Blood on Pillow 2 Months Post-op Rhinoplasty

The blood on your pillow may, in fact, not be directly related to the rhinoplasty surgery at all. It may be a result of dryness inside your nose, with bleeding from the dry mucous membranes. This frequently happens in the winter time, when the heat is on at night time.

This can be prevented by using a cold air humidifier at your bedside during the night, directed at you, so that you are breathing in the steam to lubricate the nasal mucosa and keep it moist all night long. Some bleeding from your nose certainly does not indicate that your nose will become crooked. However, while the nasal bones are extremely mobile during the first 10 days or so, they will continue to be at risk for movement during the first 6-12 months if you put pressure on one side of the nose during the night or if your nose is struck in any way.

It is highly unlikely that the bleeding you experienced 2 months after rhinoplasty is related to the surgery. Winter is "nosebleed season" and  often it is just due to dryness. Saline spray and using a humidifier should help. However, if the bleeding continues, see your surgeon or an otolaryngologist for evaluation.

It's unlikely that the blood on your pillow is anything serious. The nasal bones (if they were fractured during surgery) should be healed after 6 weeks.

You can have your surgeon check to make sure everything is healing okay though.

This is probably due to dryness of the septum on that side. Vaseline on a q tip placed on the septum morning and evening and a vaporizer in your bedroom will solve the problem.

Havign some blood on your pillow two months out after a rhinoplasty may be nothing more than a dry nose epsecially in the dry winter weather.  If concerned go see your surgeon.

2 months after rhinoplasty, your bones should be healed. If this happened while you were sleeping it is very unlikely that the bleeding was due to a nose injury, but more likely from having a dry nose. So chances are this is not related to the surgery. However you may want to follow up with your Doctor so he can look inside your nose and determine the cause. You may need a little cautery of the septum if a small blood vessel is exposed, to prevent this from happening again.

 

Michel Siegel, MD

It is not unusual to make mucus membrane dryness following rhinoplasty, particularly during the early post-operative period. It is important to hydrate well and consult with your surgeon to make sure the healing is progressing as expected.