Shorter Recovery Time for Tip Rhinoplasty?

Patients go home with an external splint but most often just special tape following a tip rhinoplasty. If it is just a tip rhinoplasty then usually there is little or no bruising.
Initial discomfort is easily controlled with oral medication and head elevation.
Majority of swelling and bruising subsides progressively over 2-4 weeks.
External sutures (if any) are removed in 4-6 days. Internal sutures dissolve spontaneously.
An early result is evident in 3 months.  Final results become evident in 12-14 months which is the time necessary for complete tissue softening.
Areas of sensitivity or numbness will slowly resolve; the tip of the nose will feel stiff or “woody” and this will improve over the first several months.  Other temporary conditions may include some airway or sinus blockage, nasal drainage, lumps and irregularities.

Good question. The main difference between a tip rhino and a regular rhino is that the regular rhino often involves osteotomies, or breaking of the nasal bones. This needs 4-6 weeks to heal a bit before you can wear glasses, etc. Tip rhinoplasty does not involve that , but the tip is still the slowest part to heal and for the final swelling to go away. Therefore, while you may be able to wear glasses a bit sooner, the recovery is more or less the same. you should avoid strenuous activity for a few weeks and follow up with your surgeon closely to make sure everything goes as planned.
-Dr. David Mattos, New York Plastic Surgical Group

Tip rhinoplasties are performed for isolated deformities of
the nasal tip structures. These
procedures differ from standard rhinoplasties because no work is performed on
the underlying boney structures. In the
immediate post-operative period this results in less swelling and
bruising. For this reason, the majority
of tip rhinoplasty patients are able to resume normal activities in one to two
weeks following surgery.Although
tip rhinoplasty patients have less swelling in the immediate post-operative
period, this doesn’t translate into significant long term advantages. The reason for this paradox is related to the
fact that the nasal tip is the last anatomic area to experience resolution of
swelling. Resolution of swelling occurs
at the same rate with or without work on underlying boney structures.In the
vast majority of patients who undergo tip rhinoplasty, residual swelling is
present for at least 12 months following surgery. The duration of swelling doesn’t appear to be
shortened by avoiding surgery on the underlying nasal bones.