The Effect of Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery, Body Appreciation, and Nasal Obstruction on Patient Satisfaction After Rhinoplasty

Overview

Predicting functional and appearance results, and therefore satisfaction, is difficult after rhinoplasty. The study investigated whether nasal obstruction, body appreciation and acceptance of cosmetic surgery predict satisfaction afterward. Ninety seven consecutive patients were included prospectively, with demographics and body mass index recorded alongside four questionnaires completed before surgery and at three months.

Sections of note

• Prospective study of 97 consecutive rhinoplasty patients.
• Instruments were the NOSE scale, the Body Appreciation Scale-2, the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale and the Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation.
• All four scores differed significantly between before and after surgery.
• Mean Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation score improved from 36.8 to 82.1.
• Postoperative satisfaction was not significantly correlated with age, body mass index, preoperative acceptance of cosmetic surgery, or postoperative body appreciation or acceptance scores.
• Preoperative body appreciation correlated significantly with acceptance of cosmetic surgery both before and after surgery.
• Preoperative nasal obstruction and preoperative body appreciation were significant predictors of postoperative satisfaction in regression analysis.
• The authors conclude acceptance of cosmetic surgery is not such a factor.

What it means for a patient

• Two things measurable before surgery predicted satisfaction afterward: how blocked the nose felt and how the patient regarded their own body.
• How favourably a patient viewed cosmetic surgery in general did not predict their satisfaction.
• Follow up was three months, which is early for judging a rhinoplasty result.
• Ninety seven patients at one centre without a comparison group limits how far this generalizes.

Why this paper matters

Identifying who will be satisfied before operating is the persistent problem in cosmetic rhinoplasty. This study tests three candidate predictors and finds two hold. Whether the association persists beyond three months is not addressed.

Terms

• Body appreciation: a measure of how positively a person regards their own body.
• Acceptance of cosmetic surgery: a measure of how favourably a person views such procedures generally.
• NOSE scale: the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation questionnaire.
• Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation: a satisfaction questionnaire scored out of 100.
• Regression analysis: a statistical method testing which factors predict an outcome.