When Using Cartilage for Rhinoplasty, Will It Move if I Wear Glasses All Day, Everyday?

A properly placed secured dorsal cartilage graft for augmentation will not shift over time nor will it atrophy due to the wearing of eyeglasses. One should note, I don’t usually allow patients to wear eyeglasses for the first 4 weeks after surgery.

Restrictions after nasal surgery are related both to grafts that are placed along the bridge, as well as whether or not the nasal bones were broken during the procedure. Most cartilage grafts placed in the bridge have healed solid in about 4 weeks. However, bones take about 6-8 weeks to heal after being broken. So keep that in mind.

Dear changaroo,

I recommend that glasses not rest on the nose for a total of six weeks after surgery. During this period the options are 1) no glasses )including sun glasses, 2) "frame-ups" that allow glasses to rest on the cheeks or 3) taping the glasses to the mid-forehead.  Glass frame styles that place even pressure along the frame are better that glasses that direct the pressure to a single point. I don't think glasses are a contraindication to rhinoplasty and in some cases the glasses fit better and more comfortably after rhinoplasty.

Good luck

Tom Kaniff

Cartilage grafts usually do not shift, move, or migrate after nasal surgery.  Patients are able to wear eyeglasses placed on top of the nasal cast during the first week after surgery and should be very careful when the cast is removed.  After 2-3 weeks the grafts will not shift, move, or migrate due to wearing glasses.  

After I place cartilage graft on the dorsum of the nose where glasses sit I don't allow patients to wear their glasses for several weeks. I discuss this with preop to let the know this possibility.

Cartilage is a good choice to perform augmentation rhinoplasty. A solid piece should stay put but, morselized pieces may be better. There is also nothing wrong with most allografts.

There are options such as "frame ups"which hold the glasses off your nose or taping them to your forehead. You can also have your surgeon show you how to tape a pad (telfa and paper tape) over the bridge to cushion the area. In general though I think the risk of problems is low after 3-4 weeks especially if your surgeon uses a good fixation technique for any grafts.

I feel it is best to have cartilage grafts rather than an implant in patients who wear glasses. The patient's own tissue will become incorporated into the surrounding tissue over 6-8 weeks after surgery. With persistent pressure an implant can mobilize, which is always a possibility even without glasses resting on the nose.

 I have performed Rhinoplasty for over 20 years and if you explained to me your requirement to wear glasses all day, every day after a Rhinoplasty, whether grafts or implants were to be used on the bridge of your nose or not, I would decline to do your Rhinoplasty. 

 Glasses are, IMHO, the single most common cause of ruining the look of the nose after a Rhinoplasty and I instruct all of my Rhinoplasty patients not to wear them for at least 6 months post op.  Glasses place uneven pressure points, on a newly healing nose, after a Rhinoplasty and as such create indentations and hump formation.  This pressure would likely add to any possibility of graft or implant shift that the glasses rested upon.