Will my Smile Ever Go Back to Normal After Rip Graft Nose Revision? when Will I See my Final Results?

6 weeks is still very soon after your surgery, and you will be experiencing swelling at this time. Swelling can give the illusion of asymmetry. In general, the final result of rhinoplasty is not evident for 18-24 months following surgery. 70% of the swelling is resolved after the first 3 months, and the remainder goes down over time. Swelling can be influenced by the following: thickness of the patient's skin, whether the procedure was a revision, whether tip work was performed, and whether the procedure was open or closed. The nose continues to change throughout the healing process, and you should see improvements over time. I would give it a little more time and see how you continue to heal. Your surgeon should be able to answer any questions, as they know the extent of your surgery and exactly what was performed. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck.

This can happen with either primary or revision rhinoplasty, although more common with revision. You are right now in the phase of healing where there is intense collagen rebuilding. The tissues are vey stiff and this causes your smile to look strange. After the nose heals completely, your smile should normalize, or be close to normal. 

The problem with revision rhinoplasty is there is a significant amount of scar tissue from the previous operation.  This scar tissue swells and becomes tense and thickened in the acute post-operative period causing the muscles around the nose to also be stiff and sometimes, minimally mobile.  It does take some time to return and ultimately the motion of the muscles gets better.  However, it may be different from the preoperative function due to grafts that were placed. 

 I have performed Rhinoplasty and Revision Rhinoplasty, for over 25 years, and don't use rib grafts for Rhinoplasty.  The cartilage tends to dissolve unevenly, over the years, making the nose appear asymmetric.  The healing typically lasts about 12 months when grafting material is required to the dorsum or tip areas.

 The smile should return to normal as long as the columellar area was not extensively dissected over the upper lip.

Healing from revision nose reshaping takes months, usually about 12-18 to be more precise. Early in the post-operative period, it is absolutely the norm  to have swelling of not just the nose, but the upper lip and mid face too. This causes temporary alterations in the way your face moves, or at least in the perception of how they are moving. Your smile, for instance, can feel weird since the lips and cheeks are a bit swollen.  Typically, this is NOT something friends or family members even notice, but IS something patients themselves commonly comment on.  This will likely resolve in about 2-3 months as the swelling resolves further. Rest assured, your smile will feel normal again. As for the remainder of your healing, this will progress steadily over the next several months.  Things like rib graft warping are usually late findings so it is too early to tell.  The stiff feeling will also relax and soften. Be patient, and check in with your surgeon throughout the healing process.