How Should I Prepare for My Nose Surgery?
Please read the following requirements and recommendations before your surgery, and contact your surgeon’s office with any concerns or questions.
- Before your surgery, do not take any medications that thin the blood. Our office will provide a list of medications that could interfere with your procedure or recovery. Pay close attention to when you must stop taking each medication in the weeks and days before your procedure.
- If you are a smoker, you must not smoke for four weeks before surgery and eight weeks after.
- On the day of your procedure, wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing.
- Arrange for a friend or family member to escort you home from surgery and remain with you for 24 hours following your procedure.
What Happens During Nose Surgery?
Once in the operating room, your surgeon will review the procedure and discuss the planned incisions and techniques. You will then receive anesthesia to keep you asleep during your surgery. The surgical team will then clean your skin with a special medication, and the surgeon will make the first incision, which will depend on the type of rhinoplasty you are having. During an open rhinoplasty, you will have an incision on the underside of the nose between the nostrils and inside your nostrils. For a closed rhinoplasty, incisions are only made inside the nose. Some surgeries also require additional incisions (either behind the ears or on the chest if cartilage from a different area of the body is needed). Cartilage grafts can bolster specific parts of the nose for revision rhinoplasty. Your surgeon will discuss these options with you before your surgery if required.
The nose cartilage can be reshaped, sutured, partially removed or resuspended with a rhinoplasty. Often, the bony parts of the nose will need to be corrected by highly targeted fracturing and resetting. Special tools may also be used to remove bone and cartilage from the bridge of the nose or to fracture your nasal bones to reshape the nose. Patients who experience difficulty breathing may also undergo a septoplasty, or removal of a portion of the nasal septum tissue that obstructs air movement through the nose. A splint is usually placed on the nose once the surgery is completed. It is generally worn for one week and removed at your postoperative visit.
Total recovery time can take up to a year. Swelling can last several months, and the cartilage will continue to evolve and assume a more permanent shape.
As with any surgery, there are potential risks involved with nose surgery. Most complications are avoidable if you follow all pre- and postoperative instructions. To help you make an informed decision, here are the risks associated with rhinoplasty. Please discuss your concerns with our surgical team before your procedure.
- Rhinoplasty carries the risk of bleeding and infection.
- You may look different than you wished or expected to look after the surgery. Revision surgery to correct or improve an outcome may be necessary.
- After surgery, most patients have difficulty breathing through the nose due to swelling and the presence of nasal packing.
- Other risks include poor appearance of the scar and, very rarely, leakage of spinal fluid from your nose. In some cases, patients experience damage to the eyes, causing decreased vision.
In addition to a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection, you will be given pain medication and advised to take it as needed, as swelling and bruising can be expected. You must have a home caregiver to help monitor your recovery, administer medications and assist with household tasks.
Please follow the recommendations below to ensure timely and optimal healing results:
- You must always keep your head elevated to prevent swelling and reduce pain.
- You must sleep elevated by three or four pillows or in a recliner for the first week.
- Applying ice to your nose for 15 to 20 minutes every hour for the first 24 hours will help reduce swelling and pain. Be sure to wrap a towel around your ice pack—do not apply it directly to your skin.
- It is important that you do not blow your nose and that you sneeze with your mouth open to reduce pressure in the nose.
- You must return for post operative visits to have your wounds checked, sutures or splints removed and any other postoperative problems checked.
- Protecting your nose from trauma for several weeks after your surgery is very important.
If any of the following symptoms arise in the hours or days following your procedure, please contact your surgeon immediately:
- You feel or taste blood draining down your throat.
- You have a temperature above 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
- You have severe pain.
- Your nose is red, or it is draining pus.
- Your splint comes off.
- Your upper teeth, gums or nose are numb.
- Your vision changes.
Seek care immediately or call 911 if:
- Clear, thin fluid is draining from your nose when you bend forward.
- You experience chest pain or have trouble breathing.
- You experience dizziness that lasts several minutes and does not improve with sitting and relaxing, or you lose consciousness.