A small bump has formed on my nose tip 5 and a half months after surgery, what could this be? Shifting cartilage grafts? (photo)

Thanks so much for this question and the photos. The recovery period following a rhinoplasty can sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride with a variety of changes to your nose throughout the process. We typically tell patients to expect around 12 months of healing after rhinoplasty, though the majority of that is done in the first 2-3 months.
To answer your initial question, it is unlikely that this is anything you did and I can't imagine a tanning bed would cause this issue. Given the timing this developed, I would say it could be acute swelling or even an infection of that area, though hard to tell as you would typically expect some redness if infected. I would certainly let your surgeon know and they may want to feel that area as well and determine if fluid or something that may benefit from antibiotics or steroids. As far as movement of the cartilage grafts, this can certainly happen, though I typically see this as a gradual change rather than something that happens overnight.
My guess is that this improves with time, but if it doesnt over the next few days to weeks I certainly think evaluation by your surgeon would be warranted. They can sometimes consider injecting steroid to help if they feel its swelling or scar tissue.
Hope this helps and best of luck with your rhinoplasty recovery! Kyle Kimura, MD

Hello Alli and thank you for your question.

Although an exam in person is ideal, from your photographs alone it appears that either some of your tip cartilage, possibly a placed graft, or maybe a suture prominence is the cause of the prominence at your tip. Structures can shift in the nose postoperatively, and complications like this can happen to any surgeon. The good news is that it can be most likely remedied with a revision procedure where the tip cartilage is modified, a soft tissue graft is placed, the prominent segment is excised, or another possible surgical maneuver. Though it is unlikely to "go away" as you stated, I would wait for further swelling to subside, before addressing this surgically. Sometimes, if this is addressed too early, it can be over-corrected as swelling has not come down completely.

In the interim, an injectable filler can be placed in the "infratip" area, just below the prominence, to camouflage the prominence and improve the aesthetics and overall symmetry of the tip.

Please address this with your plastic surgeon.

For more information on rhinoplasty, please refer to my link below.

Good luck.

Mark K Markarian, MD, MSPH, FACS
Harvard-trained Board Certified Aesthetic Plastic Surgeon