Effectiveness of cosmetic nose surgery on psychological well-being, quality of life, and body image in applicants of cosmetic surgery

Cosmetic nose surgery is one of the most popular surgeries around the world, especially in Iran. Psychological elements paly some effective roles on applications for cosmetic surgery and also on the applicantschr('39') precognition and satisfaction with surgery. The psychology of cosmetic surgery has not been studied as it should be, and most of studies have focused on clinical reports or limited variables such as personal satisfaction with surgery, which highlights the need for research in this area.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cosmetic nose surgery on two important psychological elements: psychological well-being, and quality of life. 

This is an applied and quasi-experimental research. Measuring tools are the questionnaires of Ryffchr('39')s (1989) psychological well-being and quality of life (Nejat, 2008). Statistical population included all the applicants of cosmetic nose surgery at the private cosmetic clinics in Tehran in 2017, from whom 20 individuals were selected by convenience sampling and 20 individuals were selected from non-applicants as the control group.

The results of multivariable covariance analysis and t-test showed that nose surgery did not affect individualschr('39') psychological well-being and its elements including self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, autonomy, mastery of the environment, purposeful life, and individual growth. Moreover, quality of life and its elements, namely physical, psychological, environmental and social relations in the experimental group after cosmetic nose surgery didn’t change significantly.

Maybe, cosmetic surgery actually doesn’t meet applicants’ expectations, and accordingly it has no effect on psychological well-being and quality of life. Therefore, psychological evaluation of applicants before cosmetic surgery in terms of psychological well-being and quality of life can be useful.