When are you out of the woods for infection after rhinoplasty?

Question

I am 8 days post op, and am healing relatively well. However, I'm a natural worrier, so I'm just waiting for something to go wrong. I'm wondering, when can I stop worrying that my nose will get infected? At 2 months? 3 months?

N. Bill Aydin, MD · Answer

Hi, Thank you for your post. You are already a week post-op so its safe to say that you are most likely clear from infection. It is not common to have an infection after rhinoplasty although it is not impossible it is still very rare. If you have any concerns I would follow up with your plastic surgeon. Congratulations on your new nose!

Carlos L. Wolf, MD · Answer

I think it's safe to say you are out of the woods!. Infection after rhinoplasty is a very rare complication. I can think of just a handful of infections I've had over the last 30 years of doing rhinoplasty.  If you had a closed rhinoplasty versus an open rhinoplasty the chances are even less! Relax and enjoy your results.

Tim Sayed, MD, MBA, FACS · Answer

Infection risk depends on a few factors:1. Did you have an open procedure with an incision across the bottom of the nose or only through incisions on the inside of the nostrils?2. Did you have cartilage grafts or foreign material put into the nose?3. Are you compromised in your immune system, on steroids, or have other risk factors for infection?In the absence of foreign implants/grafts, infection after rhinoplasty is exceedingly rare, even though we go through the nose! I would not expend mental energy worrying about infection, given the extremely low rates with rhinoplasty in experienced hands.

When are you out of the woods for infection after rhinoplasty?

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When are you out of the woods for infection after rhinoplasty?

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Everything you need to know about Rhinoplasty

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