Is It Recomendable to Travel by Plane a Month After Rhinoplasty Surgery?

Thanks for the question. You should be able to go on vacation by 1-2 weeks after your surgery. But this is valid only with assuming postoperative recovery is uneventful. If any unexpected incident happens in your treatment process, this time can be extended or shortened. I wish you all the best.

How soon after rhinoplasty a patient can fly will depend on a variety of factors including what was done during surgery, was there simultaneous septal, sinus or other internal nasal surgery, and the duration of surgery. In most cases, patients can fly 7-10 days following rhinoplasty surgery. At this point, the external nasal splint and internal nasal splint/packing will have been removed, most of the swelling outside of the nose has resolved within the first few days, and any oozing of blood following surgery has stopped within the first day or so. When flying, it is important to keep saline nasal spray in case the nasal passages feel dry or irritated, and decongestant nasal spray such as Afrin or Otrivin if the inner ear tubes are blocked due to pressure changes during flying. It is important to discuss the use of these nasal sprays with your surgeon as they may have a preference on how early you can use them. With regards to the length of surgery and also the length of the flight, it is important to get up and walk frequently and also drink a lot of fluids to decrease the risk of a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot on the leg or thigh) and pulmonary embolism (blood clot dislodges and travels to the heart). Both of these are extremely rare complications after nasal surgery but serious. When planning your travel after surgery, it is important to discuss this with your surgeon as they will have recommendations regarding the timing and how long they require you to stay 'in town' following surgery.

There is no restriction to fly a month after rhinoplasty. Many of my out of town patients fly home about 8 days post operatively. Although in some instances that reconstructive work is done, two weeks of no-flying restriction may apply. You must ask your physician and seek his/her advice. Good luck and good healing. Dr. Kevin Sadati