Can mucus or a solid booger be confused with a cartilage graft or anything else inside my nose?

Question

I had a septorhinoplasty done around 18 days ago... today while breathing through my nose I felt a some mucus/ snort in my nose which was close to the nostril, as I started to clean the edge of my nostril with a QTip, I noticed a huge solid piece of mucus came out of nostril. Thisopened up my nasal passage and breathing. This was so hard that I'm actually concerned something else like a cartilage graft or a suture or anything else inside my nose didn't come out. Is extremely solid mucus normal?

Summit Kundaria, MD · Answer

razny,
Thanks for the question.  Without close inspection and palpation (squeezing) of the booger, it's hard to know for certain whether it is just a booger or something else.  However, I can tell you that it would be really rare for a piece of cartilage graft to come out like this, as they are almost always sutured into place (usually in multiple locations), and a much more common occurrence after nasal surgery of any kind is "nasal crusting" (I'm trying to avoid saying "booger" too much in this response).  Just as you get scabs after you get a cut on your body, you get crusts when you get a cut in your nose.  Extremely solid mucous is a much more likely possibility, and can be helped with nasal saline (though do check with your surgeon prior to use), as hydration can loosen the crusts up.  Good luck avoiding more solid boogers!

Can mucus or a solid booger be confused with a cartilage graft or anything else inside my nose?

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Can mucus or a solid booger be confused with a cartilage graft or anything else inside my nose?

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Everything you need to know about Rhinoplasty

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.