Excessive Facial Aging After Rhinoplasty surgery? Tri Valley Plastic Surgery

I just turned 26 and had Rhinoplasty surgery a year and a half ago at 24. I have noticed what I believe to be extreme and embarassing aging in that time, including permanent nasolabial wrinkles, crows feet, and bags under my eyes no matter how much I sleep. I actually asked my plastic surgeon at about 6 months after, if he had ever seen sagging or problems with extra skin after Rhinoplasty, and he told me it was just aging. However, he has not seen me more recently and it seems this really is excessive aging for a 26 year-old. I have seen from others on this site for the first time that experienced similar fat loss and drooping, which is interesting and validating. I have had some weight loss in this time, but probably not more than 5-10 pounds. However, I am about 115 at 5'6" so maybe this amount has more impact. I have also developed permanent red spots on the sides of my nose, where it looks hollow (don't wear glasses). Question is, what are your opinions on whether this is excessive or not, causes, and especially your recommendations the best solutions for a 26 yo. It seems young to have a face lift, but I also would not want to do injections every 5 months for the rest of my life. My skin is also sensitive and laser skin resurfacing seems like something that would scar, or that Sculptra would be most likely have bad side effects for me. I feel vain to want plastic surgery solutions so badly, but it is so dramatic that I no longer feel attractive with permanent wrinkles and eye bags no matter how much I sleep, and just feel too young for this.

Facial aging after Rhinoplasty unlikely

Thanks for the question. First, it is unlikely that a Rhinoplasty in itself caused accelerated facial aging. It is possible that after investing time, money and pain from recovery and surgery, you are paying more attention to your face and becoming more critical of yourself. Doctors often encourage patients to bring in these types of pictures, but it is important to realize their limitations. I think your pictures have relatively good consistency of the position of your mouth, but in some of them you are squinting somewhat secondary to the sun or lighting. Consistent photos (same camera, same lighting, same distance, same background) are critical for true comparisons. All that being said, I do think that your nasolabial folds are somewhat more pronounced. This may be part of your normal aging. Different people obviously manifest signs of aging differently because of differences in environment, skin elasticity, facial structure and many other factors. A ten pound weight loss is likely not overly significant in the formation of crow's feet or deeper nasolabial folds. It typically requires greater weight loss to manifest concerns you address in someone who is relatively young (your skin tone is more resistant to these wrinkles when you are younger). My first piece of advice would be to take a deep breath. If these issues really bother you there are permanent effective, low scar techniques like fat grafting to soften these lines. For younger patients that have these concerns, we typically recommend trying a facial filler because it is temporary. If our patients like the results, we can perform fat grafting with virtually no scar. They've done quite well with this two stage process. I hope this helps.