How Long Does Rhinoplasty Recovery Take?
Rhinoplasty is a bit of a tricky recovery process – not painful, fortunately, but drawn-out thanks to the nature of the area you’re treating.
Immediately after surgery, the surgeon will use nasal packing, usually gauze, to shape the nose from the inside. The packing will hold the new shape of the nose in place and stabilize the septum. The surgeon may also put a splint over the nose to hold it in place as well. The packing will stay in place for a few days while there is discharge from the surgery.
During the first week, dull aching is common in the nose and behind the eyes. The packing may be uncomfortable as well. The doctor will instruct you not to blow your nose once the packing is out for a few weeks at least.
During these first few days, the swelling and bruising of the nose and the surrounding eye tissue will become more pronounced. This is often unexpected and can affect how the new nose appears, making patients concerned about final appearances. Cold gel packs and compresses will help to soothe this swelling and bruising, but patients should expect to see some swelling for many months after surgery.
As the swelling gradually disappears, the recovery process will seem to slow down. The bones will be healed in a few weeks and the bruising will disappear along the same time frame. But swelling may remain for up to a year, primarily in the tip of the nose.
Most patients return to work after a week of recovery using makeup to hide the bruising and swelling that may still be present. Continued applications of the make-up around the eyes and nose will ease the transition back to the workplace and make it easier to let the rest of the swelling fade over time.
Nose Job Recovery: Tips and Tricks
Recovering from a nose job isn’t an entirely difficult task. The nose job involves small incisions in the folds or the interior of the nose. Bones may be broken or shaved and the cartilage reshaped. Once the surgery is over, however, recovering quickly can be a simply matter of taking good care of yourself and your new nose.
Reclining
In the day after surgery, climb into bed and stay there. Use plenty of pillows to prop yourself up so that you’re able to recline comfortable. You should not lay down during this time. Watch television, doze, work on the computer or just rest. You should take it very, very easy on the first day. Gradually increase your mobility to speed healing, but always stop to rest as your body needs rest to heal fully. The more active you become over the first week, the faster your body will heal provided you rest just as much as you move.
Stop Smoking
You should have stopped smoking prior to surgery, but just in case you only stopped for a few days, be sure to stay smoke-free for as long as possible after the recovery. It can take up to six weeks for the bones to heal and incisions to set, and smoking slows down the healing process. Smoking can leave open wounds where your incisions should be healing and bleeding under the skin is more common for smokers as well.
Treat Your Eyes
While you’ve had surgery on your nose, your eyes are going to take a beating as well. You’ll have a dull ache behind your eyes following the surgery and your eyes will appear puffy and bruised for some time. Use a cool gel eye pad to cover your eye area to help reduce swelling, add comfort to this area and improve the healing in this area at least.
Rhinoplasty: 3 Things Patients Should Know
Rhinoplasty is one of the nation’s most popular plastic surgery procedures with good reason. The procedure can help to redefine a face nicely and sculpt a face almost instantly by giving the nose a new shape. When considering rhinoplasty, there are certain elements that the patients should absolutely be aware of.
Healing Takes a Long Time
Unlike other procedures where skin is cut and then heals, a rhinoplasty procedure involves the cutting of skin, the trimming of cartilage and even the breaking of bones. This means that the recovery process is considerably longer than you might expect. While you’re able to return to work a week or so after the rhinoplasty procedure, there may be significant bruising and swelling for weeks or months following the surgery. In some cases, the bruising and some swelling may last up to six months before the face is healed completely.
Revision Rhinoplasty May be Necessary
85 percent of patients who have recently had a nose job are satisfied and happy with the results. There are fifteen people in one hundred, however, who opt to have a revision rhinoplasty procedure down the road. This number should indicate that the creation of a new nose is just as much art as skill, and finding the right surgeon initially is critically important to the overall success of your surgery.
Nasal Packing Presents the Biggest Problems
Surprisingly it is not the broken bones or the incisions in the nose that cause the most discomfort for patients. Instead it is the nasal packing that is so uncomfortable for those who have had a rhinoplasty procedure. The nasal packing is present to help stabilize the nose, and can be left in place for several long days. Fortunately, when it is removed, the nose is well on its way to healing.
FAQ About Rhinoplasty Recovery
Rhinoplasty may be performed on a relatively small area of the face, but it is still considered a major surgery and the recovery time from the procedure will be more extensive than many patients consider when first thinking about the surgery. Many questions about the recovery period from the surgery emerge during the consultation process including the following:
Q: How long does it take to recovery from rhinoplasty?
A: Rhinoplasty has a series of recovery steps that can take up to six months. In the first few days, packing will be left in place by the surgeon. Once the packing is removed, the nose will continue to be especially fragile and protected by a guard. Bruising and swelling around the nose and eyes will appear almost immediately and the conditions can last for months following the procedure.
Q: How will any complications or problems be handled?
A: Rest assured that a quality surgeon will be looking for any complications or problems with your procedure every time you visit for a follow-up appointment. The patient should be on the lookout for problems as well with the surgery and be careful to call the doctor for a follow-up if any complications or questions emerge. Write down and questions you may have to be sure that you’re able to talk to the doctor about the exact issue quickly.
Q: Where will I recover from the surgery?
A: The vast majority of rhinoplasty patients choose to recover from the surgery at home. The patients will need a friend or family member to help over the first night or two, but after the initial recovery process, the patient will be able to move normally with minimal pain medication. Some patients choose to recover in a medical treatment center, however, especially if they are traveling for the surgery.
Rhinoplasty Basics and Terms
Rhinoplasty may be a term you know already – it’s a nose job after all – but during discussions with your surgeon, it’s very likely that you’ll hear or read other words about the surgery and what you can expect that you’re not already familiar with. If this is the case, you’ll want to be sure to ask the surgeon for a less formal explanation or to, perhaps, tell you more about the terms he’s using. The following words are a good start to understanding the sorts of terms that are commonly used with rhinoplasty however.
Rhinoplasty – This is the most common term. Rhinoplasty is simply the formal name for a nose job or a surgery used to reshape or redefine the nose.
Anesthesia – This can be either a general or a local anesthesia. A general anesthesia is a pain killer that renders the patient unconscious during surgery. A local anesthesia is a less powerful pain killer that is given to a patient as shot during the surgery. The local anesthesia can be of varying strength.
Cartilage – Cartilage is the movable areas of the nose that give it structure. The tip of the nose and the top of the ears are made from the connective tissues called cartilage, for example.
Deviated Septum – Cartilage in the nose that is crooked or misaligned. The crooked cartilage can partially block or totally obstruct one or both nostrils from the inside of the nasal cavity.
Columella – The small bit of skin and tissue that is found between the two nostrils.
Hematoma – This is a possible side effect of most surgeries where the blood pools under the skin creating dark splotches.
Sedation – Intravenous sedation are shots that are administered into a vein to help you relax before anesthesia or during various parts of the procedure.
Risks of Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty is one of the most common forms of cosmetic surgery performed today, and the procedure is among the safest in terms of side effects and risks. This is especially true as rhinoplasty patients have very little in terms of an incision or tissue removal – the site of the surgery is small, but there are still some risks to be aware of.
Identifying Risks with Rhinoplasty
The first visit with the surgeon will give the patient time to go over the possibilities from the procedure. The surgeon and the patient will outline the medical history of the patient to determine if any specific risks are possibilities outside of those that are considerations for all patients. The surgeon will also encourage the patient to stop smoking and to cease certain medications that can increase the chances of a side effect during the surgery.
The Side-Effects of Rhinoplasty
Once the actual surgery is performed, the real risks of the surgery will become more evident. Among these risks, the patient must expect the possibility of infection, bleeding from the nostrils or under the skin, numbness, pain and the possibility of unattractive scarring. Additional concerns include the amount of swelling that can be present following a rhinoplasty procedure and the possibility of a revision rhinoplasty.
Rhinoplasty is as much an art as it is a medical surgery. From an artistic point of view, surgeons work hard to create a nose that is appealing, even and ideal for the face. Revision rhinoplasty can correct remaining concerns from both these aesthetics and the medical necessities as well including deviated septum and unusual or unattractive scarring. Caring for the body and nose specifically before and after the surgery can make a substantial difference in how dramatically the body scars.
3 Things Patients Should Know About Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty isn’t a single surgery. Sure, we call all nose jobs rhinoplasty procedures, but really there can be any number of procedures that can make up a single rhinoplasty surgery. Many rhinoplasty patients are willing to have the surgery to make their noses more ideal for their faces, but do they really know what to expect from the procedure?
Rhinoplasty Doesn’t Always Involve Broken Bones
The rhinoplasty procedures that show up on television shows about surgeons always seem to involve a mallet and the breaking of bones. While there are many rhinoplasty procedures that require breaking the nose and reshaping it or shaving down a portion of the bone, there are some procedures that deal exclusively with cartilage. These procedures don’t require breaking the bone and the likelihood of bruising will be far less.
Rhinoplasty Packing Hurts the Most
You would think that having a surgery on your nose would be painful, but what is actually the most uncomfortable according to recent patients is the packing that is placed in the nose following the surgery. The surgeon uses gauze or other packing materials to hold the nose in shape and to absorb fluids from the surgery. The packing fills the naval cavity and is only removed days later. The full nasal cavity makes it hard for the patient to breathe easily and is simply uncomfortable.
Rhinoplasty Recovery Takes Up to a Year
Unlike some other surgeries, the amount of bone and cartilage trauma required for rhinoplasty means that the swelling and bruising won’t be gone completely for up to a year. The majority will be gone, but there may be some present for months past when you’d normally think healing would be complete.
Realistic Rhinoplasty Expectations
The rhinoplasty procedures we notice most frequently are those that don’t go well. The surgeries leave patients like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Lil’ Kim with a nose that is almost unrecognizable. These celebrities seeking rhinoplasty treatments wind up looking less like themselves and more like an oddly proportioned doll. But not all rhinoplasty procedures require such a dramatic change, and there are more rhinoplasty procedures out there that you don’t see because they were done so well.
Realistic Results
When a rhinoplasty surgery is done, the end result should be a nose that blends perfectly with the face as a natural extension of a person’s looks. This may mean very minute changes or more dramatic changes with an eye on the facial structure and cultural heritage. The tiny nose Janet is sporting now, for example, wouldn’t look as bizarre on a face that had finer features from a different heritage. It’s not the size of the nose, but the look of the nose on her face that calls attention to her recent work.
Expecting Differences
No matter how prepared you are to see your new nose unveiled for the first time, it’s still a bit disconcerting when it’s unveiled for the first time after surgery. You’ve spent your entire life looking at your nose in the mirror and now it looks different. With a different nose you may be seeing your entire face differently as well as your features are now showing up differently without the prominence of the nose there to throw things off balance. When your nose is unveiled, look objectively. As the owner of your face, you’ll be able to see the difference immediately, but will those others who you work with or who you come across on an irregular basis. If nobody can tell what is making you look so bright and cheerful, then you have the perfect rhinoplasty result.
Regretting Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty is not an exact science. It’s much more of an art form than precise mathematical or medical formula to creating the perfect nose for your face and there are times that you watch the bandages come away and realize that you’re not entirely satisfied with what lays underneath. If you’ve been unhappy with the way your rhinoplasty surgery turned out, you’re not alone – as many as fifteen percent of rhinoplasty patients go on to have follow-up rhinoplasty surgery.
What is Revision Rhinoplasty?
Rhinoplasty is the first nose job you have to correct problems or create the nose that you’ve always pictured yourself having. Revision rhinoplasty then is the surgery that you have to correct the first rhinoplasty or to add additional elements or refine the nose that the first surgery created. Surgeons performing rhinoplasty almost always perform revision rhinoplasty as well, but before you pursue the surgery, you must take some time to evaluate the surgeon you’ve selected to do the surgery.
Revision Rhinoplasty Surgeons
There are many reasons patients choose to have a revision rhinoplasty. With the revision, the doctor goes through the same steps as he did on the first surgery, but this time he’s usually focusing on just one or two areas to make small refinements. The changes must be small as the nose cannot stand too much work at one time. It is a relatively minute area of the face after all.
When you’re selecting the rhinoplasty surgeon consider what you liked and didn’t like about the first surgery. If you feel your first surgeon didn’t understand what you were asking for, why would you use the same doctor again to fix his mistakes? But, if you have decided to make changes after the fact and enjoyed working with the doctor the first time, making small changes with the same surgeon will make the process a bit simpler at least.
Understanding Ethnic Rhinoplasty
Not all rhinoplasty patients are the same and not all rhinoplasty patients are the same either. The process of correcting the nasal shape and size of patients of African or Asian descent is a bit different than the process to correct the noses of European-styled patients. For those looking to change the shape or size of their nose, it’s important to seek out a surgeon who has skills in the area where your cultural heritage is supported.
Ethnic Rhinoplasty
The procedure to correct or change the shape of the nose for non-white patients is slightly different than the traditional rhinoplasty. Individuals from different cultural backgrounds may have different skin and facial compositions, and using traditional rhinoplasty techniques in these instances can have undesirable effects. Only surgeons who specialize in ethnic rhinoplasty techniques should perform a nose job on an individual who falls outside the scope of a traditional rhinoplasty patient.
Why Ethnic Rhinoplasty?
Patients seeking ethnic rhinoplasty are often seeking a nose that is less prominent, narrower or more shapely. By undergoing rhinoplasty, the nose can be shaped into a smaller, more attractive shape while still preserving the qualities that make the individual unique. There is no cookie cutter nose job, and this is especially true for ethnic rhinoplasty where the surgeons work to balance the new and desired shape of the nose with the heritage of the patient will also preserving the tissue of the nose for optimum health and recovery.
Recovering from Ethnic Rhinoplasty
Like many procedures, ethnic rhinoplasty isn’t a surgery you rush into. The procedure is painful and has a lengthy recovery period complete with swelling and bruising. Fortunately, the end result of the surgery is a nose that is exactly what the patient hoped for – an improvement that highlights other attractive facial features.