Crooked Nose or Uneven Swelling After Rhinoplasty?

I had Rhinoplasty to "straighten" my nose. I just got my cast off and it is clearly not straight. If a nose looks crooked when the cast is removed one week after rhinoplasty, does that necessarily mean that the nose will be crooked when the swelling is gone? Or could it just mean that the swelling is uneven? I just pray that when the swelling finally goes away that it will reveal a straighter nose than what I am seeing now.

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25 Doctor Answers | Asked by Tigerfan7777 in Baton Rouge, LA

Doctor Answers (25)
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Need to wait 6 months to a year

Even though it has only been one week since your rhinoplasty surgery, and if it appears crooked, one needs to wait until the swelling has subsided. This could certainly be related to uneven swelling in the nose. One needs to wait at least six months to a year to give any final judgment as to whether the nose is truly crooked or not prior to making any decisions about a revision.

Rhinoplasty Recovery: Post-Operative Swelling

In the first several weeks following a rhinoplasty, the swelling of the nose can be asymmetric. This can give the illusion that the nose is crooked or asymmetric. Post-operative swelling can also fluctuate from day to day on different parts of the nose for the first several weeks. If your nose looks crooked after the cast removal, you should revisit your surgeon so that he or she can reassure you that what you are seeing is transient. There are often things that can be done in the office... more

Nasal swelling can take a while

Dear Tigerfan, A crooked nose can be the result of crooked bones in the upper 1/3 of the nose(easy to fix), crooked cartilage in the middle 1/3 of your nose (moderate difficulty to fix) and distorted cartilage in the lower 1/3 of your nose (most difficult to fix). The bones can be fractured and realigned to appear straight and the risk of them returning to the crooked position is not high. The cartilage in the middle 1/3 of your nose include the septum and the upper lateral cartilage. These... more

Deviated Nose Correction and Swelling

One of the hardest things to do in plastic surgery is correct a deviated or crooked nose. The problem, in many cases, is complex in nature and involves asymmetry of multiple cartilages, asymmetry of the underlying facial skeleton, and deviation of the nasal septum. While correcting all elements in a single surgery is not always possible, significant improvement can be achieved in the vast majority of cases. Because correcting the deviated nose is, by definition, a more elaborate and... more

Crooked Nose or Uneven Swelling After Rhinoplasty?

The circumstances that you described are reason for concern. There is a chance however, that surgical technique needed to straighten your nose required more intense manuvers on one side than the other and hence you may have uneven swelling. You will know better if the surgery was fully successful after 4 weeks and definetely after 6 months

Nose crooked externally immediately after Septo-Rhinoplasty

Hi Tiger, It is too soon after your surgery and splint removal to make any judgments about the final shape of your nose. Give it another week, and hopefully as the swelling resolves, your nose will appear straighter. It actually takes a few months for everything to settle, and revision is not recommended until at least 6 to 12 months if it remains crooked. An alternative is having filler such as Radiesse injected to even out any asymmetries. Good luck, be well, and keep us updated on how... more

Michael A. Persky, MD

21 reviews

Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon

drpersky.com

Nose still crooked

A number of things could be going on.. Yes, swelling could be making it looks still crooked The bones may need to be helped along to heal straight. We have our patients do gentle compressions for a week. The coating over the bone (called the periosteum) on the shorter side, the side to which the nose deviated, may be pulling the bones to that side. Again gentle compressions, as shown by your doctor, may help. Your nose will take about 18... more

Patients are often suprised when the Rhinoplasty cast comes off

I have a large number of patients that were not happy when they saw the results after the cast came off. Usually it may be because of swelling or they may not be used to seeing their new, different nose. Or possibly some cartilage grafts were used on one side of the nose in an attempt to straighten it, and the grafts are causing temporary swelling. However, about 99% of the time after another week or two, they are extremely happy because the swelling comes down and the nice shape starts... more

Swelling is very common after rhinoplasty

I would not be overly concerned at this point. If it gives you any consolation, we generally do not take our nasal photographs for typically 6 months after surgery, due to the selling and distortion that occurs during this period. In some instances surgeons may slightly overcorrect a deformity anticipating a slight recurrence. In any event, I would discuss your concerns with your surgeon but give it time to allow the surgical results to settle.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

33 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Crooked Nose Surgery

Before and After Photographs would be helpful to give you more specific advice. That being said, swelling can make your nose look crooked. Especially if you had osteotomies - where the nasal bones are broken. Take serial photographs of your nose and you will probably see your nose getting "straighter" with time. I also recommend "taping" to help control post-operative swelling.