Does this look like a broken nose that will require surgery? (Photo)

Hi! This is Arzu from Dr. Caner Kacmaz Clinic. We recommend you to go to a doctor and have an x ray, if the bone is broken you may need a rhinoplasty surgery.
Kind regards

Hello! Thank you for your question.As far as I can understand from your question, it may be broken, I recommend you to see an ent surgeon, unfortunately we cannot say anything without face to face consultation. It will be better with face to face consultation. Best regards!

I would definitely recommend waiting for some time to let the swelling go down then consult with a plastic surgeon. It is possible that you did break your nose and also deformed the cartilage as well.

Best Wishes,

Gary Horndeski, M.D.

The only way to tell for sure is to get an X-ray. But if there is no visible deformity it would not require surgery

It is difficult to say by the pictures alone, but it does appear that you may have a contour deformity related to a nasal fracture. It is also likely that the swelling is masking the deformity. The treatment depends on the timeline after injury (how soon after the fracture your are treated) and the severity of the injury. Both of these things would be assessed during a consultation. You should schedule a consultation with a qualified plastic surgeon to discuss your specific options regarding treatment.

I there are many issues that can occur from trauma to the nose, such as a broken nose, a dislocation of the nasal cartilages, and a deviated nasal septum. Best to re-evaluate once the swelling has subsided in about two weeks. If it's crooked at that point, then you can consider surgery.

Dear Brave,
You have nicely captured photographically what is surely a nasal bone fracture. The reason the indentation disappeared on the next day is because the skin and soft tissue over the fracture has now swollen. Get to a plastic surgeon or ENT quickly to have it reset. You have only a week or two to fix it. After that you might require a more extensive surgery to correct it 6 weeks or more down the line. Good luck!

Different plastic surgeons have different ways of managing broken noses.
In my opinion, my preference is to move quickly. This part of the body is very vascular, the bone is thin and healing begins very quickly.
The first and most important assessment is if you have a fracture. If this cannot be determined by examination and review of pictures than an x-ray is indicated. If the nose is broken, it needs to be reduced as quickly as possible, and in my opinion sooner is better than later.
My preference has always been to get this done within the first five days.
Some plastic surgeons believe it’s better to let the swelling settle down first to not let the swelling distort the anatomic relationships. The problem with waiting is that scar tissue will immediately start to form, holding the bone segment in a non-aligned position. When reducing fractures, the bone piece typically wants to go back where it was and it’s relatively stable after reduction if done immediately after the fracture. Reducing the fracture after a significant period of time is not straightforward, because scar tissue will heal the bone in the non-anatomic fractured position.
Reducing nasal fractures can be done with patients awake or asleep in the office or in the operating room.
The procedure itself typically takes only a few seconds.
From my perspective, I recommend you move on this sooner rather than later.
Allowing the bone to heal without reduction, makes correcting the deformity later much more difficult.
Typical indications of a broken nose is hearing a crack during the accident and developing mid face bruising. Nasal fracture almost always produces some bleeding, bleeding to some bruising around the mid face and lower eyelids. I don’t see a lot of bruising, but your first picture clearly shows an indentation on your left nasal bone.
I suggest getting an evaluation sooner rather than later.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom, MD