How Long Does Tip Swelling and Hardness Last?

Generally, healing following nasal surgery takes as long as 12-18 months.  After it is completely healed, the nose will feel soft and quite natural.  Because of this, if the tip feels “hard” still, it is likely still swollen with healing that is ongoing.  It will definitely soften up to feel more natural, ultimately, and will very likely decrease in size. 

Occasionally, injections of Triancinalone into the soft tissue of the tip will help speed up the resolution of any soft tissue swelling and edema.  I would certainly wait at least 12-18  months before even considering any revision surgery.

The amount of swelling will differ from patient to patient, primarily depending on the thickness of the skin. A thicker skinned patient will have swelling for a longer period of time, up to a year in some instances. Typically by four months post op, there is only about 20% of the swelling left. The firmness will also decrease over time. Be sure to discuss your concerns with your surgeon.

Rhinoplasty can take anywhere between 12-18 months for all swelling to fully resolve.  It is a process and patience is a virtue here. Let your nose heal for 18 months before considering any type of revision.  You want to be sure what you are looking at is the final product and not any type of residual swelling. 

Hello and thank you for your question. You are still in the very early stages of healing at four months postop. The final results take at least 1.5 years for the swelling to fully resolve. This can require lots of patience and waiting. Steroid injections performed by your surgeon can be extremely helpful. I usually start steroid injections around 1 to 2 months after surgery and continue as needed. Most patients are able to return to work and resume exercise one week after surgery. I recommend that you maintain close follow up with your qualified board-certified plastic surgeon who can evaluate you in person.

Best wishes and good luck.

Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

Thank you for your question,
 Rhinoplasty is an intervention with a long postoperative period that usually tests the patience of the patient. Unfortunately, little can be done to accelerate the healing process to see the results in a short time. what can I say is that the rhinoplasty lasts around 10 to 12 months to settle down.
please be patient!

Tip swelling is an extremely normal part of the healing process after nose surgery. Nevertheless, the level of swelling present in a patient is a very individual thing and therefore it can not be determined exactly how long it will take for the swelling to go away completely.
I think you also needen't worry about the hardness of the tip that's present at the moment since it pretty much sounds like it is due to swelling.
It usually takes from 6 months up to a year for all the swelling to subside and the tip, in the majority of cases, is the last one to see the swelling completely resolve. 
At this point, you will just have to be patient! 
Good luck! 

Thank you for sharing your question regarding tip swelling and harndness. It is quite common for the tip to feel swollen and hard at the 4-month mark. How much swelling will be determined partly by your skin thickness and ethnicity, as well as the surgical techniques utlised. At this stage, it's too early to consider a revision rhinoplasty because the nose may still change shape as it heals in the months to follow. How long the swelling takes to resolve will also depend on other factors including your ethnicity, genetics, environmental factors as well as skin thickness, complexity of the surgery and type of surgical technique performed. In my practice I employ the use of fine micro-surgical techniques to minimize swelling and promote faster healing, in addition to recommending anti-inflammatory medicine to reduce swelling after surgery. Swelling can persist for up to 12 to 18months following a rhinoplasty procedure. I recommend that you follow up with your surgeon as your swelling continues to resolve. For my patients, we aid resolution of the swelling with the use of specific anti-inflammatory medicines to your nose to enhance recovery.

Various factors contribute to swelling after rhinoplasty. Surgical delicacy, lifestyle, allergens, smoking, taping, nasal skin thickness and caring all contribute to the extent of postoperative swelling. A nose job shows its final result in 1 year. It sometimes even takes up to 2 years for some patients for their nose to have its final shape post surgery. Typically, you get operated, have your cast removed in 5-7 days and will have your nose swelling start to decline with time. I generally tell my patients that 70% of  swelling will be gone in 1 month, 90% in 3-6 months, 99% in 1 year and 100% in 2 years. 
The thicker your nasal skin, the longer your swelling takes to go away and hence the longer your recovery period. The thinner your skin is, the shorter this period will be and the quicker you will see your final results. Although the surgery is nothing the patient can control (other than choosing the right surgeon), other factors can be controlled. To prevent excessive swelling and promote healing, one should avoid smoking, avoid trauma, try to be away from allergens and use long-term tapings with proper massage (under control of his/her surgeon) to control edema and enhance the healing process. 
Hope this helps,Ali Rıza Öreroğlu, MD FEBOPRASEuropean and Turkish Board Certified Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeonIstanbul, Turkey

this is difficult to answer without seeing pre op and current photos for comparison but 3-4 months is very early and especially if you had thicker skin you Rhinoplasty will be in it “infancy “ in terms of evolution Swelling will continue to settle over 12-14 months but if structural grafting has been used ( most modern rhinoplasties) then the firmness will remain long term which is a good thing and not a bad thing

Tip swelling and firmness after a rhinoplasty can last about a year depending on the degree of surgery to the tip and the use of grafts. There is no doubt that when grafts are used such as a columellar strut graft the tip can feel quite firm for longer  and when it does soften it may be a little firmer than you have been used to in the past. It is important to understand that the strut graft is used for very important reasons to maintain the tip support and prevents the tip dropping in the future. It is best in the early stages simply to be patient and take guidance and reassurance by keeping in touch with your surgeon.  

Swelling postoperatively is normal, and the tip is where much of the swelling manifests, often resulting in a (temporarily) wide nose without much definition. It is difficult to know if you have received a good result without seeing photos. Please remember to use sunscreen at this time of year to make sure that you are not contributing to the problem, and do not go in the sun without a hat as well as the sunscreen. Any residual concerns should be discussed with your surgeon, as only he/she knows what maneuvers were done surgically which will help judge if the tip is swollen or if the outcome might require revision.