Can I breathe through the nose after rhinoplasty?

Thank you for your question. In short the answer is yes your nose will be blocked after the surgery. Whether the surgeon uses packs or not you should prepare yourself for a blocked nose for at least 3-4 weeks. Obviously there will be some variation with the type of surgery you have but the lining of your nasal passages will respond to the surgery with swelling. It will give you the feeling of having a bad cold but it will improve over the coming weeks. It is important not to blow your nose and try and clear the blockage until the linings of the nose have healed completely. If you blow your nose earlier you may alter the position of the cartilages and the nasal linings may bleed contributing to further blockages.Fortunately, you will be able to breathe through your mouth and the main tip for helping you during recovery is a moistening mouth wash or spray. If you go to your local pharmacy there will be a variation of biotene a mouth wash that can aid in keeping your mouth from drying out. Sucking on ice chips will also help. The good news is that you are not the first person to have a rhinoplasty and you will be fine. Best of luck.RegardsDr Guy Watts

Breathing thru the nose after RHinoplasty is something I do for patients such as you by placing tubing in the nose this way the nose is not locked and you can breathde through it

Hello bluepoppy,In most cases after nasal surgery, the breathing is somewhat restricted. I believe that most surgeons these days do not "pack" the nose in the traditional sense for a long period of time. A lot of what is done is surgeon preference. my personal preference is to use small silastic stents that allow for breathing through a plastic channel. If the nose is kept humidified nice and moist during the 5-7 days these are in, then patients are able to breathe through them.I think the thing to remind yourself early on (should you have surgery) is that it is temporary and the restricted breathing should only last a few days.Michael M. Kim, MD

 In our practice, we do not place any packing inside the nose. Patients do have some degree of restriction due to the swelling for the first week or 2 after the surgical procedure.

Yes, you can breath through your nose but it will be congested because of swelling for a few days. No packs are placed inside your nose.

Rest assured that nasal packing following rhinoplasty is not utilized at our institution. This means that you can breathe through your nose following rhinoplasty. Please make a consultation to discuss details.

Dear Bluepoppy, Some patients have restrictions in breathing after surgery due to swelling. Personally I use a small pack in the nose that is removed the next morning and patients breathe without any discomfort. Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.

Some surgeons place soft silicone tubing in the nose before it is packed. This will allow some air to pass though the nose when the packing is place inside.