Can I Remove my Own Nasal Splint a Week After my Closed Reduction or Does the Surgeon Have to Do It?

     I would recommend having someone at the office remove the splint rather than try to remove it yourself.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

I would highly encourage you to have your external splint removed by your surgeon.  Having it on for 10 days after rhinoplasty will not harm anything and it is much safer to have your surgeon remove it than to do it yourself.  

Dear Dandan82,

There is no
magic number of days you should wait before nasal cast is removed. Most surgeons remove the cast anywhere from
5-10 days after the procedure. In our
practice it is pretty standard that we keep the cast on for 7 days but we have
removed it as early as 5 days. The
results have not been different if we removed it a little later or earlier than
our standard. I would, however, let your surgeon remove it for you. I hope this helps.