I am now 30 years old and my insecurity over my nose has not gone away or lessoned with the years.

Your questions answered by our surgeon, Lucian Ion, FRCS(Plast)

Asked on 09 March 2011

Question

I came from Ireland to see you in London about 4 years ago, I think. I had a consultation and although I was very impressed with your practice and methods I remained too nervous to go ahead with the procedure.

I am now 30 years old and my insecurity over my nose has not gone away or lessoned with the years. If time has taught me anything its that the most devasting afect this insecurity has on my life is its ability to ruin relationships; in particular any meaningful relationship I would hope to have with a boyfriend.

Photographs are prohibited, whether at a party or just the two of us! I speak to you of relationships that have broken down previously.

In June I am set to go abroad to study art and cinema but I know deep down I wont be able to cope. I can just see myself sitting looking out a window on to a street drenched in dappled sunlight and me sat staring out of it as if it were my old window in Ireland looking still onto a deam from afar.

I am an artist, I have always painted and drawn from a young age. I am also a twin. The esthetics have always been something that has entrapped me sometimes helping me to create good art but other times hindering my progress and development as a women who's heart aches to be loved and cherished and to be loving and cherishing to that person.

I have met someone in the last few months and it saddend me because I feel the old pattern coming back. His disilusionment growing over my shyness and reclusion. An Afliction many artists have suffered from and will continue to do so, thus is the sensitive nature of an artist I supose! Because of these eyes so acutely attend to aesthetic beauty I am afraid that even the finest work of a good surgeon will fail to please me.

I would like to have another consultation with you if that were posible in a hope to have a comunication with you that goes some way to reassure me further that surgery would be a positive option for me to take.

Answer

My impression is that the shape is less relevant than the echo it has on the person. In this respect, the degree to which a particular shape of the nose affects you would be worthwhile discussing with a psychologist.

With regards to surgery itself, it can contribute significantly to the feeling of comfort regarding image of oneself, and preparation using computerised imaging can certainly help to define the targets, even though the end result will always be somewhat different from the simulation.

The advice I would give him a situation like this, is that a combination of psychology input and surgery is more likely to succeed then either by themselves.

Mr Lucian Ion FRCS(Plast)
129 Harley Street
London
W1G 6BA