Nose Surgery (Rhinoplasty)

Nose Surgery (Rhinoplasty) can reduce or increase the size of your nose, change the shape of the tip or the bridge, narrow the span of the nostrils, or change the angle between your nose and your upper lip. It may also correct a birth defect or injury, or help relieve some breathing problems.

Enhance your results by combining this procedure with:

• Quick Facts about Rhinoplasty

  * Anaesthesia: General anesthesia.

  * Duration of the procedure: 1 ½ - 2 hs

  * Hospital stay: not required

  * Recovery time (time back to work): 7 days

  * Incisions: hidden inside the nose

  * Results: Reshapes the nose to better fit with the rest of the face and/or to correct an injury, birth defect, or breathing problem

• The Surgical Procedure

  Rhinoplasty usually takes from an hour and a half to two hours, though complicated procedures may take longer. During surgery, the skin of the nose is separated from its supporting framework of bone and cartilage, which is then sculpted to the desired shape. The nature of the sculpting will depend on your problem. Finally, the skin is redraped over the new framework. The procedure is performed from within the nose, making their incision inside the nostrils. When the surgery is complete, a splint will be applied to help your nose maintain its new shape. Nasal packs or soft plastic splints also may be placed in your nostrils to stabilize the septum, the dividing wall between the air passages.

  *Anesthesia

  General anesthesia.

• Recovery and Time Back to Work

  Post-Op Recovery After surgery-particularly during the first twenty-four hours-your face will feel puffy, your nose may ache, and you may have a dull headache. You can manage any discomfort with the pain medication prescribed by your surgeon. Plan on staying in bed with your head elevated for the first day. You'll notice that the swelling and bruising around your eyes will increase at first, reaching a peak after two or three days. Applying cold compresses will reduce this swelling and make you feel a bit better. In any case, you'll feel a lot better than you look. Most of the swelling and bruising should disappear within two weeks or so. (Some subtle swelling-unnoticeable to anyone but you and your surgeon-will remain for several months.) A little bleeding is common during the first few days following surgery, and you may continue to feel some stuffiness for several weeks. Your surgeon will probably ask you not to blow your nose for a week or so, while the tissues heal. If you have nasal packing, it will be removed after a few days and you'll feel much more comfortable. By the end of one or, occasionally, two weeks, all dressings, splints, and stitches should be removed.

  Time Back to Work Most rhinoplasty patients are up and about within two days, and able to return to school or sedentary work a week or so following surgery. It will be several weeks, however, before you're entirely up to speed. Your surgeon will give you more specific guidelines for gradually resuming your normal activities, typically including the following: Avoid strenuous activity (jogging, swimming, bending, sexual relations-any activity that increases your blood pressure) for two to three weeks. Avoid hitting or rubbing your nose, or getting it sunburned, for eight weeks. Be gentle when washing your face and hair or using cosmetics. You can wear contact lenses as soon as you feel like it. Glasses however can only be worn once the splint is off.  They will have to be taped to your forehead or propped up on your cheeks for another six to seven weeks, until your nose is completely healed.

• Uncertainty and Risk

  When rhinoplasty is performed by a qualified plastic surgeon, complications are infrequent and usually minor. Nevertheless, there is always a possibility of complications, including infection, nosebleed, or a reaction to the anesthesia. You can reduce your risks by closely following your surgeon's instructions both before and after surgery. After surgery, small burst blood vessels may appear as tiny red spots on the skin's surface; these are usually minor but may be permanent. As for scarring, when rhinoplasty is performed from inside the nose, there is no visible scarring at all; when an "open" technique is used, or when the procedure calls for the narrowing of flared nostrils, the small scars on the base of the nose are usually not visible. In about one case out of ten, a second procedure may be required-for example, to correct a minor deformity. Such cases are unpredictable and happen even to patients of the most skilled surgeons. The corrective surgery is usually minor.

The information provided on surgeryBA.com is designed to support, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his/her physician. Individual results may vary according to each patient's individual objectives, health, and circumstances. The information provided here stems from our professional experience with patients and from our doctor's advise.