My teenage daughter wants a nose job. How can I show her what one would look like?

Q. My 17-year-old daughter would like to do her rhinoplasty. I am reluctant to let her do her nose because of her age and I do not feel she is ready for surgery. Is there anything I can do to let her see what her nose might look like before she actually does surgery?

A. I know that many parents are reluctant to have their children have surgery at such an early age. In young women, surgery may be done when they’re around 15 and 16.

If a young girl is not physically or emotionally ready to have surgery, there are several ways to give her the impression of what she might look like.

The best and most non-invasive way is with imaging of the nose. Realistic imaging can be achieved when the physician does the imaging and demonstrates what the final result will look like.

More recently, a liquid rhinoplasty — filling in the nose with hyaluronic acid — can be done to demonstrate what a rhinoplasty might look like. But a liquid rhinoplasty is different from an actual rhinoplasty procedure.

Among the differences: The nose will be bigger than a regular rhinoplasty, and the angle and the shape will change. If you and your daughter understand that, then it is a reasonable way to give you an idea of what a rhinoplasty might look like.

It is imperative that a liquid rhinoplasty be done by a welltrained physician or injector. Complications that can result include intravascular injection of the material, skin irritation and loss of skin. In the absolute worst-case scenario, blindness.

While these are rare, they do occur.

Dr. Carlos Wolf is a partner in Miami Plastic Surgery and is board certified. Email questions to him at Cwolf@miamiplasticsurgery.com