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How Much Bleeding After Broken Nose Repair?

asked 3 years ago by anon
Latest answer by Andrew Miller, MD
Question viewed 3,124 times
Tags: crooked

When a broken nose is repaired, is there much bleeding afterward?

12 answers to How Much Bleeding After Broken Nose Repair?

Usually, very little bleeding after nose repair

Any nasal fracture repair or rhinoplasty for that matter, if done properly in a healthy patient, should be associated with very little blood loss. After the case you may have a little oozing, but it usually stops in a couple days. We do not pack the nose because it is extremely uncomfortable - it is better to ooze slightly and breathe.

Andrew Miller, MD
Edison Facial Plastic Surgeon

Most of the time there is very minimal bleeding

Most of the time there is very minimal bleeding after the nose has been repaired. At the time of the surgery while patients are asleep, there is lidocaine with epinephrine injected into the nasal bones to stop any bleeding and bruising. The nose bones are then reset to their proper anatomical position and then a cast placed across the nose. There is some oozing the first 24 hours after the nose surgery has been performed.

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.seattlefacial.com

Typically no large amount of bleeding after Rhinoplasty

Typically after any Rhinoplasty surgery, there won't be a large amount of bleeding. There may be a small amount of oozing, but that gets soaked up either into a nasal drip pad or nasal packing (if your surgeon uses any.) My advice to all patients is to never swallow any blood once you are awake after surgery. It will make you nauseated and uncomfortable. The incidence of frank bleeding after surgery is very small in the hands of a careful surgeon. Uncontrolled blood pressure, use of... more

Manish H. Shah, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon

Did you have bleeding or are you anticipating it?

Erin, I would first ask you the above question. The amount of bleeding after a broken nose repair is highly variable from almost none to a moderate amount and is dependent on a number of factors, including but not limited to, your tendency toward bleeding, the extent of the break, the amount of work required to repair it, whether the septum is involved. Speak to your surgeon for answers to some of these questions and good luck!

Kenneth R. Francis, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Nose bleeding after nasal fracture repair

Thanks for the question - The nose is a very vascular structure and fractures associated with mucosal lacerations can bleed quite a bit at the time of injury and at time of repair. In the operating room we're usually able to control the bleeding with cautery or vessel ligation in extreme cases. After surgical repair there may be some ooze. Your doctor may pack your nose to reduce the chance of hematoma internally. I hope this helps.

Steven H. Williams, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Bleeding after nasal reduction

Bleeding after repair of a broken nose, in my experience is frequently similar to the amount of bleeding experienced at the time of the fracture. Various agents are used during surgery to minimize bleeding. A post-operative regimen is also prescribed to minimize bleeding and includes packing, compressses, head elevation, etc.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Nasal Fracture; How Much Bleeding After Repair?

Hi Erin, We should ask Tex to answer your question. There should not be too much bleeding following repair of a nasal fracture. If the repair is a "closed reduction" where the displaced bones are manipulated, there should be very little to no significant bleeding. If the fracture is repaired through an open reduction, depending upon how much work is done, there can be a little bleeding for about 12 to 24 hours. An open reduction of the fracture is elective and patients should be... more

Michael A. Persky, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

Some bleeding is expected

Following a rhinoplasty the incisions can be carefully re approximated to decrease post operative bleeding. Occasionally a packing is needed. In most cases it can be removed on the first day after surgery. On rare occasions the packing must stay in place longer. This would be particularly true if a good deal of internal work is done to the nose to correct breathing abnormalities.

Jeffrey Zwiren, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

Bleeding after broken nose repair

Usually after broken nose repair acutely or a rhinoplasty there is a small non-stick dressing of some sort placed under the nasal bones to support them. This is taken out at home the next day by the patient. In either case there is usually only a small amount of blood tinged drainage the first 24 hours that is minor.

Edward Buckingham, MD
Austin Facial Plastic Surgeon

No reason to expect a lot of bleeding after repair

Erin, I have written a response to explain the different ways to correct a broken nose. The tall and short of the answer to your specific question is that there is no reason to expect a lot of bleeding after surgery. Most surgeons have you leave a gauze drssing below your nose for the first night after surgery to avoid any drip onto your lip. You should ask if there will be any nasal packing involved as this can be uncomfortable, and we have found it to be unnecessary in the vast majority... more

Peyman Solieman, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Usually not a lot

I do not pack noses, either after a cosmetic procedure or a fracture repair. There is always some oozing and it usually stops after 12 to 24 hours.

William B. Rosenblatt, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

No.

Normally, patients have packing of some sort placed in the nose to keep the bleeding to a minimum--usually 2-3 gauze squares worth overnight. This is removed the next day and there is rarely any bleeding after 24 hours.