After 5 Months of Rhinoplasty Swelling What Are The Ways to Reduce It?

After 5 months there is little to do to improve swelling other than time.  There is not a cream or injection that is likely to help. An injectin of dilute steriod can be attempted, but I would not expect much.  Time can have dramatic results though and patients is always a benefit after rhinoplasty.  Give yourself a year.  Don't inspect the nose all the time.  It will drive you crazy.  Take a photo of yourself, forget about it and then take another in 3 months.  Compare them and you will get a better idea of the changes. 

Hello,

With swelling following rhinoplasty, it is important to be patient. The final result of your rhinoplasty may not be evident until 18-24 months following surgery. 70% of the swelling is resolved after the first 3 months, and the remainder of the swelling goes down over time.  You may have a steroid injected into the nose to help reduce swelling. There are a few risks associated with steroid injections to the nose, such as indentation and white spots. These risks are rare, but can occur. I also inject 5-flourouracil into the nose to help decrease swelling.  Please discuss any options to reduce swelling with your surgeon, as he/she knows the extent of your surgery and exactly what was performed. Thank you, and I hope this helps.

Dr. Nassif

it is not unusual to have swelling still at 5 months, especially with thicker skin - see your surgeon and inquire about steroid injections into the tip.

Hi Ashley,

Best to wait until about a year after your rhinoplasty before doing anything about your nose.  Discuss your concerns with your rhinoplasty surgeon.  Have your nose checked to be sure that there is no infection.  Good luck and be well.

Namaste,

Dr. P

There are no creams or potions to make the swelling go down faster. Be patient and it will take 1 year for the last bit to go down.

Your temporary post-op swelling will continue to decrease for at least a year after rhinoplasty, especially in a patient with thick skin, which is common in Indian people. There is nothing that can be done for the swelling - patience is necessary.  

 After more than 20 years performing Rhinoplasty, I tell all my patients that the swelling does not go done evenly after a Rhinoplasty.  The swelling can be reduced with ice therapy in the early post Rhinoplasty pahse (first month) after which specific and correctly applied nasal massage (manual lymphatic drainage) performed daily can and does decrease nasal swelling.  The real reason to reduce nasal swelling after Rhinoplasty is not to see the final result sooner...although this is the patients motivation...but rather to prevent the swollen nasal tissues from creating a layer of scar tissue which may not go away. 

 Scar tissue will distort and blunt the final effects of a Rhinoplasty from showing through.  Think of the Rhinoplasty as creating a shaped, streamiled nasal structure underneath the skin.  Now picture a thin sheet above this structure that allows the refined shape to show through...this is thin skin wiithout scar tissue accumulation. 

Now envision the same nasal structure with a thick blanket over it that obscures the refined shape making the nose appear thick and bulbous.  This is the effect that scar tissue has on the nose after a Rhinoplasty.  The nasal tissues do not allow swelling to remain forever and will eventually replace this swelling with scar tissue.  This happens at different times, in patients, but IMHO certainly appears after 5-6 months.  This is why prolonged nasal swelling should be avoided.