Upper Lip and Nose Tip Immovable After Rhinoplasty

The stiffness of the tip of the nose and the upper lip as well as the strange sensations take about a year to go away. They always do and the tip skin will be soft and pliable then as it was before.

In general, almost all noses are numb right after a rhinoplasty. In most cases its the tip that is numb, but this numbness can extend down to the upper lip, and in rare cases some of the teeth. It is also not uncommon that one side of the nose is more numb than the other. There are nerves that are cut and stretched during a rhinoplasty, and it takes a long time for those nerves to start working again. This is true of an open as well as closed rhinoplasty, although it tends to be more extensive in open rhinoplasty. This could also be more extensive if a septoplasty is performed at the same time. This, along with the swelling, gives you a stiff, plastic type feel, and can give you an odd smile. However, the nerves will start working and again, and your nose stiffness will go away with time. This takes in most cases months, but can take years in rare cases. Extremely rarely, the numbness is permanent, although I have never seen such as case. In certain cases where an implant was used, numbness could be caused by compression against the implant, or if it happens years later, then an infected implant can cause numbness as well.Best Wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD