Does a Nose Go Back to Normal After Breaking?

The swelling may take several weeks to months to completely resolve. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Hello kammy11,

I'm sorry to hear that you broke your nose.  It was a good thing that a physician at the hospital was able to perform a closed reduction after two weeks.  That can often be a hard thing to do since bone callous formation makes it harder to move fracture fragments after about 10 days in most adults.  Unfortunately you will have to wait 6-12 months to see what kind of position your nose ultimately heals in.  Unless you had a non-displaced nasal bone fracture (x-rays show a break in the nasal bones, but they are not shifted), it is impossible to put things back together exactly.  I wouldn't worry too much if the only problem is an altered shape.  You can have a rhinoplasty operation to improve the cosmetics of your nose at some time after all the swelling is finished and the bones have completely healed.  If you have developed breathing troubles then you might need more urgent treatment.

Find yourself a specialist in Rhinoplasty to follow up on your recovery.

Good luck,

Dr. Shah

Hello. The nose will always take several months to recover from any surgical procedure. So swelling should be expected. However there is a chance the reduction was not done properly or the bone healed in an unfavorable manner. If either one of these happens, you may need another operation. If you are not happy with the way your nose looks 3-6 months after the reduction, go see a nose specialist for an evaluation.

 There are too many variables to determine whether or not your nose will go back to normal after being fractured. When the nose is fractured, we recommend reduction of the nasal bones with medial and lateral osteotomies to reset the nasal bones back into alignment. We do not perform a closed  reduction. Occasionally  we will also place a spreader graft underneath the concave side of the upper lateral cartilages if they are creating a cosmetic or functional  problem. 

The answer depends upon exactly what is still wrong with your nose. If there is swelling, that will definitely settle and improve with time. If your nose is still shifted off to the side it is unlikely to improve without surgery to make it more straight. The best thing at this point would be to followup with the surgeon at the hospital that performed your closed reduction to ask about the type of changes you can expect to occur with time. I hope my answer is helpful.

Stephen Weber MD, FACS