How Long After a Rhinoplasty Before I Can Resume Activity?

My guidelines for resuming activity after rhinoplasty are as follows:

1) Light activity (walking, normal daily activities): 1 day after surgery

2) Moderate-Heavy activity (running, cycling, yoga, swimming, etc.): 10-14 days after surgery

3) Contact sports or activities in which pressure may be placed on the nose (basketball, football, diving, etc.): 8 weeks after surgery, to give the nasal bones time to heal. 

Before considering diving, it is important to make sure that you are able to equilibrate the pressure in your ears. After rhinoplasty there can be a few week period of nasal congestion which can make this process challenging.  

Regards,

Dr. Mehta

Diving can cause your nose to shift in position. Therefore, you need to be fully healed before you go diving again. I recommend you to wait at least 12 months. Your surgeon will be able to give you an exact date based on how well you are healing. Good luck.

Thank you for your question. After surgery, there will be some swelling. The swelling can take many months to resolve, although most people stop noticing it after a couple of months. People are usually back to performing most activities after a week and resuming all activities after two to four weeks.

Patients who undergo rhinoplasty are often eager to resume their normal exercise routine. Unfortunately, any maneuver that elevates blood pressure in the immediate post-operative period can result in bleeding. The risk increases when septoplasty is performed in combination with rhinoplasty.
                For this reason, we recommend avoiding most exertion for about two weeks following surgery. Strenuous activities such as diving, running, and weight lighting should be avoided for six to eight weeks following surgery.

                It’s important to discuss these issues with your surgeon before resuming exercise. Your surgeon will be able to tell you when it’s appropriate to resume your normal exercise routine. 

Thank you for your question. Straining, bending and lifting should be avoided during the early postoperative period. In many instances, you may be able to return to work within 7 to 10 days after surgery. Most normal activities including exercise can usually be resumed within three weeks.It will be a few months before you can expose your reshaped nose to direct sunlight. Your nose will be sensitive during this time, and you must be conscientious about using a sunblock to protect your skin. If the bones of your nose were altered, it may be a number of weeks before you can wear glasses without special support such as tape. Best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double board certifiedPlastic surgeonHoffman EstatesBarringtonOakbrookChicago

The initial swelling will subside in a couple of weeks to a month, then residual swelling may last for up to a year or so. I recommend patients avoid exercising for about 6 weeks, and this includes swimming. Of course you should ask your surgeon for their advice as it may be different.

In general, I allow of my patients
to resume most daily
activities a week after surgery at which removal of  the
splints are done. However, doing
most physical activities and increasing your heart rate more than 100, usually patients
need to wait 3 to 4 weeks. For activities such
as diving, one should wait 6 to 8 weeks
.

Recovery after rhinoplasty will vary based on the person, characteristics of the nasal tissues and what was done during surgery. The amount of downtime varies greatly as well. Return to work and social activities varies greatly based on the person. Patients tend to feel well within a few days after rhinoplasty although they have the splints in place, may have some swelling, and feel congested. There does not tend to be a lot of pain following rhinoplasty so most patients are able to do light activities like reading, typing, walking, etc. Depending on what was done during surgeries, patients may need to avoid the use of glasses for 4-6 weeks to allow adequate healing to take place. Additionally, some surgeons may have preference for avoiding certain foods, blowing the nose, etc. Typically, somewhere between 4-6 weeks, you can return to strenuous activities including exercise. Around this point in recovery, you should also be able to return to diving. However, you may notice that your ears pop more similar to flying-this is due to resolving swelling of the internal nasal passages. Use of a nasal decongestant prior to diving can help prevent or relieve this problem. You should clarify with your surgeon what restrictions you have and when you can return to normal and strenuous activities.

Six weeks is probably enough time to ensure any trauma suffered by scuba diving would be tolerated by the post-operative nose. 

Post-operative restrictions will vary tremendously depending on the surgeon's preference and the techniques used. Generally the vast majority of healing has been achieved by 6 weeks. Diving, however, may involve excessive pressure due to the tight fitting mask as well as the generalized discomfort of pressure from descent. Restrictions may therefore be as much as 12 weeks.