Does Smoking and Alcohol Increase Swelling Post Rhinoplasty?

Nicotine causes a "choking off" or vasoconstriction of blood vessels in your skin. In your postoperative state, you are relying on the vasculature of your nasal skin to decrease swelling. In non smokers who have had rhinoplasty, nasal tip edema can persist for up to a year. Smoking will only delay your eventual healing and your final result.

Alcohol can increase the swelling in the nose by vasodilation of the blood vessels. Cigarette smoking is an irritant to the internal portion of the nose. Both smoking and drinking are not conducive to good healing in the postoperative phase. It is best to quit smoking and limit the alcohol consumption.