Will Piercing Affect Nose Surgery?

Question

If I were to get my belly button peirced, a month before my Nose surgery (re-breaking my nose to make it straight), will it affect my surgery at all?

Ozge Ergun, MD · Answer

Thanks for the question. The answer is no if you wait at least 2-4 months. Then, if you talk to your surgeon and get approval, there is no obstacle to having a piercing. I wish you all the best.

David C. Pearson, MD · Answer

There are two issues really.
1) Metal piercings can create an electrosurgical burn risk if they come in contact with ground. But for rhinoplasty, this is more theoretical than actual since you're on your back (i.e., navel piercing facing up), and most surgeons would hopefully be using bipolar cautery rather than monopolar...thus further reducing the risk.
2) The skin tract from a navel piercing takes a long time to epithelialize (line itself with skin)...much longer than an ear piercing, for example. So if there is still a contaminated wound along the piercing tract at the time of surgery it poses a small, but likely tiny, risk of infecting the nasal wound through a transient bacteremia. Again, this is probably more theoretical than actual since the nose wound itself is more highly contaminated and infection is still rare.
But why not simply wait until well AFTER the rhinoplasty to get the navel piercing?
 
All the best,
--DCP

Otto Joseph Placik, MD · Answer

Depending on your operating room policies, many will request that you remove all jewelry including piercings to reduce the theoretical risk of electrosurgical injury.
This can happen when you experience electrical grounding of the current via the piercing rather than the preferred route through the specialized grounding pad. This is more likely to happen with metal or electrically conducive materials.
Special non-conductive materials are available which can be used as spacers during the procedure.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

A belly button piercing will not affect the nasal surgery or rhinoplasty whatsoever; it is okay to have that done at any time before or after the rhinoplasty.

Will Piercing Affect Nose Surgery?

Answers (4)

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