Septo/Rhinoplasty Swelling 7 months later

By jjjjllllcccc on 12 Mar 2012

I'm a 16 year old male and in August of 2011 I had a septoplasty/rhinoplasty to fix my deviated septum and crooked nose (from when I fell off a table onto my face at age 7). That was about 7 months ago, and I'm still incredibly unhappy with the shape/feel/look of my nose and my nostrils, from the front, sides, and bottom. I am wondering if this could still be residual swelling or if this is what my nose will look like unless I get revision surgery. My doctor told me to expect swelling, especially because I had 2 previous surgeries at ages 7 and 12 because of the accident where I broke my nose. He also warned me that I "thick skin" and therefore swelling would take some time to go down. Well, it's been 7 months already and I've definitely seen improvement (my nose was absolutely awful the first month or two), but I'm still unhappy. I've googled and googled and I've seen people say that swelling goes down after 3 months, and I've also heard people say it won't fully go down for 36 months. I've talked to my doctor and he thinks my nose "looks mostly like it will when it's done healing", which isn't what I wanted to hear. I'm hoping someone out there can give me a straight answer because I don't want to start considering revisional surgery (to smooth out my bridge, make my nostrils even, and make my tip symmetrical) if this is simply just stubborn swelling that is taking a while to go away. Any opinions or advice will be of great help. Thank you!

Comments (4)

Annk1963
7 months ago

I say wait it out. I'm also 7 months post op and the same think that RDkid said if I eat too much salty food, drink alcohol or exercise too much; the swelling sets back in again. It can take up to 20 months to see final results. I would try to be really, really patient. Especially if you have thick skin like myself. If you go messing with it at 12 months, I think you would probably do more harm than good. At least wait 24 months before going to see a surgeon about a revision if you are extremely unhappy after that point. I heard some real late changes take place around the 20 month mark Plus, you want to me absolutely sure that you have final results before going back in for more surgery. You still want your nose to look realistic and not like you had a obvious nose job.

RDkid
7 months ago

Hey man, I am a twenty six year old male and had my rhinoplasty 8 months ago. Swelling in my nose has driven me positively insane this entire time so I can definately relate to what your going through. I guess the best thing I can do is tell you about my experience so far. I have very thick nasal skin as well. The big problem with my nose is the fluctuations in swelling. If its hot, if im stressed out, if i exercise my nose always balloons up and looks way more swollen. However, I have seen my nose pretty frequently during my recovery looking the way i wanted it too, it can just still get really swollen at times and look way different and worse. If you have never seen your nose up to this point looking the way you would like, and are still waiting to see something that hasnt appeared yet, I'd imagine your nose probably wont change enough at this point for you to love it. If you have seen something you like at some points, but swelling just returns and covers it up, your nose eventually will look like it does when the swelling isn't there. In my case my nose looks great at times, but with swelling can look WAY bigger and worse. I know this isn't the most enlightening info, but its just my two cents. I would really think long and hard about a revision as well because any problems you experienced like scarring and swelling will most likely even be worst after another procedure. If you decide to go forth with one, make sure you absolutely DRILL your surgeon on exactly what he thinks he can achieve and any uncertainties that could affect your final result like scarring, swelling etc.

NLS0249
1 year ago

I think it looks better than the way it did 100 percent. But if your not happy with It after a year then you can go for a revision and I am pretty sure if you go back to the same doc they will not charge you for it you'll probably only have to pay for the Anesthesia. Did you explain to the doctor what exactly you wanted done its very important for you guys to be on the same page and let them not what you don't like about your nose and what you would like changed. It looks like swelling especially near the tip and that's where the most work was probably done. If you take your pointer and start from the top of your nose and press down to the tip you can feel the swelling. The tip usually takes the longest to heal. I hope everything turn outs OK.

Angiemcc (Community Manager)
1 year ago

Hi there! Sorry about your accident and that you're not happy with your current results.

Doctors generally say that swelling goes down most in the first few months, but that you don't see your final, refined results until the one year mark (or so).

It does seem a little late for your swelling to still be so pronounced. You're a really good looking guy, but I can see what you mean with your front "after" photo.

So, bottom line from someone who has had rhino and revision rhino and has read a ton of reviews and seen a lot of photos (but is not a medical professional in any way), I think you're going to have to be patient for a few more months, but wouldn't be surprised if you need a revision.

My 2 cents: look for other opinions by going on consultations with plastic surgeons. Don't just go with the doctor who operated on you without checking out other options. Go on at least 2 or 3 consults (sometimes you can get free consultations if you mention RealSelf, check each doctor's profile page here on the site for more info on that).

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this, and at such a young age. You sound well grounded and well spoken and I have no doubt this will someday just be an annoying chapter from your youth and you'll be happy with what you see in the middle of your face! :0)