ABSTRACT
In a perfect world, the relationship between the plastic surgeon and the aesthetic surgery patient would be even more favorable than in other medical encounters, a nicety that does not apply to the patient frightened by a new cancer diagnosis or intoxicated in a lonely emergency room. In cosmetic cases, everything should be different. The new criteria have perhaps unavoidable practical limitations for surgeons and physicians. Dissatisfaction after rhinoplasty is legendary, as is the degree to which some patients will go to obtain flawless results. In cancer or trauma, the diagnosis is unquestioned and the patient’s response can be presumed to be “normal” within his or her cultural norm. The driving motivation for plastic surgery is often more complex than the deformity: not every person with an unattractive nose wants a rhinoplasty.
