Abstract
Our study group has researched for >10 years in the field of Quality of Life after
plastic, aesthetic, and reconstructive surgery, asking the following questions: “Does
aesthetic surgery improve the Quality of Life?” and “Can a higher Quality of Life
offset the risk of surgical procedures.” As part of our series of studies examining
the correlation of cosmetic surgery and the postoperative well-being, this study examines
the influence of rhinoplasty, as a single indication, specifically on the Quality
of Life (QoL) of patients. The data of 90 patients who underwent rhinoplasty between
1997 and 2007 were prospectively collected and were retrospectively analyzed. For
a competitive analysis, our evaluation was divided into the following five parts:
a self-developed indication-specific questionnaire and the standardized instruments
Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI), Questions on Life SatisfactionModules (FLZM), Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI-R), and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire
(RSES). Numerous improvements in patients' QoL were observed. The result of the GBI
(17.19) based on a scale –100 to 100 indicates an improved QoL after rhinoplasty.
Significant improvements in the item relationship/sexuality were shown in the general
part of the FLZM (p = 0.042). The average score (6.32) on a scale of 0 to 14 in the FPI-R questionnaire
resulted in a common emotionality and self-assessment, while the RSES (33.64) on a
scale 10 to 40 indicated a high self-confidence and a statistically significant improvement
(p = 0.0001) compared with German norm data. The knowledge of positive social and psychological
benefits and an improved sexuality in the partnership support the meaningfulness of
rhinoplasty.
Keywords
quality of life - rhinoplasty - aesthetic surgery - patients' satisfaction
