Your ability to smell and taste will return as soon as your nasal passages clear up or the swelling goes down. For many patients, their senses may fully return within three to six weeks. Complete healing can take six months to a year, and there should be no lasting or permanent effects on taste or smell.
As the post-surgical swelling gradually subsides, nasal sensory perception will improve and smells and tastes will become more defined again. In most patients, it takes about 3 to 6 weeks for sense of smell to fully return.
Since the nasal passages are closed, the nose isn't able to smell. Many patients also report a diminished sense of taste during the first few weeks after surgery. Although you will experience a loss of smell right after your rhinoplasty, it is important to remember that this loss is only temporary.
Second Week Post Rhinoplasty Surgery
Most patients get back to a regular life and diet during this period.
Your sense of smell may not be as good after surgery. But it will improve and will often return to normal in 1 to 2 months. You will have a drip pad under your nose to collect mucus and blood.
For a short time after surgery, both senses will be diminished because the tissue in your nose will be swollen, which can block your airflow. As your nose heals and the swelling decreases – usually in about three weeks – your senses of smell and taste will return.
Nasal swelling occurs in the weeks after surgery that blocks air flow passageways in the nasal cavity, inhibiting the ability to smell. As a result, your ability to taste will also be affected. The good thing is this reduction in sense of smell and taste is only temporary.
During the second week of recovery, most people can resume their regular diet again. Everyone reacts a little differently after rhinoplasty or facial plastic surgery, so stay alert. You may have to continue with soft foods for a few more days if you are having trouble or pain with hard or crunchy food.
The First Day After a Nose Job
Breaking this fast should be done with food that you know will be easy on your stomach. Avoid anything that might cause you to feel nauseous and anything that is too cold or too hot. Pasta, rice, fish, or chicken should all be fine to eat, so are soft foods such as oatmeal.
The first week is the most critical period for rhinoplasty healing. After 7-10 days, patients can begin to use other sleeping positions. Be careful to avoid putting pressure on the nose, and if you can sleep comfortably on your back while elevated, continue to do so.
When a patient is coming out of the anesthetic induction, they may experience symptoms of altered taste, metallic taste, or complete loss of taste, as well as dry mouth symptoms. This may happen until the central and peripheral nervous systems resume normal function.
Although rare, loss of these senses has been reported to occur after administration of various anesthetic agents. Fortunately, the symptoms are usually temporary as in the majority of patients the sensory receptor cells are able to regenerate themselves after injury.
It is occasionally possible to develop anosmia – loss of sense of smell – (which can also contribute to ageusia – a loss of taste), after the operation which usually settles over one to two weeks, as does any taste problem in most cases.
At the very least, taste buds begin to reappear after GLX between 14 and 28 days after surgery.
Typically, the swelling has gone down, any repositioned cartilage has settled, and the reshaped skin has conformed to the new structure. Full breathing function is restored, and facial harmony is achieved. As mentioned above, there are some factors that may change the timeline or extend the recovery time.
Even though it can take up to a year, your nose will still look good during this time. Patients should expect their nose to be swollen for the first month after surgery. After about two months, your nose will look great, but not perfect. The tip is often still round, shiny, and very firm.
Avoid Caffeine and Alcohol
Alcohol thins the blood and increases the risk of bleeding after surgery. It also raises your chances of developing a hematoma, or a collection of blood beneath the skin, and can exacerbate swelling. Caffeine can raise blood pressure, which can be dangerous for certain people.
Three weeks post-rhinoplasty, about 70 percent of swelling is gone. This is the time when a patient starts to recognize the changes and begins to appreciate the new shape of his or her nose. It's ok, actually quite normal, to feel a little self conscious at this time.
A: We advise that you wait 6 full weeks after surgery before you resume drinking caffeine. We know this might be difficult for some patients used to drinking coffee or tea daily.
Occasional laughing or yawning will likely not damage your nose as it heals, but the less you do it, the better–and try not to laugh too hard! Every time you smile or laugh, the tiny muscles which connect the tip of your nose to your upper lip descend a little.
Get enough sleep and drink plenty of warm fluids to help you get your smell and taste back. Staying hydrated and getting plenty of rest are both good ways to help power your immune system, reduce inflammation and swelling, and dilute excessive mucus build-up caused by an upper respiratory or sinus infection.
Avoid constant “sniffing”, that is, constantly forcibly attempting to pull air through the nose as some people do when their nose feels blocked. This will not relieve the sensation of blockage; it will only aggravate it because the suction created on the inside will cause more swelling.
Answer: Rhinoplasty
It is normal to feel weak and tired after surgery. Anesthesia and the surgery itself can often make patients feel drained. In addition, patients can experience emotional and psychological stress with their recovery and even depression.
Postoperative care:
Do not blow your nose or attempt to clean it for the first week. After five days you may blow your nose and sniff in very gently. If you have to sneeze, do so with your mouth open.
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.