Rhinoplasty: when will the swelling go down?

2 weeks after Rhinoplasty is still the infancy of healing. So, try to be optimistic and patient at this stage of the game.

Several things should be remembered while you are awaiting your long term (and enduring) result.

The cast and tape is placed to reduce swelling over the first week. It does this by holding the tissues down tightly to the underlying cartilage and bone. As such, there is often a little swelling that comes out after it is removed.

Besides the cast issue, most rhinoplasty is reductive in nature, meaning that the height of the nose is reduced. When looking from the front, this can often give the impression of widening or a persistent bump in the early post operative period. Here's why:

• The perception of nasal width from frontal view has to do with the interplay of shadow, highlight, and shadow as one moves across the nose.
• The places where bone is broken in many reductive rhinoplasties is the side of the nasal bones below the eyes and the central portion of the nose where a hump is removed.
• Bones heal by initially forming what is called a callus, which stabilizes the 2 adjacent segments across a break. This callus is thicker than the final bone that will be there after healing is complete.
• Callus gets replaced by normal bone over the first few months after surgery.
• Therefore, it will take more time for shadows to reappear along the side of the nose than for other swelling to go down. This diminishes the contrast between the top of the nose and the shadow, creating the perception of widening. This will improve over time.
• The area where your bump was is also healing in the same manner, so be patient. It will flatten with time.

Finally, depending on your skin thickness, the nasal tip may take longer for the skin to redrape and assume a narrower configuration.