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A Small Piece of Metal Discovered in my Nose 2 Years After Rhinoplasty in a Dental Xray. Is This Normal?

I had Rhinoplasty almost 2 years ago today to fix the way my nose curved outwards and wasn't in line with my face. I went to get an X-ray today as I am getting braces soon. When the dentist brought back the results of my X-ray they seen a small piece of metal inside my nose. Is this normal?? My nose seems fine, it doesn't hurt or get infected. I'm just worried it could cause problems in the future...Is it normal? And if so why is there metal inside my nose?

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by Heuston 2289

Doctor Answers (3)
Community Comments (3)

A metallic foreign body in your nose is not normal.

You may get more information from the RealSelf experts if you re ask your question with a photo of the x-ray. Metallic foreign bodies may be recognizable by their appearance. You may also wish to show your x-ray to your rhinoplasty surgeon for clarification. Hope this helps you. Dr. Joseph see video

Eric M. Joseph, MD

204 reviews

West Orange Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.ericmjoseph.com

Foreign Body after Rhinoplasty

Retained foreign bodies following rhinoplasty are rare. Although a foreign body may have been left in your nose unintentionally, more likely is that it is part of an anchor or implant. Either way, if it is a very small piece it is unlikely to cause a real problem. see video

Metal Inside Nose after Rhinoplasty

Assuming the metal was placed at the time of rhinoplasty, this may have been used to anchor a cartilage graft to the anterior nasal spine. Methods vary widely across the US and throughout the world, and it can be hard to speculate about what purpose this served or serves. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Comments (3)

Heuston 2289
22 Mar 2013

So I got onto my surgeon about the metal and showed him the Xray. He said that no metal should have been left in this form of surgery. So he said that he will remove it for free, but that I will have to go under a general anesthetic again and he will have to search the whole nose, since it is such a small piece of metal. Do you think it is getting it taken out? Or do you think I should just leave it at this stage? It doesn't cause me any pain or discomfort, but I just fear it will cause problems in the future...because it's so tiny!

Heuston 2289
28 Feb 2013

Hi, here is a new post i put up with the X-ray included. I hope you can answer my questions and stop me from worrying. I sent the X-ray to the surgeon but he hasn't got back ton me yet. http://www.realself.com/question/small-piece-metal-discovered-in-my-nose-years-after-rhinoplasty-in-dental-xray1?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=QApprvd&utm_content=H1.Answers

Heuston 2289
19 Feb 2013

Thanks for that answer. I will get a copy of the Xray from my dentist during the week. If it is wrong to have it in my nose do you know what I can do about it?? I got my surgery done in Prague.

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