What to Expect After Rhinoplasty Surgery
Rhinoplasty, or as it is commonly referred to as Nose Jobs is quickly becoming the number one most popular plastic surgery procedure. The surgery involves reshaping or reconstructing the external nose and is often pared with a septoplasty (internal nasal surgery) to both correct breathing problems (or other internal nasal problems) and to reshape the nose to give the nose the desired aesthetic.
Rhinoplasty Recovery 101:
Be prepared for bruising and discomfort. Your nose doctor will go over what to expect after surgery and prescribe or recommend some pain killers. In order to reshape the nose the surgeon will often have to break the septum. Chances are you will have bruises for a couple of weeks, if the surgeons was able to avoid breaking or moving nasal bones you will likely see improvement in as little as a week. Your nose will be very swollen and tender. If you had a closed rhinoplasty procedure it may take 1 to 6 weeks for the swelling to diminish and heal. If you underwent an open rhinoplasty surgery you can expect 1 to 6 months for healing. During this time it important to follow the doctors recommendations and avoid anything that put pressure on the nose and of course any impact to the nose.
During the recovery process the middle and upper portion of the face will be very sensitive and will be noticeably swollen. The average recovery time for an open nose job takes approximately 1 ” 6 months and closed averages 3 ” 6 weeks. The plastic surgeon will give you guidelines in order to speed your recovery along. Obviously it is crucial to avoid any kind of pressure on the nose while it is healing.
Be realistic. It tales some time for the bruising, pain and swelling to go down before you will be able to see any noticeable results and even then it is not an accurate partial of the final result. You will have to be patient for at least a couple month before your new nose will truly emerge. Again depending on how fast your body heals, and the amount of time you have to relax and recover (nothing slows down recovery like stress and over exertion) the sooner you will see results (typically with in 3 -6 months). Be for warned that there have been cases where patients have taken a couple years to fully heal (though few and far between).
As you will discuss with your surgeon prior to the operation, a practical point of view and expectation is very important. Not only will you have the pain of recovery but in most cases result will be difficult to see for the first couple of months. It typically takes 2 to 6 months to get the final shape. Your recovery time is based largely on the bodies ability to heal itself and deal with the trauma of surgery, Tips on healing faster are pretty straight forward: no stress, eat right, make sure your overall health is good and avoid any impact to the nose.
Make sure to keep in mind that recovery takes time and finally keep your head upright as often as possible, especially while sleeping.. This will reduce swelling and prevent fluid from building up in the nasal cavity. Best of luck in your Rhinoplasty recovery.
