I’m 2 weeks post op. I can’t scrunch my nose and feel a lot tension between my nose and upper lip. Is this normal?

Question

Stiffness. When should the stiffness diminish?

Deepak Raj Dugar, MD · Answer

Hello Gene, Thank you for your question. You are EXTREMELY early in the recovery process. You should limit the amount of time that you move your nose because it is still healing. Because of this I would not recommend scrunching your nose at all. It is going to be very sensitive because the cuts are not fully healed yet. Please be patient. It can take up to a full year for the nose to fully heal!Regards, Deepak Dugar MDScarlessNose Institute of Beverly Hills

Greg Bran, MD, PhD · Answer

Hi there, and thank you for your interest. It is absolutely normal to feel a lot of tension too weeks after rhinoplasty. The swelling usually includes your cheeks and your upper lip. Within the first 4-6 weeks swelling in these areas will go down. Regarding the swelling of your nose: as a rule of thumb 50% is likely to go down within the first 3-4 months and it takes up to 1 year for approximately 95% of swelling to resolve. These are only estimates, thickness of skin, type of rhinoplasty, smoking or any inflammatory reaction can impact the duration of any swelling. 
Best
Greg Bran MD PhD
Dual Board certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

Jan Zemplenyi, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. Yes, what you are experiencing is normal, you just had surgery 2 weeks ago. The surrounding areas of your face may experience swelling as well as tightness. It can take up to a year for your nose to be completely healed. Try and be patient during the healing process. Be sure to go to your follow up appointments with your surgeon. Best of luck!

Michael Elam, MD (retired) · Answer

Dear Gene, It is normal to experience tightness in the face associated with swelling after rhinoplasty. You are early in the recovery phase and should experience some relief in the coming week. See your surgeon for follow up appointments so that you can have peace of mind during the recovery process. See an example in the video below of immediate post surgery and then four months to give you an idea of the changes you will expect.  Best regards, Michael V. Elam, M.D.

I’m 2 weeks post op. I can’t scrunch my nose and feel a lot tension between my nose and upper lip. Is this normal?

Answers (4)

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