Reasons for rejection of rhinoplasty seeking patients: a multicentre observational study

To date, research on preoperative patient selection has mainly focused on patient personality, with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) being the most studied. Despite the many reasons for not planning a rhinoplasty, no data are available on the nature of these reasons. Our aim is to conduct a multicentre international observational study on the reasons for rejection of patients seeking rhinoplasty in 5 tertiary rhinoplasty care centres.

Surgeons documented the reasons for not scheduling a rhinoplasty in consecutive patients who consulted them between January 2021 and March 2022 using a predefined list of reasons for rejection. Surgeons were also asked to report on the patient attitudes after rejection, and about the advice given to patients in the event of refusal.

186 patients seeking rhinoplasty were included. Multiple reasons for rejection were present in 76% of patients, with a mean of 2.9 reasons for rejection per patient. Overall, patient-related factors were most frequently associated with rejection (64.3%), followed by nose-related factors (28.4%), surgeon-related factors (6.0 %) and surgery-related factors (1.3%). The presence of severe BDD symptoms was reported in only 11.3% of the rejected patients. Patients rejected for rhinoplasty were advised to reconsider the surgery (32.8 %) and/or were referred to another surgeon (32.8%). No further action was taken in 39.8% of the patients. Of the patients who were rejected, most had a neutral (39.2 %) or positive (37.1 %) attitude in relation to the lack of rhinoplasty planning.

This study highlights the variety of reasons for which patients seeking rhinoplasty are not considered good candidates for a rhinoplasty, with patient-related factors being more prevalent than nose-related and other factors. Increasing awareness on the impact of adequate patient selection for rhinoplasty may contribute to better outcomes in rhinoplasty.