What do you see when you look in the mirror?

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Some people don’t like the reflection. However hard you may be on yourself, imagine the burden for your child or teen when they look in the mirror and see something they feel embarrassed about but are powerless to change.

As we grow from a child to a young adult, some physical features can become a concern about how we feel about ourselves and make us very self-conscious. Kids lose confidence and become more introverted. That’s especially difficult when they are at an age when trying to fit in and make friends is already hard. Teasing — whether good-natured or not — triggers insecurity. Insecurity and self-doubt leave scars, the scars on the inside that no one can see.

Life does not have to be like this! More and more parents and even the young adults themselves are seeking solutions for dealing with issues such as protruding ears and noses that just aren’t quite right. Dr. James Shire, M.D, F.A.C.S., can help eliminate the physical problem that is holding your child back from their full potential. Two of the most common surgical requests are for Otoplasty and Rhinoplasty.

Otoplasty refers to the changing of the shape of the ear for aesthetic reasons. Dr. Shire is a renowned expert in cosmetic otoplasty, with patients traveling from all over the southeast for his expert ability.

“Otoplasty is a relatively straightforward procedure that I recommend earlier rather than later. It really can be done almost any time after the age of six,” he says.

So many children are bullied and taunted by their peers when they have a physical feature that makes them stand out. When a child is born with ears that stick out extensively from the side of the head or are overly large, they become a target. The results of the teasing do not disappear with childhood. Feelings of low self-esteem and self- doubt continue into adulthood.

“I personally have seen the impact it makes on a child’s life, and it is substantial,” Dr. Shire adds.

The goal of rhinoplasty is to reshape and restructure the nose to make it fit the patient’s face while keeping a natural, unaltered look. “Patients emerge from rhinoplasty with more confidence in their looks, improved health, and a better quality of life overall,” says Dr. Shire.

Dr. Shire has more than 30 years of experience in nasal surgery, working to enhance facial symmetry, correct injuries or congenital disabilities, ease chronic breathing problems, and more. He is also a contributing author to the “Open Structure Rhinoplasty” textbook.

This article was originally published in the October 2020 issue of Chatter magazine.