Advice Following Rhinoplasty

Immediately After Surgery

Most rhinoplasty patients are up and active within 2 days. Your first day should be spent in bed with your head elevated. You will wear a small splint over your nose to protect it and keep it stable for a week or so. Your nose and head will probably ache and your face will feel puffy. This discomfort can be alleviated with medication prescribed by your surgeon. After about 3 days, the swelling and bruising around your eyes will begin to subside. It should be almost completely gone in about 2 weeks. Cold compresses applied to the area mayl help reduce the swelling.

Some bleeding is common for the first few days after surgery, along with some stuffiness that could last a few weeks. It is recommended that you do not blow your nose during the first week while the tissues are healing. After 10 to 12 days, all dressings, splints and sutures should be removed and you can return to a normal life. Strenuous activities, rubbing or bumping your nose should be avoided for several more weeks.

You can expect to have some minor bleeding from your nose for the first day or two and you can gently dab this away with a gauze swab or clean handkerchief. Unless you are advised otherwise, it is best for you to leave any crusts in your nostrils for the first week and then gently cleanse them away with cotton buds. You should keep your head up as much as possible and avoid having hot baths. Do not blow your nose and try your best not to sneeze through your nose. If you are going to sneeze, cough it out. It is safe to clear your nose by sniffing into the back of your throat.

  • Rest quietly in bed after your surgery, with your head straight and elevated on two pillows.
  • Take antibiotics and analgesics as prescribed.
  • Apply the ointment into the nostril using a cotton bud as advised.
  • Continue to take Arnica for another 7 days.

Swelling and Bruising

  • Gauze squares soaked in a bowel of ice water make good ice compresses as they are not heavy on the eyes.
  • Frequent compresses are to be continued for 48 hours without fail and are one of the most important aspects of your immediately post-operative nursing care. However, avoid applying the compress over the nasal splint.
  • It is not uncommon for the eyelids to swell, shut or be black and blue. This will usually resolve in 1 -2 weeks.
  • Try not to lean the head forward for 2 weeks (if you have to pick something ups, bend from the knees with the head erect). Bending forward could start a nose bleed or increase swelling.

One Week After Surgery

Stitches inside your nose will probably be of the dissolving type and do not need to be removed. If your stitches are outside your nose, your surgeon will advise you on their care and the time for their removal. You will also have a firm splint over your nose in order to protect the new frame and keep it stable whilst it is settling in. Once the splint has been removed, this protection is gone and you will have to be very careful in the way that you handle your nose for the first six weeks.

You should avoid any activities where you might knock your nose and you should not move it from side to side between your finger and thumb. Try your best to sleep on your back.

How long you would need off work will depend on the extent of your operation. The initial swelling and bruising will probably have disappeared within the first two weeks sufficiently for you to feel confident to show your face in public again.

Wear the nasal splint in bed for the next 6 weeks.

However, it will take at least three months for the reconstructed shape of your nose to mature and maybe a lot longer if you have had a lot done. Do not be too critical of your nose too early. Minor unevenness of contour is common during the first few months and usually settles with time.