Swollen nose after cast removal (Photo)

Hi, Thank you for your post. After rhinoplasty it takes up to 2 years for the swelling to go completely down. Don't stress. Be patient and allow your body to heal. If you have any concerns follow up with your surgeon.

Nasal swelling after rhinoplasty takes many weeks to resolve. There are many factors to this including extent of surgery, skin thickness, physical activity, salt intake, etc. Most of the swelling should have subsided after approximately 6 weeks. One should avoid strenuous activities (anything that gets the heart rate up) or sodium intake for at least 1 month. However, even after 6 weeks, the nose continues to change and become more refined from secondary wound healing, which takes months if not years. The nasal tip tends to be swollen and unrefined the longest. Please adhere to your surgeon's instructions and be patient. What ultimately matters is how the nose looks in the long run, not the day when the cast comes off. Best wishes!

Do your best to be patient during your healing process.  I tell my patients to not look at the front view with scrutiny for two to three weeks by which time about 80% of swelling is gone. The profile will look better before the front view. Avoiding exercise and hot tubs and such stimulation and strategic post op taping can definitely limit and guide the swelling.  Enough swelling is gone by two months that we should be able to take post op pictures with evidence close to the final result. In most people after 6 months there is less than 5% more to resolve and by one year it probably will not further improve. The nose takes longer to equilibrate than other parts of the body and there can be flare ups of swelling months later due to stress or excessive exercise or emotional or physical experiences. 

By 6 months we should be able to assess if there needs to be a minor touch up. The possibility of a minor touch up after six months should be discussed before any surgery of the nose since a recent study indicates that the most successful rhinoplasty surgeons do such a second adjustment or refinement in 10-20% of cases. The reason why the better nose surgeons may do more touch ups than the less experienced operator is that, even though their results may be very good, they and their patients have a higher level of expectation...not unrealistic mind you...but a common goal to have the best nose for the long term. Since there are vagaries in the healing process and not everybody scars and heals the same...a commitment for an adjustment at 6-12 months at minimal cost is better understood at the front end. Rhinoplasty is part science and part art and, if there is legitimate room for improvement at minimal cost and minimal risk, than it is better to have your doctor respect your concerns and to recognize falling short of the goal. This does not mean that the doctor did not do an excellent job...it just means that despite his or her best effort, there is room for an improvement. Of course there are unrealistic patients at times and rarely a patient may be impossible to satisfy no matter how well the procedure is done. Yet most patients are reasonable and rhinoplasty is popular because the great majority of patients are happy with the improvement. After one year, significant improvement will not come by tincture of time and, if you feel you are not “being heard”, perhaps a second opinion is appropriate. I wish you success.

Typically, the initial swelling after nose surgery subsides within two to three weeks.  However, residual swelling, especially in the tip of the nose, can take about a year to resolve as the contour refines. Swelling can also vary through the day, being more prominent in the morning. Try and be patient during your healing process. 

Healing from rhinoplasty takes time. Do not judge your nose the day the cast is removed because it is swollen from the surgery. Sometimes, the swelling is worse the next day after the cast is removed because the compression on the nose has been taken away. In a few days from now, the swelling will start to go away. Do not bump your nose, eat salty food, get a sun burn, exercise hard at this time as this will cause more swelling. Ice will not help at this time. As only your surgeon knows exactly the maneuvers performed in your surgery, I recommend you to follow the directions of your surgeon. Best of luck - when it comes to swelling, time is your friend.

Thanks for your question. What you are describing is completely normal. There is always swelling after rhinoplasty surgery. A lot of this should go down within the first month, but it takes a full year for all post-operative swelling to resolve. All the best. 

AS I am sure you were told, swelling is normal after any surgery and ALWAYS occurs after rhinoplasty. Be patient as the swelling can take months to settle down and up to two years to completely resolve. Keep up with your follow-up visits and don't worry!