How Long Will Swelling Last After Rhinoplasty? The initial swelling from surgery will be worst within the first week and should have subsided after about 10 days. However, some slight swelling due to fluid retention can remain for several months and up to a year after your surgery.
It is not abnormal to have nasal swelling 6 months after surgery. In general, it can take up to 18-24 months to see the final result of rhinoplasty. 70% of the swelling is resolved after the first 3 months and the remainder goes down over time.
Usually, the swelling dissipates by 12-14 months after your rhinoplasty. Now remember, this is swelling at the tip of your nose. Usually things look great, but the final result is often hidden by some of this swelling. This is often the hardest part of the surgery: waiting for the swelling to go away.
For the first few weeks after surgery your nose may appear larger than it was before surgery because of the swelling, which will gradually subside. This process is typically complete 6-12 months after surgery though some patients have reported swelling continuing to go down up to 18 months after.
1. Swelling After Surgery. Generally, swelling is the most common reason why your nose looks bigger after rhinoplasty, which is completely normal. As a general rule, half of the swelling in the nasal tip will be gone after a month, but it will take at least a year for the tip to reach its final shape.
3-6 months: The numbness and abnormal sensations in your nose and nasal skin should be resolved. 1 Year: The healing process is complete – swelling should have subsided entirely and the nose's new shape is fully refined.
Every patient is different, so recovery times vary, but generally speaking, most patients can expect to look “normal” after about three to four weeks, with a small amount of residual swelling and tenderness lasting about three months — though it is usually only noticeable to the patient themselves.
Rhinoplasty swelling lasts for several months, even up to a year or longer. Fortunately, a majority of the swelling resolves soon after surgery. The nose may swell a little bit before shrinking back down after the nasal cast comes off one week after surgery.
Additional dos and don'ts after rhinoplasty include: Don't touch your nose: Patients should take great care to avoid putting any pressure on their nose, including even touching the nose, for at least 1 – 2 weeks after surgery, or until Dr. Khorsandi advises that it is okay to do so.
Only tape your nose if directed by Dr. Sarikhani . Most patients who are instructed to tape their nose do so for 1-3 months after the procedure. Patients do however, tape their nose for longer after the procedure and this can depend on individual differences in the soft tissue envelope and healing.
When you undergo a Rhinoplasty procedure, post-operative swelling is to be expected and may last for up to a year following your surgery. This isn't to say your nose will look appear swollen, but your tissue and cartilage are still going through the healing process and necessary changes.
Swelling after rhinoplasty is very common and it can take up to a year or longer to subside completely. The reason some days your nose looks more swollen may be due to water retention. As long as you are happy with the outcome of surgery there's no issue of slight swelling. It will disappear in time.
Four to six weeks after rhinoplasty, we observe occasional dropping of the nasal tip due to several causes [5]. Such causes may include scar contractures, weight of the nose, and the action of the depressor septi nasi muscle [5].
Once the protective cast is removed, most surgeons advise that you don't rest your glasses on your nose for up to 6 weeks after the procedure. You can wear your glasses as normal after about 6 weeks to 3 months, once your nose surgeon has proclaimed that your nose is completely healed.
Over the years, after rhinoplasty, your nose may appear to get smaller and thinner because the thickness of your skin changes with time. As some of the underlying fatty tissue of your skin gets depleted with age and sun exposure, the skin gets thinner. This issue can be corrected non-surgically with injectable fillers.
Rhinoplasty usually takes about a year to heal. It's a traumatic operation that affects many of the tissues in your nose. Looking swollen and bulbous at 8 months is perfectly normal.
I recommend sleeping on your back after your rhinoplasty or revision rhinoplasty. During your recovery, your nose will be delicate and malleable, so it is important not to sleep on your stomach or side, which can put pressure on your nose. This will not only cause discomfort but may also compromise your results.
Taping can be effective to subside the swelling and shrink the skin down. It doesn't, however, affect the shape and form of the nose.
Swelling inside of the nose can be caused from irritation from an obtrusive object, inflammation from allergies, or nasal polyps. Outside nose swelling can also be caused from allergic reactions or trauma from an injury.
Bulbous Tip Rhinoplasty Recovery
The nose will still be swollen, but not noticeable. Swelling will decline as the months pass — three weeks after the procedure, 20-30 percent of the swelling will be down. Six weeks following the procedure, 50-60 percent of swelling will be down.
This will gradually dissipate over several months. You can expect the majority of the swelling to go down during the first 12 weeks and then gradual change over the first year to your final result. It may be difficult to be patient but your results will continue to change over time.
It is generally not a good idea to manipulate to touch or squeeze your nose after rhinoplasty for at least several months. Touching and squeezing could disrupt the sutures and techniques used for shaping your nose. If you are noticing problems or asymmetries, I recommend you see your surgeon as soon as possible.
It may come as a surprise, but most will not notice the change in your nose after rhinoplasty. Friends and family will know that you look well, though for some reason many just don't pick up the fact that your nose is different.
A very important aspect is the healing process. The total time for rhinoplasty surgery to be considered completely healed is one to two years, which may seem like quite a long time. However, there are several stages in the healing process, which you will learn more about below.