When will swelling go down after septoplasty?

Question

My nose looks bigger and wide from the bottom than before my septoplasty surgery.i was told that my bone was also cracked and it was quite difficult for the doctor to cut the extra bone and give it a good position ..now its been 4 month of post septoplasty i have better breathing and straight nose but my nostrils are wider than before and looks big..will it go down

Marie E. Montag, MD · Answer

After a septoplasty is done it is to be expected that the columella and base of the nose will remain swollen for quite some time. With time gravity pulls the swelling down to the lower parts, and these are the last to go down. Also if the rest of the nose was not operated on (no rhinoplasty was done) then those areas look even bigger proportionally for a while. Having swelling 4 months after a septoplasty is not uncommon. I am sure it has gone down some since surgery, but it is hard to appreciate the changes when you see things every day. I would recommend taking pictures every week or two and compare them to see your progress. We expect some minor swelling to persist even up to a year after surgery, do don’t panic…it should continue to slowly get better over time! It can be hard to be patient.

When will swelling go down after septoplasty?

Answers (1)