Medicine: On the Nose

Britain's famed 18th century plastic surgeon John Hunter once summed up his professional philosophy in a single curt phrase: "Why not try?" Today's reputable plastic surgeon is less impetuous. Aware that he often operates within surgery's twilight zone—past the point of obvious physical need—he is inclined to weigh his would-be patients' motives. For advice in sticky cases, he may turn to a psychiatrist. Members of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recently did just that when they invited Dr. Wayne E. Jacobson of the University of California at Los Angeles to...