Can Rhinoplasty Make My Nose Look Like Justin Biebers?

Q: Hello Dr. Eppley, I am an Asian male and want to know if alar plasty can reduce the size my nostrils and reshape my nose? It kind of looks like Eddie Murphy as it is really flared.  I want my nose to look like Justin Biebers nose , straight and pointed and not very flared. Can rhinoplasty make this happen?

A: When I hear these type of goals from a rhinoplasty, it brings me to a discussion of expectations and reality of what can be achieved from surgery. The simple answer to the question of whether you can have a nose like Justin Biebers is no. That is not surgically possible. Justin Biebers is Caucasian, you are Asian. The underlying anatomy of the nose stucture is different and, of equal importance, the overlying skin thickness and texture is not the same. This makes it impossible to achieve what is essentially transracial changes. Even if you were Caucasian, you still could not have his nose. Rhinoplasty can not make you look like someone else or give you someone else’s nose. Pictures of famous or other people faces are helpful, as they help to convey what one’s nose shape goals are, but they can not be surgically duplicated. One of the most challenging aspects of rhinoplasty surgery is to meet a patient’s expectations. When patients bring out celebrity or model photos to say what they want, it is always is a concern that their expectations may not be able to be realized.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis Indiana