Is my Nose Still Broken?

I got elbowed directly in the side of the nose at practice and heard my nose crack. I had bruising and a lot of swelling, so I had to wait five days before seeing the ENT. He performed a closed reduction and put a splint on it for a week. When he removed the splint it still wasn't straight. It has now been two weeks since the reduction and it is still painful and I have trouble breathing. I can feel my nose move when I open my mouth wide, and I can feel a crack\indent on the bridge of my nose.

Tags:

Comment on this

3 Doctor Answers | Asked by Molly515

Doctor Answers (3)
Community Comments (0)

Nasal fracture

The type of injury you described can cause severe deformity of the nose. Initial reduction is to correct the deformity as much as possible. Usually another surgery is required after all healing is complete to correct the septum and the boney portion that are still deviated. This second surgery is usually several months after initial injury

Persistently crooked nose after closed fracture reduction

There is a risk that the nose won't be straight even after a closed reduction of a nasal fracture. Often this is sue to an internally deviated septum that keep the outer parts of the nose pushed off center. It is possible to perform a more formal septo-rhinoplasty in a few months once the nose heals further to create a straighter nose.

It takes 6 to 8 weeks for a nasal fracture to heal

A crooked nose that recurs after a nasal fracture is often due to a crooked septum. The septum is often knocked crooked (deviated) from an external blow. This is not addressed at the time of a closed reduction. A deviated septum that is new from trauma needs time to heal. That can be fixed in about two months. In cases like that I acually prefer waiting and re-breaking the nose at two months at the same time as fixing the septum so you have one surgery instead of two.