Why does oily skin take longer to heal after rhinoplasty?

Hello Suhaana,

Thanks for a nice question. Rhinoplasty reshapes the hard framework of the nose, however you also have soft tissues in the nose like skin, ligaments and nerves, which can't be treated by a surgical procedure. Thick skin is a like big sponge which absorbs more water, therefore takes a longer time to get completely dry. In order to achieve desired results thick skinned patients need to prepare their skin before the surgery with non surgical treatments. Also thick skin requires additional maneuvers during surgery which are very risky to accomplish and have to be performed only by the experts in this area. To find out numerous thick skinned patients treated by Closed Atraumatic Technique please click the link below.

Kind Regards

Thank you for your question. Typically patients with more sebaceous (oily) skin tend to have thicker skin. This skin type can have more swelling, and that takes time to settle. Hope this answers your question.

Oily skin implies more sebaceous (oil) glands. Skin with more oil glands is thicker and swells more. Consequently, not only does it take longer for the swelling to resolve, but the procedures needed to produce the desired aesthetic angulations in this thicker skin require more manipulations which also add to the post-op swelling.

That said, we prefer thicker skin types since it may give your surgeon more flexibility in using cartilage grafts to achieve a desired appearance. Hope this helps. Dr Joseph

Recovery time from rhinoplasty in patients with oily skin: during a rhinoplasty the Cartlidge and bony skeleton beneath the skin are modified and or reduced. The skin itself is not cut or removed. Therefore when the skeletal framework of the nose is reduced in size, the skin must shrink after the surgery to the reduced size of the Cartlidge and bony skeleton. Oily skin which is usually thicker takes longer to shrink and will not shrink as much as thin skin. Typically it takes about a year for the skin of the tip to shrink to its final form in a person with average thickness of the skin. Thinner skin tips will heal faster and very thick skin tips they take two years or even longer. In thick skinned patients the tip and the area above the tip called the Supratip take the longest to heal. This process can be sped it up by injecting cortisone during the recovery phase. Surgeons very has to how long after the surgery they will inject Cortizone. The Cortizone reduces swelling dissolves scar tissue that is formed under the skin and can atrophy the normal skin, so it must be injected very judiciously by someone who has a lot of experience with it.