Nose Rhinoplasty Recovery Time

Nose rhinoplasty recovery time and down time

Visible swelling and bruising is usually dissipated between 10 and 14 days after the nose rhinoplasty procedure. Most patients are able to return to work or school in approximately 10 days.

Most of the swelling has subsided in the nose at the first 2 months after the procedure, however full healing does take one year to see the final result.

In our practice, the cast is removed on day 6, and there is no packing or splints placed inside the nose. The nose rhinoplasty procedure is less painful if packing is not used inside the nose. We also perform closed rhinoplasty techniques which allows faster healing and less edema of the tip.

During the healing process, Blenderm tape can be applied at night across the bridge of the nose to help with fluid retention in the supratip area. Sometimes cortisone shots are placed in the supratip area of the nose at the postoperative visits to help with fluid retention in this area of the tip as well. “Patient’s Guide to a Rhinoplasty” and our rhinoplasty photo gallery are located on the link below (William Portuese, MD, Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Nose rhinoplasty typically entails a one week recovery time. Approximately 7 days after surgery, all bandages, splints, and sutures are removed. The degree of bruising varies for each patient.

If the patient does experience bruising, it should subside within two to three weeks. A patient can go out in public as early as day three of recovery time, depending on how comfortable they are being seen with bandages. (Saeed Marefat, MD, Washington DC Plastic Surgeon)

Nose rhinoplasty recovery time photo

It takes 7-14 days to look presentable depending on the extent of the surgery. Week one is usually around the house; week two is out of the house performing activities of daily living. (bank, food store, etc.) Depending on how you look and feel and your level of physicality in your employment, you may be able to go back to work in 7-10 days. At three weeks post op, you can probably start walking or mild physical activity. In week 4, you can increase your physical activity. After 4 weeks, anything goes except contact sports. Of course, common sense prevails. If it hurts, you shouldn’t do it. (George C. Peck, Jr, MD, West Orange Plastic Surgeon)

Bandages and stitches usually out by a week, splints or packing about the same or earlier. The pain is related to whether the bones are broken or not. The frustration with the recovery is the swelling, especially around the tip and especially with open rhinoplasty technique. The good structural support the nose will maintain the post-op position and shape, but will be more refined after one year and even more refined after two years. (Jeffrey Ditesheim, MD, FACS, Charlotte Plastic Surgeon)

Recovery time after Nose Rhinoplasty

Nose rhinoplasty surgery recovery time

The nose rhinoplasty recovery time

Recovery time after nose rhinoplasty is generally easy but you need to be patient. Surgery itself does not really hurt much. It is more of a stuffy swollen discomfort rather than pain. Bruising is variable but usually gone by the end of two weeks. The outside splint is removed after one week.

At that time you should be able to see improvement but there will still be swelling. Usually by 3-4 weeks you start to see your nose really take shape. By three months most of the swelling has gone from the upper half of the nose and the tip should look pretty good. It takes the rest of a year for the remaining swelling to come out of the tip which will allow you to see the definition. (Ronald Schuster, MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon)

7 to 8 days more or less, you should be able to breath normally by day 2. If there are any complications you should consult your surgeon but yea , about 7 to 8 days , give or take. (Jonathan Fisher, MD, Miami Plastic Surgeon)

Healing time after nose plastic surgery…

Nose plastic surgery patients are very reliably able to go out in public about 5-6 days after their surgery with no cast, no sutures, and no bandages.

Patients are told to expect their nose will still be swollen, however, and there is often some degree of under eye bruising to contend with.

Important social or professional events should be pushed off until probably 10 days after surgery and major life events (like your wedding or a 25 year HS reunion) should be no closer than 2-3 months from the surgery date. (Randolph Capone, MD, Baltimore Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Recovery after Nose plastic surgery

Each plastic surgeon has their own routine. Generally, patients are back to work/school in about 7-10 days. Bandages and stitches come off about a week after surgery. You may wash the nose once the cast comes off. Eye glasses may be worn after a couple weeks. Heavy activity, such as exercise or sex, is allowed after a couple weeks.

Contact sports are permitted after about 2 months. The “final” results may take months or a year to appreciate. Nose plastic surgery recovery occurs both on the outside and inside of the nose.

Patients are generally “restaurant ready” and socially acceptable within 2 weeks following surgery. Most swelling after nose plastic surgery resolves within a month. The final 20% of swelling takes a much longer time to resolve, up to a year after surgery.

Fortunately, this final swelling is usually only evident to the surgeon and patient. Cosmetic surgery patients may help reduce post-treatment swelling via a variety of methods. Other potential helpful factors which may help with postop cosmetic surgery swelling include the followingreduce salt intakereduce ingesting processed foods and focus on fresh fruits & vegetablesreduce spicy foodsoral diuretic to help urinate excess salt, only for a brief durationsteroid injection or pillshyaluronidasefacial massage or gentile compression dressing to the areaarnica montana tablets (Houtan Chaboki, MD, Washington DC Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Typically immediate nose plastic surgery recovery time should be about 7 to 10 days. At that point you should be able to go back to normal life without raising eyebrows. However, complete recovery is about a 1 year. (Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD, FACS, New York Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Bruising after full nose plastic surgery Can Last 2-3 Weeks

Although your nasal splint will be removed at a week to 10 days the most troublesome recovery following nose plastic surgery is the bruising that occurs causing black eyes in most people.

While some people bruise less than others and bruising can resolve in 10-14 days you need to be prepared that you may have bruising that can take 3 weeks to go away.

Certainly makeup can be used to cover the bruising after the first 10-12 days. In my experience it is best to inform patients of the outside possibility for bruising after nose plastic surgery so they can be prepared. (Brooke R. Seckel, MD, FACS, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

Nose plastic surgery social life and Physical Recovery

“At 2 weeks 80% of your swelling will be gone, at 2 months 90%.” Social life Recovery You will need to wear an external nose splint for 1 week. Removing too early can cause damage, undoing the work done. Your nose will be “noticeably” swollen for 1-2 weeks. By the end of the 2nd week the average person you meet won’t be able to notice without careful inspection. Bruising resolves in 1-2 weeks.

Over the counter Arnica may help reduce bruising. Physical Recovery Swelling in some areas may take several months to a year to completely resolve. When you can gently squeeze the nose without any discomfort the healing is for all intents a purposes complete. TIPS DO NOT blow your nose for 3 weeks to allow the sensitive tissues to heal quicker. (Ramtin Kassir, MD, Wayne Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Although it may take 6 months or more to fully recovery a patient can usually be in public within 1 to 2 weeks, and start light exercise at 3 to 4 weeks.

It takes about 6 weeks for the bone to firm up but injury can occur beyond that (Richard O. Gregory, MD, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)

Most primary rhinoplasties will have a splint for 5-6 days, bruising under the eyes for 5-14 days and a nice result in just 7-10 days.

However, the final result may take months. Since the nose is relatively small and the contours delicate, subtle contours in tip architecture are many time slow to show.

This is usually not a complaint since the result at two weeks is about half way between the old and new and the final result gradually unveils over several months.

I will often coach the result with night tape and occational steroid injections to get to that last ten percent. (Henry Mentz, MD, Houston Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Average recovery time for nose job is only a few days. I use packing for 2-4 days but leave the splint on for a week. By that time-should be no problem going in public.

However, the most final result will take months but you should look presentable within a week time. (Thomas Trevisani, Sr., MD, Orlando Plastic Surgeon)

Nose job recovery and downtime

Depending on the nose job and your skin type, recovery can range from 7 days to 20 days. The vast majority of patients need 12-14 days after nose job to be presentable.

The first week there is no heavy lifting, bending over, or nose blowing to minimize the risk of a nosebleed. On day 7, usually the splint is removed, and the restrictions are lifted; however, most people still have some swelling and bruising that makes the nose job obvious.

Makeup during this second ‘social downtime’ week can help, but usually by 14 days, no one at work or school will know you had a nose job and by 21 days even your family won’t know you had anything done. (Mike Majmundar, MD, Atlanta Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Nose job Downtime

Nose job recovery is an important consideration. Here are some key points: Splint stays on 5-10 days. Bruises can take 2-3 weeks to completely disappear and are usually under your eyes.

If you have an open nose job, you may have stitches that need to be removed around 7 days. You shouldn’t blow your nose for about 3-4 weeks. Don’t bend forward/hang your head down for about 2 weeks to limit risk of bleeding.

Don’t over-exert yourself for at least 2 weeks (avoid raising your heart rate) to limit risk of bleeding. Avoid potential contact sports for 6 weeksRemember: it will take about a year to see your final results, especially in the tip definition. A hump reduction shows results much sooner. (Lucie Capek, MD, Latham Plastic Surgeon)

Recovery time for nose job

Recovery time depends on how extensive your surgeon worked on your nose. For instance, a small dorsal hump nose job can be performed in less than one hour with cast removal in 6-7 days and returned to full activity in 2-3 weeks.

A more extensive nose job with tip work and osteotomy (i.e., breaking of the bone) takes 3-4 hours of surgery time with cast removal in 6-7 days and returned to full activity in 3-4 weeks.

Some surgeons like to pack the nose over night or for the first 2-3 days.

This can be extremely uncomfortable and completely avoidable with breathable stents now available.

Most nose job patients will look good for photos in 3-4 months.

The entire healing process can take up to a year or more. (Kyle S. Choe, MD, Virginia Beach Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Nasal surgery is an outpatient surgery. You will have splints put in place to set the bone, and some bruising and swelling from the procedure.

The stay in the hospital is typically only a few hours and you are released with pain medication and antibiotics. Nasal surgery recovery time varies with patients.

It is suggested to obstain from physical activity for 7-10 days. (Edward E. Dickerson, IV, MD, Fayetteville Facial Plastic Surgeon)

For my patients, the bandage will come off after seven days. Patients will be back to their normal social life in ten days, and black tie event ready in 3-4 weeks. (Babak Azizzadeh, MD, Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon)

Nasal surgery recovery time 7-9 days

With busy schedules, most patients can only take off 7-9 days off from work. Our patients that are self employed typically want to be able to handle phone call and computer work by three days.

Stage 1 – day 0 to 7 days This is the hardest stage. Patients can’t breath well through their nose and some secretions drip into the throat. One change we have made in our practice is the use of the septal stapler when doing septoplasty work. This is a device prevents the need to remove anything from inside the nose.

This is making a big change in how our patients feel after nasal surgery. If you are not having septal work the recovery is much easier and more comfortable. Stage 2 – day 7 until 21 At this stage 50% of the swelling is gone. I tell my patients you will like your nose at three weeks but love it at 1 year.

This is because the sides of the nose will be still swollen. Patients will see a difference and like the result, but it will get much better. This works in the patients favor because from week 3 forward, the nose will slowly have a sharper tip and narrower bridge.

This allows patients to see colleagues and friends as the nose is changing instead of just appearing one day with a great nose. (Pramit Malhotra, MD, Ann Arbor Plastic Surgeon)

Nasal surgery recovery – Splint for 1st week.

A great deal of the healing for nasal surgery occurs in the 7-10 days. The splint from the in-fracturing stays on for that week and then is removed (along with any sutures if you’re surgeon used an open approach). In the first couple of days after nasal surgery there can be some swelling around the eyes which will generally subside by the end of the first week.

There may also be some residual mild periorbital bruising that can take another week or so to completely resolve. Within one month of surgery, a majority of the healing will have taken place.

As far as returning to normal activities and/or going out in public, once the splint is removed at the end of the 1st week (7-10 days post-op), a little cover up makeup (or bronzer) can usually hide most signs of surgery. Of course, if you don’t mind being seen with a small splint on your nose, you can certainly go out within the 1st week following your procedure.

Just be very careful! Any trauma to the delicate nasal tissue during the initial recovery period has the potential to wreck an otherwise excellent result. So be careful and mind your surroundings (crowds, kids, outdoor events, etc.) for at least 2-4 weeks. To speed the healing process along, many patients take Arnica and Bromelain. (William F. DeLuca Jr, MD, Albany Plastic Surgeon)

Nasal surgery recovery time

My general nasal surgery is as follows (for an open approach):

Splint for one week. Look like you had surgery. Most folks would want to stay home.
Swollen and possibly bruised for two weeks. Feel stuffed up alot but generally feeling better. Alot of folks go back to work sometime during week two.
Look pretty good at 2 weeks but the final result will take several more months to see, patience is the key here. I let my patients return to full activity at 4 weeks as long as they avoid contact sports. (Mahlon Kerr, MD, FACS, Austin Plastic Surgeon)