recovering after rhynoplasty

Hello! I am about to have a nose job, which I wanted to do for such a long time. The day has finally come but the thing is that I am scared. I suppose that’s normal. I would like to know more about the recovering after rhynosplasty. When will I be able to go back to my usual activities? Thx!

Hi there! I got all my instructions from the surgeon and his stuff, but it is always good to know some things in advance. You would need to lie down for the first 24 hours post op, and get out of the bed only to go to the toilet. You will be probably swollen, and the face will hurt but you can take care of the pain by some pain killers. It is possible that the doc will prescribe some. Possible headache as well. To deal with the swelling and bruising, you may apply cold compresses around your nose but don’t apply it directly. Don’t let the beaten look-up scare you!!!!! Don’t blow your nose, and if there is some excessive blood, report it to your doctor. Little blood is common after such a procedure. These are some of the stuff I reached from the back of my brain because it’s been 3 years since I had mine. I wish you good luck!!!!

hi...I'm having a closed rhynoplasty next year and i'm very concerned about post op stuff. I heard they insert a type of 'dressing' in the nose during the op which is taken out 24 hours later and that it hurts like hell! Can anyone help? Thanks alot

I recently flew over to South Africa to have my nose job at the Nose Clinic in Pretoria (International Rhinoplasty Specialists - The Nose Clinic). The surgery was a huge success and I am very happy with my choice to go through with it, but soon afterwards I started developing hayfever, which I've never suffered from. I quickly contacted the surgeon who informed me that it does sometimes happen following nasal surgery that the sinus passages, which have been newly opened become sensitive to various allergens. He prescribed some form of nasal spray which I use daily with magic results. The benefits of my surgery far out-weighed the feable hayfever!

Removal of the packing/dressing in your nose after surgery (it seemed like it was three days later, not the very next day) is weird and very uncomfortable, but does not "hurt like hell" as you fear. You will also already be on pain killers such as Tylenol with Codeine (sp?), and your doctor may provide you with a relaxant, like Valium, to take that morning. It truly is a bad feeling but is more like extreme pressure than pain, and it's over very quickly: it takes about five to seven seconds for each nostril for the doctor to remove the dressing -- and you will feel so much better afterwards.

With the dressing in (from surgery until the packing removal) it's like having a totally stuffed up nose/sinuses. You can breath only through your mouth (even while trying to eat) and you feel a little sinus pressure every time you swallow. Once the packing's removed, you feel much more "normal" again without that sinus pressure and can breath through your nose at least a little. Plus you will get the first look at your new nose on that visit!

You can expect to be in bed most of the first two or three days following surgery. For the rest of that week, you will need to take it easy -- which means really easy: stay in bed or relax on the couch or a favorite lounge chair. After a week, you can probably return to light activity, but check with your doctor as everyone's healing process is a little different.

Your doctor will provide you with a list of pre- and post-op instructions, and they're very important, so read all the material carefully and more than once. Get your "helper" person to read the material also and to know where it is at your house so they can refer to it while your laid up following surgery and help you make sure you follow the list. The pre-op (two to six weeks before sugery) and post-op (two to six weeks after surgery) instructions include things like no aspirin/Advil/or other blood-thinning medications, no alcohol, no smoking, no caffeine, no straw drinking, no gum chewing, no forward-bending, no crunchy food -- there really is a pretty long list.

Some of the items are only post-op, others have shorter windows (e.g. stop within 72 hours of surgery, not six weeks before), so go over the material carefully. All of those "bad" things can slow your healing or even cause more serious complications to your healing, so take the pre- and post-op instructions very seriously.

Guest wrote:

hi...I'm having a closed rhynoplasty next year and i'm very concerned about post op stuff. I heard they insert a type of 'dressing' in the nose during the op which is taken out 24 hours later and that it hurts like hell! Can anyone help? Thanks alot

it really didnt hurt i had 1 and felt ache thats all slight headache but nothing to worry about

I just had surgery 2 months ago and I must admit I had the best experience! Don't be scared of the packing/dressing...I gently removed mine myself and it did not hurt at all! I followed all instructions carefully and that helped alot...Bruising disappeared a couple weeks after surgery. My current result has been good, but I am inpatient to see FINAL results. I still have some swelling in the tip of my nose and if you laugh too hard it may feel like you are stretching your nose! Overall, if you trust your surgeon you should be fine...