Prevalence of Self-photography in Patients Presenting for Primary Aesthetic Rhinoplasty

Abstract

Habitual self-photographs or selfies have been anecdotally associated with patients presenting for cosmetic rhinoplasty. Our objective was to establish the prevalence of self-photography in patients presenting for aesthetic rhinoplasty. Secondary objective was to determine if presenting nasal concerns have changed since taking selfies became widely accepted in 2013. Demographic data, referral source, and nasal concerns were retrospectively collected for 100 consecutive patients seeking cosmetic rhinoplasty consultations in 2018 and 2012. Revision cases were excluded. A voluntary, paper-based survey was used to capture the frequency of self-photography during the initial consultation in 2018. One hundred consecutive patients were included from January through September of 2018. Out of 92 survey respondents, 80.4% admitted to taking selfies. Patients engaging in self-photography less than once per month composed 23.9%, followed by weekly in 21.7% and daily in 20.7% of survey respondents. A 17% increase in Internet-sourced patient referrals was observed in 2018. The top 3 nasal complaints in the 2018 cohort were tip-related followed by hump and big nose. Whereas the 2012 cohort was mostly concerned with hump, tip shape, and nasal obstruction. Most patients seeking primary cosmetic rhinoplasty engage in self-photography. Monitoring changes in the patterns of referrals and patient’s aesthetic concerns about nasal appearance are important for rhinoplasty surgeons as their practice evolves to integrate social networking and Internet-based communications. III