Nose correction

If, on the basis of detailed diagnosis, extensive specialist consultation and careful consideration of your wishes, you do decide to undergo rhinoplasty, the team in our group practice is available to answer any questions about organising and scheduling the exact dates for your surgery. In the following we provide you some advance information.

In-patient admission for a nose correction

As the out-patient pre-op and clarification have already been carried out in advance, your nose correction can be carried out on your admission day. The length of stay on our ward for ENT and facial plastic surgery as an in-patient is therefore usually short and as a rule only requires around 1-5 days, depending on the level of complexity.

We are happy to make individual arrangements for patients who do not live locally in Germany or who come to us from abroad.

Operation day for your nose correction

Many patients have an increasing sense of anticipation but also tension before any nose correction. The nose surgeon from our group practice who will operate on you will therefore welcome you early in the morning of the operation before the procedure.

The nose correction itself will then take place either straight after this or in the course of the day. After the operation you will spend some time in the recovery room, before then being taken back to our ENT and facial plastic surgery ward.

The post-operative visit will then also take place there on the afternoon or evening of the operation day. We will inform you how your nose correction procedure went and we will at the same time examine your condition.

The first days after your nose correction

In the evening after your rhinoplasty you may still be sleepy, but you will have been able to drink, eat and stand up within a few hours. Splints will be placed both inside and outside your nose. This is good for the healing process, but does impair breathing through your nose. As a result you will find you breathe more through your mouth, which may be dry and should be moistened. Nasal breathing has a major impact on the ventilation of the middle ears. Another side-effect can therefore be disturbed pressure equalisation of middle ears. This manifests itself as a feeling of pressure in the ears. Both nose and face may swell after a complicated rhinoplasty. The extent of swelling varies from patient to patient and can begin on the day of the operation. As both the nose cartilage and nasal bones may be modelled during rhinoplasty, swelling may also be accompanied by bruising. This may also vary in severity from patient to patient. Swelling and bruising usually begin to recede by at the latest the 3rd day after the operation. The vast majority of patients feel able to attend social events within two to three weeks of their rhinoplasty.

If nasal packing is placed in the nose during the operation, this is usually removed the following morning. The inner nose splint is made of soft silicone, and just like the external aluminum nose splint, is removed about seven days after the operation. For open access surgery, the stitches on the nose bridge are also removed on the 7th day after the nose surgery. The internal stitches are soluble and therefore not usually removed. Tampering with the internal stitches can cause wound infections. Removal of the internal stitches, which is not usually intended, can adversely affect the end result. Therefore, the internal stitches should only be manipulated by us or, following consultation, by a local ENT doctor.

This is followed by application of an external bandage for a further week.

During your stay in the hospital, we will examine your nose daily and remove wound secretions and scabs. In addition, you receive from us a soft nasal ointment (to be applied 4 to 5 times a day) and a nasal spray (3 times daily) to reduce the swelling.
After outpatient removal of inner and outer nose splint and the stitches, you need only use the nasal ointment and following consultation with us, a so-called nasal douche.

The nose and particularly the tip of the nose often feels huge in the first post-operative weeks and months and there is also often stiffness in the area of the upper lip, which gradually regresses.