Will Nasal Allergies Affect Rhinoplasty Surgery or Outcome?

Other than reducing the size of the turbines to help with breathing, rhinoplasty surgery typically has no effect on allergies, and in fact can exacerbate them for 6 to 18 months post procedure. This is not always the case, but certainly a risk of the procedure.

In general, unless one has functional nasal airway problems, nasal allergies are not improved or worsened by any cosmetic rhinoplasty. If there is a functional component to your nasal allergies then that is corrected sometimes and allergies may diminish over time.

Depending on the extent of the allergic rhinitis, it could make your recovery more uncomfortable due to congestion as well an prolong the swelling. You should have this treated and management optimized prior to surgery to minimize the influence on surgery  

  While rhinoplasty, a cosmetic surgery, does not have an effect on your nasal allergies, it may have an affect on your breathing. Because patients who have allergies often have problems with nasal breathing it is imperative that you see a physician trained in ear nose and throat medicine in order to assure you the best functional component to your rhinoplasty surgery. Fixing the nasal septum is often an integral part of a nasal surgery. If you have problems with breathing and are contemplating having a rhinoplasty make sure you are evaluated by a nasal surgeon with experience in treating both problems. If you do not do this you may find that you have a good looking nose that does not function well.

Good Luck

Nasal allergies will not affect the surgery or outcome for the cosmetic portion of your rhinoplasty. In other words, changes to the size and shape of your nose will not be affected or limited.

However, functional changes to your nasal breathing may be impacted. If not done properly, rhinoplasty can have an adverse effect on nasal breathing, especially when coupled with preexisting allergy. It is important for your surgeon to address and nasal valve collapse, septal deflections, and turbinate enlargements. The turbinates are especially important because they often become swollen with chronic allergy.

After surgery, it may be more important for you to use decongestants and saline to keep the swelling inside the nose down and wash away crusts and allergens. Nasal allergies should not prevent you from getting the result you are seeking.

Nasal allergies don't limit what can be done with your rhinoplasty. Addressing overgrown turbinates may be indicated during your procedure, however. It is important to realize that surgery in and of itself will not cure your allergies. You'll still need to take allergy medication to treat this. This is usually done with a steroid nasal spray and/or antihistamine. Surgery may help with removing any structural impediments to your airway, which would help with any chronic congestion.

Nasal allergies can affect the way the nose interacts with the environment.  In cases of long standing allergies, the turbinates can become enlarged.  In addition, allergic rhinitis patients tend to have more swelling internally and externally than non allergy patients.

In my practice, we have found that addressing both the physical changes caused by nasal allergies including turbinate hypertrophy as well as the physiology of the nose have helped with overall swelling, including internal and external.

Nasal allergies (allergic rhinitis) won't affect your rhinoplasty outcome. However they can cause your post operative recovery to be more miserable. Also if you are having functional surgery (septoplasty) to improve your breathing, then your allergies can limit the improvement, even with completely successful surgery. This is because surgery doesn't influence the allergic response, so you will continue to need to use medical therapy as before.

It is unlikely that your allergies are going to influence the surgical technique used for your rhinoplasty procedure. That is assuming that you have been thoroughly evaluated for allergies and have been treated properly. This would include treatment with antihistamines and/or nasal steroid sprays leading up to your surgery. This would minimize the impact the allergies would have on internal lining of the nose during and immediately after surgery.

If you were not properly treated there may be more congestion on top of what you might get from the rhinoplasty surgery. You would also want to make sure you open your mouth with sneezing after rhinoplasty, thereby minimizing chances of traumatic nose bleeding in the early recovery period. Long term results of your rhinoplasty should not be much of a concern.

Nasal allergies may flare up during the recovery period, making the nose more congested. There are a number of treatment options, the best being topical nasal steroids, which will help the congestion. If sneezing after a rhinoplasty make sure to keep your mouth open! Also don't blow your nose in the first 2 weeks after rhinoplasty!!