After Rhinoplasty Surgery Will I Need Nasal Packing?

Nasal packing is uncomfortable, and may lead to more bruising and possibly infection. In our practice, nasal packing has not been used for over 17 years. Hope this helps. Dr Joseph

It’s important to realize that post-operative care and the use of nasal packs varies from patient to patient and depends upon a multitude of variables.  Although nasal packing is commonly used in both rhinoplasty and septoplasty patients, it’s not used in every case.

            A large variety of nasal packs are utilized following rhinoplasty surgery.  These include the use of ribbon gauze, merocel and xeroform gauze.  These materials are utilized when excessive bleeding or drainage is anticipated following rhinoplasty surgery.

            Unfortunately, nasal packing can cause significant nasal congestion with resultant post-operative discomfort.  For this reason, packing isn’t always utilized when patients undergo rhinoplasty.  Instead packing is utilized when the potential for bleeding and drainage exists. 

            If you’re concerned about nasal packing it’s important to discuss this issue with your plastic surgeon.  Your surgeon can discuss this issue and the probability of your needing packing following rhinoplasty surgery.

In almost all cases of rhinoplasty you can avoid packing the nose, which translates into a much more comfortable recovery for the patient. I have not 'packed' the nose in over 7 years now. In the past, this was done commonly to help minimize chances of bleeding the early recovery phase and to help encourage the internal lining of the nose to heal quicker. In most cases of septoplasty and rhinoplasty, an absorbable suture can be used inside of the nose to accomplish the same goal - obviating the need for packing.

As with any rule though, there are those exceptions. If the surgeon encounters bleeding unresponsive to normal techniques, it needs to be controlled with placement of packing. Fortunately, this is quite rare.

   Its been at least 5 years since i used nasal packing!  I used to pack all my noses because that was what I was taught in training. I found my patients were uncomfortable and were very frightened by what all their friends told them about packing. Since I have stopped using packing I have not had any more bleeding than  when I used packing. If i do need to put something in the nose it is usually a small amount of material that stops minor bleeding. This material I use usually dissolves by itself.. If on a rare patient I have more bleeding than i anticipate I would not hesitate to use packing. Its all about patient safety!
Good Luck

Packing is used mostly to prevent bleeding.  In most cases, I do not find there to be significant bleeding by the time I am completing surgery.  I will place thin splints inside the nose if I do work on the septum during surgery.  But patients can breath around these spints and they do not cause discomfort.