Plastic Surgery Might be the Trendy New Graduation Gift

The transition from college to career — and that (potential) break in between — also allows for more significant transformations, granting the downtime they may demand. “Rhinoplasty [a.k.a. a nose job] is a huge graduation gift — my summers are booked solid with young people getting this surgery before starting a new gig,” said Dara Liotta, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in New York City. Those footing the bill — usually parents or grandparents — often tell Liotta that the patient has forever been preoccupied by how his or her nose looks at certain angles, and they want their loved one to “enter into the next phase of life feeling confident and strong,” she said. An equally sought-after surgery for grads is otoplasty, which “involves reducing the angle between the ears and scalp, and can also make the ears smaller, or recreate their natural curves,” explains New York City plastic surgeon Melissa Doft, adding that the procedure tends to relieve the psychological distress experienced by many with prominent ears.