining the results of multiple studies.
• Standardized mean difference: An effect size expressing change in units of variability, allowing different studies to be compared.
• Random effects model: A pooling method that allows for true differences between studies.
• I squared: A measure of how much study results disagree; 100 percent means near total inconsistency.
• Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation: A validated questionnaire scoring satisfaction with nasal appearance and function.