What is the average recovery time for rhinoplasty

Apply it to your cheeks instead and avoid touching your nose altogether. Eat nutritious foods that are rich in vitamin C, vitamin D, protein, calcium, and that have anti-inflammatory properties to help keep swelling down and assist with the healing process.

This may seem pretty obvious, but it bears repeating. Avoid blowing your nose at all costs for the first six weeks or so following your rhinoplasty procedure. Do not blow your nose. Instead, talk to your doctor about using saline-based nasal sprays to help clear up the congestion and mucus buildup. On that note, you should also avoid any direct physical contact with your nose whatsoever for the first six weeks and this includes wearing sunglasses, face masks, and even scratching an itch.

Even the smallest point of contact can cause injury. Not all rhinoplasty patients are required to wear a nose cast during the recovery period.

You can trust Dr. If you are preparing for rhinoplasty, speak to a rhinoplasty surgeon superspecialist. Our practice provides all of the supplies and non-prescription medications that should be used to speed the recovery. This includes a day supply of Arnica, which patients start taking just before surgery day.

We provide antibiotic ointment for use inside the nose. Also, saltwater or saline spray mentioned above is important to use to keep the nose refreshed and speed the healing, particularly in the first several weeks, which is very refreshing and can help reverse the dryness of the nasal lining due to the procedure. Often patients decide to go back to work after rhinoplasty in as little as one week, despite a small amount of bruising or swelling. Depending on your own personal comfort level, this may be an option for you because after one week, discomfort has decreased significantly and can be maintained.

More often, patients take two weeks off of work. Sleeping on your side after rhinoplasty is fine after the first night. You should be comfortable and, therefore, whatever your preferred position is, that is where you should be. It will have no influence on the outcome of the nose except, again, you may notice a little more swelling on the side on which you sleep but by late in the afternoon following that evening it tends to go away.

This is all a function of gravity and never permanent. If you slept on the other side, that side will become a bit more swollen from the overnight position. Patients should not worry if they get up one day and there is a little more swelling on the right side or the left side.

That is all a variable of what position they sleep in. While the first-night people should sleep face up, halfway between sitting and flat, after that whatever position is comfortable is fine and will have no negative influence on the outcome.

Kissing after nose jobs is less of a risk than sex for the first 10 days. Sex causes a rise in blood pressure, which of course increases the chance of bleeding. The theme of no exercise-induced elevation in blood pressure includes sex but after 10 days you are free to get back to your usual activities. It is a good question that is rarely asked, but practices should provide that information in a written handout and have that information on the website.

Remember that the doctor should be available to you at any time. Our practice is to give the patient my home phone and cell phone numbers so I can be reached at any time, even just to ask about kissing after a nose job! An infection after rhinoplasty is extremely rare. It is rare because the nose itself is resistant to infection. Our duty as surgeons is to reduce the chance to next to zero. We do that by providing antibiotic ointment to be used not only before, but after surgery.

After the anesthesiologist puts you to sleep, again the inside of the nose is prepared with an antiseptic solution. During surgery, the anesthesiologist gives one large strong dose of an appropriate antibiotic so that during the operation the antibiotic circulates through the body.

The signs of infection are redness, swelling, and soreness to the touch. This should be reported to the surgeon immediately. The main precaution after rhinoplasty is to avoid any injury to your nose. The second precaution, of course, is to avoid those things that would interfere with blood clotting.

For example, we do not recommend going on large doses of aspirin or even non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like Advil or Motrin because they could interfere with the proper healing and kick up the possibility of some bleeding. Only in the first 10 days is one at risk for that particular situation. Stay away from situations where your nose could be bumped. If you are going to be flying on an airplane, do not plan on lifting your luggage overhead and stay away from people who are lifting their luggage over your seat.

Depending on the surgical procedure open vs closed rhinoplasty , there might be scarring. The majority of Dr. In closed rhinoplasty, the incision is internal and there is no visible scarring. A moderate amount of alcohol meaning 1 or 2 drinks a day is certainly tolerable. Any greater volume of that runs the chance of some instability. Drunkenness is a risk because of the chance of a fall and contact damage to your nose. Dryness is the enemy of the nose and so is heat, so it is a double loss here.

We do not recommend it and most people are wise enough to know that they would tamper with rapid healing by smoking. It is a good time to consider stopping smoking since for the first 10 days if you can get through that, you will be on the road to ridding yourself of an unhealthy habit. However, patients are instructed on how to suspend them with small pieces of clear transparent tape such that it would be very hard to see that the glasses are suspended just above the bridge so there is no pressure.

Of course, those who wear contact lenses may put them in the day after surgery. The nose will not grow after rhinoplasty. One might think their nose looks bigger after rhinoplasty for the first 7 to 10 days because it is a little swollen but the truth is, it does not grow.

As a matter of fact, as people get older and the noses tend to droop either because of an overactive depressor muscle pulling the tip down or just due to the effect of gravity, and there is less chance of that if you have had a rhinoplasty because the internal scar tissue keeps the nose tight. The external plastic splint or protection is typically removed anywhere from 4 to 6 days.

It does not hurt to remove it. It is gently slid off the skin and, at that point, there are no external signs that you had any surgery, particularly if you had the closed rhinoplasty approach which demonstrates no external incisions.

Sometimes there is a little bit of itching. Be gentle. Use a Q-Tip. Also remember the skin can get a little oily after surgery so we recommend using witch hazel, as well as an antibacterial hand soap. There is a small chance of getting a little outbreak of acne which can occur after rhinoplasty because there can be trapping of oil on the skin due to swelling. If you follow the typical post-op instructions, that will not be a problem. In the first 10 days, we do not recommend it because the veins will become filled with blood and are more likely to leak.

Rather than bending over, just bend the knees. Be careful if you are lifting children also because remember that the young infants will tend to buck their heads back and if they do you will not be a happy parent.

One can shower even the day after, as long as the splint is protected from the direct spray of the water. We recommend taping some saran wrap to your forehead and therefore providing a nice little cover. The splints are well adhesed to the skin so there is not much chance they will separate even if a little water gets in there. Certainly, shower and shampoo and be comfortable. If you have just had a rhinoplasty and have not had the septoplasty and turbinate resection you should be able to breathe quite well.

In our practice, of course, we have the Kotler nasal airway in place, which is guaranteed to be able to breathe whether there is packing in your nose or not. When the non-absorbable packing is removed, liquid anesthetic is put into the nose.

The purpose of packing is to speed healing, reduce the chance of infection, and also minimize the chance of any bleeding, so packing is very important. However, if the nose were packed without having the little plastic air tubes in place, which do not hurt and sit in an un-operated area, it would not be quite as pleasant. The combination of packing with the airway, and those can be in place for up to 4 to 5 days, gives you the best prospect for having a satisfactory postoperative experience.

With a specialized rhinoplasty surgeon, breathe immediately after rhinoplasty or nasal surgery. As one of the most specialized rhinoplasty surgeons in the U. S, Dr. Kotler is also an inventor. About Dr. Bruce Moskowitz Dr. Rhinoplasty Recovery Rhinoplasty is typically performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia and you may go home the same day.

Tips on Rhinoplasty Recovery You will be given instructions before surgery on how to care for your nose. Take the Next Step To learn more about our Rhinoplasty procedures , please schedule your consultation by either filling out the form on this page, or by calling Specialty Aesthetic Surgery at Share This Post. Share on facebook. Share on linkedin. Share on twitter. Share on email. More To Explore. September 29, September 26, Full Name Required.

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