Why should I tape my nose daily after rhinoplasty?

I routinely remove my patients' nasal splints at one week after surgery.  At this time, I will sometimes tape the nasal dorsum and tip, and have the patient keep the tape in place for another week.  This added week of compression will help ease swelling, while also preventing excess scar tissue formation in critical areas such as the supratip.  I do not have my patients remove the tape daily as this can be traumatic to the nasal skin and cause excess irritation.  I always suggest my patient cleanse their nose with a mild facial cleanser such as cetaphil after surgery. Good Luck

      I usually keep the splint for one week, and sometimes tape for an additional week.  This may reduce the swelling and produce a tighter seal to help with healing, but there is no evidence based medicine to support that.  I typically do not ask the patients to change the tape every day, so I would ask your plastic surgeon how much longer this needs to be done.

After rhinoplasty a cast is almost universally placed over the nose. Generally the cast sticks to tape placed over the nasal skin. The cast and tape are most frequently removed after a week. Less commonly the nose either remains taped or new tape is placed. This is done to reduce the post operative swelling which has accumulated. The goal is to press the overlying skin down onto the nasal skeleton, thereby preventing or reducing scar from forming inbetween. If scar forms, this can cause the nose to be too large and/or poorly shapened.