Is Packing the Nose Needed After Rhinoplasty and Septoplasty?

Internal Splints:
Inside the nose, most surgeons place some sort of internal splints after rhinoplasty. The internal splints do several things: (1) put mild pressure on the septum to prevent a septal hematoma, (2) help hold the inside straight during the early healing process, and (3) prevent scar bands from forming from the lateral side of the nasal passage to the septum. These can be soft plastic, silicone, telfa pads. They are left in place for one day to one week depending on the surgeon's preference.
Many patient's have heard horror stories of surgeons "packing" the nose after nasal surgery -- 1 to 3 feet of gauze packed into each side of the nose. As you can imagine, this would cause complete nasal obstruction and pressure and pain. Fortunately, this practice has largely been replaced by the above mentioned splints that are much more comfortable and do allow some degree of air to pass around them.
External Splints
The external splint is an important part of preserving your surgical result. Most surgeons place surgical tape/steri-strips on the exterior of the nose.
This helps do two very important things:

protect the skin from the splint
decrease the amount of swelling.

The tape puts mild pressure on the skin envelope and can help prevent a blood pocket (hematoma) from forming between the skin and the nasal framework. When a hematoma develops, the blood is eventually replaced by fibrous tissue (scar tissue) and can distort the nose or add volume to the tip.
On top of the surgical tape, surgeons will put an external splint made of aluminum, plaster, plastic, etc. The purpose of this splint is to protect the nose and hold the nasal bones in position if they were broken.
Discuss your concerns with any prospective surgeon. Ask lots of questions -- not only about the surgery -- but also what you can expect during the recovery period.

We do not routinely use nasal packing after rhinoplasty and septoplasty surgery. Nasal packing may breed infection, and having nasal packing is uncomfortable, and may lead to excessive bruising postoperative. Hope this helps you. Dr Joseph

Packing of the nose has been out of vogue for over 20 years. The only reason to pack the nose is for a sudden nosebleed that will not stop with other methods. Packing the nose is painful, and stronger narcotics will then be required if packing is in place. Antibiotics will also have to be taken if packing is placed to prevent toxic shock syndrome. There is no reason to pack a nose after a septoplasty or a rhinoplasty.