Recovery after Rhinoplasty: Swelling, Edema, Bruising, Assymetry

Rhinoplasty requires aesthetic and technical prowess to acheive perfect results.  In the early postoperative period, edema sets in the nasal skin and subcutaneous tissue and can obscure the actual results of the soft tissue.  It is customary to wait one year after rhinoplasty, when the swelling has reached a nadir, to contemplate additional corrective surgery.

In some cases, the assymetry is caused by the nasal bones.  If this is the case, the assymetry may persist after one year. On your next consultation with your surgeon, discuss whether the pattern of assymetry is due to a bony prominence, cartilage, or merely soft tissue edema.

Your surgeon appears to have given you correct advice and he/she is the only person who really understands the specifics of your rhinoplasty as he/she performed it.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD Kare Plastic Surgery & Skin Health Clinic

0 of 1 found this helpful

Helpful?

Contact the doctor

Hi Nancy,

Only your surgeon knows for sure. 

It sounds as if there is a "step-off" in the area of the upper osteotomies, higher on your right than left.  When the nasal bones are incised to narrow the upper third of the nose, there is sometimes a palpable and noticeable area of swelling.  This usually resolves with time as the bones heal. 

If grafts were placed in the areas of concern, then address the issue with your surgeon at your next post-operative visit.  There is nothing to do at this point, and for the next few months.  Don't worry about your friends "Owen Wilson's nose" comments; they're probably just jealous of your new nose.

Be patient and most likely all will be well.  Happy and healthy New Year.

Dr. P

Helpful?

Contact the doctor