Timing to Fix a Recently Broken Nose and Deviated Septum?

I was sexually assaulted and as a result my nose was broken. The scans show that I have a deviated septum as well as a fractured nose.

Because I'm with the VA, they gave me a choice: Either go in and have a local applied and have my nose pushed into place next week, or wait three months for the swelling to go down and have everything fixed then. What do you recommend I do?

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by sd123 in los a ngeles

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Timing to Fix a Recently Broken Nose and Deviated Septum

Sorry to hear about your assault. The physician at the VA correctly advised you of your options. My recommendation is to attempt to do both the rhinoplasty and septoplasty within 10 days.

Fixing Nasal Fracture and Crooked Septum at the same time

After your injury both can be done at the same time within 10 days of injury. If you wait any longer it gets harder to fix the broken nasal bones and typically after 3 weeks you have to break them to set it straight. So, best to do both within 10 days after the injury Regards

Depends

Hi, Sorry to hear about the assault. :( The traditional approach to broken noses is to try to do a "closed reduction" the week following the fracture and then wait and see. Its usually better to try to push it into place for 2 reasons: 1) You may not need a more major surgery if the nose pops right back into place 2) If you still need a more extensive septorhinoplasty, at least the starting point is not as bad as it would have been if you had left it alone and not had the closed... more