Over a Month Since my Surgery and the Nose Sits Too High on my Face.

One month is still fairly early in the healing process of rhinoplasty - you should wait at least six months if not a year before deciding on revision

It is common for the tip to be a bit elevated or upturned after rhinoplasty surgery as a result of swelling in the area. Without knowing what specifically was done to your nose and without seeing your nose it is hard to assess how that will evolve with time, however.

Given how it is affecting the rest of your life it may be helpful to discuss your concerns further with your surgeon. You can try to get a better sense of how much improvement you're likely to see.

Without pictures there is no adequate way to assess how the nose is healing. However, based on the current psychological state  you describe, I would advise that you go back and have a chat with your Surgeon for reassurance.  The nose will change for a year and sometimes more after surgery; revisions are strongly discouraged for at least 6 months and usually a year.

Have to see b/a pix first.  Your tip may drop, depending on what your surgeon did to raise your tip in the first place. Yes you can revise it if inecessary but do not be depressed- worry is simply a misuse of your imagination.

 

Ramtin Kassir, MD

I think that you have to be very specific about what you mean by height of nose?  It sounds like from your description that you are bothered by tip projection and a cartilage graft.  In that case, you may be able to have the graft removed at a time when the tissues are soft..probably in 6-12 months.

There are many ways to reduce the height of your nose.  This is dependent on many factors.  Your anatomy is important and what you are specifically talking about. I would need to see pictures to fully give the correct or best answer. When you mention "too high from my face", it suggests to me that the tip and nose in general from your face is too far away.  This is termed excessive tip and nasal projection. There are many ways to decrease this situation.  You can cut the cartilages and set them back. Just the approach to rhinoplasty will often release some ligaments that hold your nasal tips away from your face.  Cutting the attachments from your tip cartilages to the upper parts of your nose will often also break up forces that are holding your nose away from your face. Your septal cartilage also has a big impact on the overall projection and reducing the height of the septum will also decrease your projection.


One month is too early.  Most surgeons suggest and believe, in general as a group, that 6 months is the earliest.  If there is something obvious some surgeons will elect to do a minor revision as early as 2 weeks in some rare situations. Your surgeon or a surgeon that is familiar with your previous procedure (through communication with your original surgeon) can best determine what to do.  You don't have to wait a year in my opinion.

This is really the question you are answering and in general you should give your nose about 3 months before judging things like the tip position.

The tip will definitely come down, so patience is really important after rhinoplasty.  If after 3 months you are still really unhappy, you can start to make plans for a secondary surgery and you will have to decide if you feel you initial surgeon can help you.  The primary surgeon has the most knowledge about the anatomy of your nose and the graft, and is in the best situation for revision.

If you've lost confidence and can't get it back, search for specialist in the area for second opinions.  You may even have a second opinion for reassurance and still have your primary surgeon work with you.

Good luck in your search for information!

I am sorry that you are distressed about your nose but swelling after rhinoplasty takes 6-12 months to resolve. 6 months waiting is minimum before any procedure is done. The reason is the continued swelling and lack of completion of healing process which may distort the actual result. A early revision can cause more scar tissues and complicate the healing.

  Without a photo, of your nose front and side, it's difficult to see if you are talking about an over-roatated nasal tip (nose looks short) or if it's an over projected nasal tip (tip appears to stick to far off of the face).  If the tip is over-projected but nicely shaped, there's a minimally invasive way to reduce the projection with an incision through the columella.  I'd have to know if the previous Rhinoplasty was  an open or closed Rhinoplasty to make further suggestions where the incision would go for the projection reduction.

 If the nose is over rotated, a columellar tuck is another minimally invasive procedure to amke the tip look less rotated.  If there is a tip cartilage graft that's causing the problem, it may take 6 months waiting, for the nasal skin to heal before you could havea tip plasty to remove that cartilage.  Hope this helps.

If the nose is unsightly or is keeping you from functioning in life, removal of a graft could be done at any time. I am presuming you had a flat nose that was built up with dorsal and tip grafts and you would prefer to have your original nose. If the tip graft was done in a revision rhinoplasty , I would suggest waiting at lest 5 more months. See your surgeon and get other in person opinions if you are not satisfied.