Can putting pressure on nose bridge cause damage to the nasal bones after rhinoplasty?

Hello.The nasal bones heal like any other bone in the body when they are fractured.  They form a callus and heal as a result. This takes time.  You are out of the window for your bones to be displaced with routine pressure.  However, the bones can very easily move if the force is great enough i.e.. a blow. Best of luck.

Hello Ashleykm,I tell my patients for the first 6 weeks to avoid wearing glasses unless they are suspended from the forehead to prevent shifting of the nasal bones.  After about 6 weeks it would take a force strong enough to have broken your nose anyway to cause any damage.  It is conceivable with enough force that you could have moved those bones but that is highly doubtful (and would have been exquisitely painful).  The swelling could represent a problem with a graft that was used at surgery.  If you are concerned I would recommend you follow up with your surgeon for a complete evaluation. I hope this helps and good luck.  

Thanks for the Question Ashley. Unless you put significant pressure 1 year after a rhinoplasty, you should be fine. If you did actually do any damage, it would have caused significant discomfort, and some swelling and a change in the appearance. Pressure over the bridge is mostly an issue in the immediate postoperative period, until the nasal bones have healed. Hope this helps. 

Thanks for your question. At the one year point you should typically be able to consider your nose fully healed. Thus light pressure, even light trauma should no significantly harm anything. Obviously you want to avoid causing any damage but simply applying a cold compress should not cause harm. Of course it is best to check with your provider. Hope this helps. 

This long after your rhinoplasty you can consider your nasal bones as stable as they were before your surgery. Finger pressure alone should not disrupt them. Best wishes!  Harry V. Wright MD, Sarasota, Florida

Thanks for your question. A year out from surgery, there is very little you can do that would damage the underlying structure of your nose. The bones are solid and the underlying cartilage has plenty of scar that is holding it in place. Short of sustaining a nasal fracture or something like that, you can't really affect the outcome. Having temporary swelling like you're describing is normal and massage like you did will generally help (maybe don't push so hard next time!). Good luck!

Dear ashleykm,

Thank you for your clinical post and this is a commonly asked
question. Rhinoplasty operation results
in osteotomies and nasal fracture results in unstable nasal bones. Unlike other long bone fractures where these
fractures can be stabilized with internal plates and screws, the nasal bones
must heal on their own and gentle mobilization and massage of these nasal bones
generally keeps them in place for the first 6-8 weeks while the nasal bones are
healing. Once you get to 3-6 months most
nasal bone osteotomy sites are very stable.
You can often feel the palpable fracture lines, but the nasal bones
themselves cannot be easily displaced without significant blow or trauma. At one year with a consistent finger pressure
as you describe it would not be possible to dislodge your nasal bones. However, many patients do complain of some
sensitivity and sense of pressure in the fracture site for many months if not
years after their rhinoplasty.

This discomfort can get worse as pressure changes in the
atmosphere and this is not uncommon with bony fractures.

I also warn patients that it’s very common to feel palpable
small bone fragments following osteotomy, but generally these should not be
visible and not cause distortion. I hope
this reassures you.

I hope this information has been of some assistance and best
of luck.

For more information, please review the link below.

R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D.

Certified Plastic Surgeon

Yorkville, Toronto