Difference in Perception of Nasal Aesthetic Appearance Between Surgeons and Rhinoplasty Patients: A Single-Center Perspective


 
 
 Patient satisfaction is an essential outcome measure after a rhinoplasty. Yet differences of opinions between rhinoplasty patients and surgeons on nasal aesthetic appearance are unknown.
 
 
 
 To determine the differences between patients and surgeons in the perception of nasal aesthetic appearance.
 
 
 
 A retrospective cohort of 300 patients seen in consultation for cosmetic, functional, or combined cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty at a single tertiary care center from June 2017 to June 2020 were studied. Based on preoperative patient images, six surgeons with varying levels of expertise assessed nasal aesthetics utilizing a modified Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey for nasal cosmesis (SCHNOS-C). These scores were then compared to the patient reported SCHNOS-C scores.
 
 
 
 The cosmetic, functional, and combined subgroups consisted of 100 patients each. The mean age (SD) was 35.4 (13.7) years and 64% were women. The modified SCHNOS-C scores were well-correlated among the six surgeons but showed only weak correlations of 0.07 to 0.20 between patient reported scores and scores assessed by the surgeons. Compared to the surgeon’s scores, patients in the cosmetic subgroup perceived their nasal aesthetic problems to be more severe whereas the those in the functional subgroup perceived their nasal aesthetic problems to be milder compared to the surgeons.’
 
 
 
 Our findings suggest that patients and surgeons perceive nasal cosmesis differently. This difference should be considered carefully when planning rhinoplasty or assessing its outcome.
