Will shaking & flipping my head over affect my Rhinoplasty?

Question

Will shaking & flipping my head over affect my rhinoplasty if I had my nasal bones broken? I always flip my head over and kind of shake it when I put my hair up in a ponytail, But now I just realized and I am worried I might have caused damage. I am at 1 week post op.

Timothy M. Greco, MD, FACS · Answer

No, there should be no damage to your nose as long as you don't hit your nasal bone in the process of putting your hair up.

R. Stephen Mulholland, MD (retired) · Answer

Dear Ayshakamacihan,

A cosmetic rhinoplasty involves
reshaping the nasal bones and often the cartilages of the tip of the nose to
improve nasofacial balance and proportion. 
The nasal bones are often fractured and can be unstable in the early
postoperative phase.  The reshaped
cartilages are often sutured very stably and structurally, so modest amounts of
movement such as shaking your hair if it’s wet or flipping your hair to affect
optimal style such as a ponytail should not affect the nasal tip at all.  In fact, the nasal bones are relatively
stable inside the soft tissue envelope and simple manoeuvres such as low-impact
aerobics, hair styling, shaking your head, flipping your head and even
straining should not affect the position of the nasal bones or nasal cartilage.

More high-velocity trauma, such
as sporting trauma or relatively dramatic injury to the nose can shift the
nasal bones and one should be careful with full contact sports and sleeping on
your nose for approximately six weeks following a rhinoplasty that involved
fractures of the nasal bones.  After this
time, the nose is relatively stable, but high-impact or even medium-velocity
injuries can result in a refracturing of the nose following septal
rhinoplasty.

If you’re at all concerned, seek
the advice of your operative physician to reassure you have not caused any
nasal malalignment.

I hope this information has been
helpful and best of luck.

Sincerely,

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified plastic surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto

Will shaking & flipping my head over affect my Rhinoplasty?

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Will shaking & flipping my head over affect my Rhinoplasty?

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