Surgery Needed for Broken Nose and Slight Deviated Septum?

I broke my nose 5 days ago from an accident at home. I went to see a plastic surgeon today in NYC, found an MD on the net. I was told that I have a broken nose, and it's fractured with slight deviated septum. My nose is crooked a bit, but I can breathe fine. I just leave my noise alone. I am over 45 years old. Would I need to have a closed Rhinoplasty or Septoplasty?

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11 Doctor Answers | Asked by Janeroth in NYC

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If you're breathing fine and your nose is straight on the outside, there is no need to have surgery.

It is a good idea that you have gone to see a plastic surgeon after you broke your nose. It is important to make sure you do not have a septal hematoma. If your nose is indeed broken, displaced and crooked, it will need to be reset. This is performed through osteotomies of both nasal bones. This is technically not a rhinoplasty but a re-breaking and resetting of the nasal bones themselves. Most of the time when the nose is fractured the septum will be broken, twisted and deviated and... more

Broken nose and deviated septum

If your breathing is good and the deviation is not concerning to you, you don't need surgery. If your breathing is affected, a septoplasty may help you. If you are interested, a rhinoplasty can straighten your nose.

Surgery after nasal injury

If you are disturbed that the nose is slightly crooked, you could have surgery to straighten it. Insurance companies cover this immediately after an injury but may not cover a reconstruction desired more than six months later because they can declare it as cosmetically motivated. Closed reduction is best performed within the first 48 hours after an injury and correction must be deferred during the point at which the nasal swelling internally is at its peak. The septum can be repaired at... more

Have the procedure only if you don't like what you see

If you are breathing fine, then you shouldn't need a septoplasty. You can wait a few more days to let the swelling go down. If the nose is still crooked and this bothers you, then you can have the closed reduction to straighten the nose. If you don't mind how the nose looks and you are breathing well, then do nothing.

Your nose is broken...now what?

If you're nose is broken and you're breathing okay, you don't have to get surgery! However, if your nose is crooked and you want it straightened, your surgery may involve putting the bones back to where they were (relatively simple with no incisions needed sometimes.) If you nose is very crooked, then you may require bone or cartilage grafts to help make your nose have a straight look. This is more involved and is usually done with an open approach. Good luck!

How to fix a broken nose

Generally speaking, nasal fractures can be repaired at 2 time points. The first is a procedure called a closed reduction, where no cuts are made and the bones are just pushed back into place. Generally, it is recommended to do this procedure within the first 7-10 days. I have done it as late as 3-4 weeks in severely deviated noses. This is often done with some light anesthesia to make it comfortable. Sometimes the septum will move over with the bones. Often it will not. The second is a... more

It sounds like you need a closed reduction of your nose fracture.

If your nose looks crooked after the trauma, but you're breathing fine, you should have this repaired. In general, you can have your nasal bones repositioned without "re-breaking" them within 10 days of your injury. You can have a "closed reduction" of your nasal fracture performed with local anesthetic in the office, with minimal discomfort, and no downtime. If you wait longer than 2 weeks, you'll need a more extensive surgery with general anesthetic. Since you're... more

Eric M. Joseph, MD

199 reviews

West Orange Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.ericmjoseph.com

Broken nose

After an acute fracture, I usually discuss the options with patients. If the nose is significantly deviated, the goal of early reduction ( within the first week to 10 days) is to centralize the bony and septal complex as best as one can. Bumps on the nasal dorsum or revisions of slight deviations, will then have to be treated at about 6 months when the majority of swelling has subsided and the fractures are healed. If you go in acutely to do rasping of bumps, etc.. more damage than... more

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

You can have a closed reduction of your nasal fracture in a few days.

Hi! In a few days, the swelling will be gone, and you can see how you look and how you are breathing. If nothing bothers you then, leave things alone. Otherwise, you can have a closed reduction of the nasal fracture. This is a minor procedure that is not a rhinoplasty, and takes about 20 minutes. But it has to be done before the bones begin to knit, so you have a window of about 2 weeks.

If you are breathing fine and are ok with the appearance, you can hold off on surgery

As long as you are breathing ok and are not concerned about the appearance you can wait. In general, I like to reset a broken nose within 2 weeks after the injury-- after that, the bones start to heal in place making it more difficult to correct. After 2 weeks, if you decide you do want something done, I would wait a few months for all of the internal scarring to settle down and to be able to get a good idea of the final result- at this point, if you do not like the way things look,... more