Self-esteem and rhinoplasty: a case-control study

Aim: Self-esteem is one’s attitude towards oneself. It is one of the most important psychological aspects of rhinoplasty, a common aesthetic operation. Prior studies have indicated an improvement in patients’ self-esteem after this operation. The aim of current study was to preoperatively compare self-esteem in patients seeking aesthetic rhinoplasty with that of functional rhinoplasty patients. Methods: A total of 42 patients completed the validated Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale preoperatively (21 aesthetic surgery patients and 21 functional surgery patients). Those with both aesthetic and functional purposes were categorized regarding their primary objective. The t-test for independent groups was used for analysis of the data, and Cohen’s d was calculated as a measure of effect size. Results: The mean level of self-esteem in the aesthetic surgery group was significantly lower than that of the functional surgery group (P < 0.05). Age, gender, socio-economic status, and educational backgrounds were analyzed and comparative analysis of each showed no significant difference between the two groups. The value of effect size measure was very high (d = 1.04). Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that aesthetic rhinoplasty patients had lower self-esteem in comparison with functional rhinoplasty patients.