Removing external nasal splint?

Question

I had my external nasal split removed 7 days post op. I had my nasal bone moved closer together. The doctor ripped off the external splint and boy did hurt! Is the removal supposed to hurt that bad? I feel like just ripped it off my nose without any care... It was really stuck on there. I told how much it hurt. Will this affect the healing of my nose or how it's end result? Thank you.

David J. Kiener, MD · Answer

Removal of the external nasal splint is generally not painful at all. Some patients are more sensitive than others, but still it is unusual to more than slight discomfort. Tape is applied to the skin using an adhesive since it is not safe to apply the splint directly to the skin. I use a small curette  to separate the tape from the skin when removing the splint. It can take a few minutes to remove it. There is a chance that the skin can pull away from the underlying tissues if the splint is removed too aggressively and cause some bleeding that could effect the cosmetic result.Thank you for your question and best wishes.

Victor Chung, MD · Answer

7 days after surgery, my rhinoplasty patients come in for their external nasal splint removal. I put a few drops of adhesive remover directly onto the splint. While it is soaking, I remove any stitches. The splint is removed by gently passing a rounded instrument underneath the tape on the bottom of the splint. It's painless.I believe it's important to remove the splint gently, because the skin is very loosely attached to the bridge of the nose right after surgery. If the skin is aggressively pulled up, fluid can collect underneath. This may lead to swelling and other issues while you heal. I recommend you keep all of your follow-up appointments to make sure your surgeon can keep a close eye on your nose as you heal.

Arfat Jawaid, MBBS, FCPS · Answer

There are various types of external nasal splints including malleable metallic splints, stick-on splints, silicone splints and some surgeons still use ortho-plasters. Most of the surgeons remove them on 7th post op day. Removal of an external splint is never painful. I use malleable metallic external splints and sometimes remove them even on 3rd post operative day and re-apply after assessing the skin underneath. Your surgeon should have been more gentle in removing the splints. However if the nose looks alright then we should hope that the painful removal has not effected the final result.

Michael Elam, MD (retired) · Answer

Dear hellothere11, Removing the nasal splint should not be painful. I personally use a technique where I run an instrument with tape adhesive remover under the splint and then it comes off in one unit with very minimal discomfort. I have included a typical video of splint removal and there are more then fifty of the same style videos of my patients "first looks" of their noses under my profile and usually this is a very exciting time not a painful one. With this said it should not effect your end result. Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.

Removing external nasal splint?

Answers (4)

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