Had an alar reduction and read that results are immediate. However, my nose is still wide and looks bigger! Is this normal?

Question

It's been 2 days since my alar plasty. Is it normal for the nose to look swollen? Mine looks big still, if not bigger.

Afshin Parhiscar, MD · Answer

Dear lylychangAlthough changes in the appearance of the nose are immediate after an alarplasty, swelling is also immediate. the degree of swelling will vary but you should have a good sense of your results at 4-6 weeks.

Mohsen Tavoussi, MD, DO · Answer

,Many surgeons mistakenly use these two procedures as being the same but they are not and that is most likely why your nose still looks wide even though you had Alar Reduction. The latter is reducing the Alar folds and does not address the width of the nasal base which could only be achieved by combination of procedures which include Alar Reduction. We invented Alar Repositioning Technique ( ART ), which will achieve the narrowing of nasal base without a scar.

Michael M. Kim, MD · Answer

Hello lylychang5,It is normal for there to be quite a bit of swelling after alar base modification surgery. If that was the only portion of the nose that was worked on, then the swelling will usually last about 2-4 weeks (more with additional rhinoplasty techniques). Therefore, I wouldn't make any conclusions about its final shape until a few weeks.Michael M. Kim, MD

Had an alar reduction and read that results are immediate. However, my nose is still wide and looks bigger! Is this normal?

Answers (3)