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Is It Possible to Fix One Side of a Broken Nose?

asked 8 months ago by Billy23 in California
Latest answer by William Portuese, MD
Question viewed 479 times
Tags: accident, broken nose, hit

I recently got into a fight at a bar and got my nose broken on only the right side, can this be fixed with surgery but only on that side?... Also another question, what is the maximum times you can undergo rhinoplasty?

17 answers to Is It Possible to Fix One Side of a Broken Nose?

Fixxing One Side of a Broken Nose

Your surgeon will determine what is necessary to fix your broken nose and explain the alternatives before surgery. Fixing one side is possible. It is impossible to answer your question regarding the maximum times you can undergo rhinoplasty. That depends on what was done with previous operations and the physical findings present when considering another procedure.

Richard W. Fleming, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.bevhills.com

Fixing one side of a broken nose

In our experience unilateral osteotomies and closed nasal reduction performed many years ago have been fraught with complications and asymmetries. We have since abandoned those procedures and perform only bilateral osteotomies to completely straighten and realign the nasal pyramid, and have had an excellent success rate with that. Reducing a nasal fracture is not considered a rhinoplasty. As far as the maximum amount of rhinoplasties that can be performed on a patient, that... more

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

Fixing a Broken Nose

Hello, Following a broken nose, there is a window of time of about one week where you can have a closed nasal reduction performed. You can fix one side of the nose. However, if you wait too long, it may be necessary to perform additional surgery depending on the nature of the injury and how it is affecting the overall structure and function of your nose. In regard to revisions, there is no predetermined amount of surgeries that an individual can have performed. It is... more

Paul S. Nassif, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Yes you can

Yes, you can have only one side of your nose corrected. It is best to see a specialisty early on (within 2weeks) while the fracture is fresh to see if the option would be to correct it early or to leave it for later.

Andre Aboolian, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Broken nose repair

Correcting a broken nose can be a simple or complex procedure depending upon the degree of injury. Typically if one bone is pushed in the other is usually pushed out and both need to be set into the middle. This is not always the case and sometimes just one bone can be put back into position. There is no restriction on the absolute number of rhinoplasties to answer your second question.

Scott Trimas, MD
Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon

Can you fix just one side of the nose with Rhinoplasty?

Most likely, no. In order to re-align the broken nasal bone(s), they will need to be broken in the middle and along each base which in essence is a complete Rhinoplasty.

Francis R. Palmer, III, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nasal Fracture

If there truly is a fracture on one side of your nose, then you may be able to have only that side fixed. Consider seeking the advice of a specialist before the fracture heals. In the initial period (preferably within 10 days) following a nasal injury, a nasal fracture may be reduced without surgery. For an older injury that is already healed, the surgical approach may be more complicated. Regarding your second question, there is no official hard and fast rule as to a maximum number of times... more

James M. Pearson, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Broken

If you are early in the game a closed reduction on the affected side might be all you need. However ,after the fracture has healed out of place a full procedure is needed

David A. Bray, Sr., MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Rhinoplasty on one side only?

If it's not broken, don't fix it. If the nasal bone on one side only is displaced, then it is only that bone that should be reduced, at least in the acute situation. There is no "maximum" number of times you can have rhinoplasty, and last I checked, the Guinness Book of World Records doesn't have a category for this.

Steve Laverson, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

feelbeautiful.com

Fixing only one side of a broken nose

It is certainly possible that only one nasal bone was fractured. A closed fractuer reduction can be done to reposition the out of place bone. The bones reset over the course of about 6 weeks so the reduction is most easily done in the first 10 days or so after the injury. There isn't a maximum number of rhinoplasties that a person can have. With each surgery it can become more complicated and difficult, but there isn't a finite number of procedures that a person can have. more

Thomas A Lamperti, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

Post-Traumatic Rhinoplasty

Yes, but your surgeon will help determine what is necessary to fix your broken nose and also make sure that you are able to breathe through it afterwards. Hopefully, your rhinoplasty will not require a revision. There isn't a finite number of revisions you can have done--it all depends on what is done and what needs to be done.

Kimberly Lee, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

One side nose fracture repair

That is what is usually done if the other side is not displaced. You need to address this promptly as there is only a 10-14 day window after injury to easily manipulate the bones. If this is an old injury and a new osteotomy is performed then it is more likely that you may have to have other parts of the nose blended or released to make the correction.

Michael L. Schwartz, MD
West Palm Beach Plastic Surgeon

www.palmbeachface.com

Fixing a nose that is broken on one side

A nasal fracture is best addressed early after the fracture occurs. If the fracture is on one side only, then the bone that is displaced generally needs to be "popped" back into its normal anatomic position. If too much time has passed, then the bones may have healead out of place and it may need to be refractured and put back in place. Multiple rhinoplasties can be perfromed on someone, but the more that are done, the harder it may become to acheive aesthetic... more

Gary D. Breslow, MD
Paramus Plastic Surgeon

Broken nose?

Yes you can have only one side of the broken nose repaired. In fact that is what is usually done, simply pushing out the part that got broken. You can have rhinoplasty several times but each time gets a bit more complex and difficult with a little more unpredictabblity of the results. try to get it don eright the first time, though needing a minor revision is really not a big deal.

Ronald Schuster, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

Nasal fracture

If one side's bone is infractured from an accident and treated within 1-2 weeks, it is possible that that is all you would need to have done.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

You Can Fix Your Broken Nose

The short answer is yes, BUT your surgeon will tell you what your options are and what you can expect as far as outcome is concerned. If it's been over two weeks you may as well take your time, get a few opinions, and then decide what you want to do. If it's been a few weeks since you injury you're essentially looking at a full rhinoplasty. You'll get better advice in person when you meet with your surgeon. Dr. Chase Lay

Chase Lay, MD
Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon

Repairing a Broken Nose

A one sided break is easily repaired within 10 days of the initial injury. Typically these need internal splinting (a pack on the inside of the nose) because the bone tends to want to fall back. After it is healed, it can still be repaired by re-fracturing along the prior break and internally splinting the bone. Just an FYI, this is almost always an insurance based problem. It does not pay well so a few unethical plastic surgeons will try and convince their patients... more