Is There Any Hope my Nose Will Look Smaller?

Though Rhinoplasty surgery does take a long time to completely heal, I typically see the majority of swelling resolve after the first month or two. The remainder of swelling will resolve over the following 10 plus months. However, in patients with a very large nose in combination with very thick skin, this process can take up to two years. Also, the fact that you mention the membranes inside of your nose are swollen, I can assume that you still have a fair amount of healing to do. For... more

Hi MyNewMe, Your new nose should get "smaller" and improve in contour as time goes on. Following rhinoplasty as swelling and scar tissue evolve, the nose seems to get smaller. A nose will ultimately look only as good as the underlying structure that was left behind by the operating surgeon. Unfortunately there are many patients whose noses look fabulous when the splint and tape are removed only to have a "shrink-wrap effect" take place over the subsequent 2 to 5 years.... more

You won't really be getting to your final result for 2 years although you are probably seeing 90% of it now. The best idea is to give nature time to help you get to your own best healing point. The only reason to consider some sort of early revision would be if there were clearly something wrong which it doesn't sound like there is in your case.

At this point of your postoperative phase you should get a good idea of what your final result will be.  Of course there will still be some resolution of swelling and some minor nasal remodeling for up to a year.  There is some variability in how fast the nasal swelling resolves, depending on extent of nasal trauma during surgery, nasal skin thickness,  overall size of pre-op nose, open vs closed technique, etc.  Since you state that there is still some... more

Full healing does take one year. Some studies show that there is further contraction and healing over the next two to five years after a rhinoplasty. However, the results of this are subtle. Your nose will become smaller between the fourth and twelfth month. The nose internally, externally, and especially at the tip stays tender for the first six months after the surgery.

Depending on the type of rhinoplasty that you had - open vs. closed, as well as the thickness of the skin on your nose, the time until final results can vary widely. In any event, be patient and good things will come.