After your nose correction
You have come through the surgery. Now, it will take some time until the healing process is complete. During this important phase, you must be careful and observe our recommendations. Information on the duration of healing and recovery after your nose surgery can be found here.
Pains following a nose correction?
An important word about possible pain after aesthetic nose surgery. Even if you have undergone extensive aesthetic rhinoplasty involving mobilisation and modelling of the bony nasal framework, you are unlikely to experience much or any pain at all.
Typical consequences of a nose correction
The typical consequences of rhinoplasty are swelling and bruising of the face, wound secretions, formation of blood clots, restricted breathing through the nose during the first few weeks, a numb feeling at the tip of the nose, and stiffness in the area of the upper lip. Most of these aftereffects disappear in the first few weeks. The stiffness of the upper lip and the numb feeling at the tip of the nose recede in the first few months after your rhinoplasty. Achieving the objective of a sustainable and long-lasting good result to the operation, may mean that your nose feels permanently "stiffer" than it did before the operation. Scars on the bridge of the nose generally heal well as do those at the location of harvest of the cartilage for complex nose corrections using cartilage grafts from ear or rib.
Precautions following a nose correction
After rhinoplasty, wound and mucous secretions usually occur in the first few days. You should blot these away without manipulating your nose. Never, for instance, push a tissue into your nose. If you do, moistening of the mucous membranes necessary for wound healing may be reduced. While anti-congestive nose drops may be used in the first few days until the septum support splints are removed, you should stop them at the latest after removal of the inner splint, about 7 days after the operation. For aftercare following rhinoplasty, you will be given a soft, nourishing nasal ointment and if required, a so-called nasal douche, which you can use at home in consultation with us, a local ENT doctor or a plastic surgeon.
The soluble internal nose stitches, which may be required depending on the initial diagnosis and type of operation, can remain in place. Avoid manipulating the stitches or the fixing knots with fingers or implements. The danger is that the knots may loosen. In addition to loosening the fixing stitches, you may introduce bacteria causing infection of the wound. Should exceptional circumstances require removal of internal stitches, this will be carried out by us or, following consultation with us, by your local ENT doctor in your hometown.
If possible, avoid sneezing. If it is unavoidable, sneeze with a wide open mouth. You should also avoid blowing your nose during the first four weeks after surgery. As an alternative, please sniff (carefully), even if this is normally considered offensive.
A further course of antibiotics after your discharge from the hospital may be advisable for complex rhinoplasty involving grafts or foreign material. We will of course discuss this with you.
In the first two weeks after a rhinoplasty, you should sleep with your head resting in a high position. This is to reduce the risk of bleeding and swelling of the soft facial tissues. It is also helpful to avoid speaking too much or laughing at first, so your nose is encouraged to heal in the desired shape.
No sports please for the first four weeks after your rhinoplasty. Avoid contact sports with a risk of nasal trauma for about three months.
Contact lenses can often be worn again in the first days after rhinoplasty. Lightweight glasses can usually be worn again after four weeks. If you have heavy-rimmed glasses, a three-month wait is required.
Please do not wash your hair in the first few days after rhinoplasty. Full baths should be avoided for four weeks after surgery. Refraining from smoking and alcohol is also beneficial to the healing process.
You should also avoid sunbathing and sunbeds for about three months.
In the early stages after surgery, the medicines you take should be coordinated with us or your supervising physician at home. Medication that increases the risk of bleeding, such as Aspirin®, should be avoided.
Long-term effects and check-ups following your nose corrections
To begin with you will notice changes to your nose daily. Not infrequently you can even observe changes to your nose throughout the day. For example, the nose is often more swollen in the morning than the evening. This changes after the first few weeks. By then, the swelling of your nose will usually have reduced to the point that the changes taking place are minimal and hardly noticeable to those around you.
Even if the swelling and bruising have regressed to a good extent in the first few weeks and you felt ready for social interaction within a short time, the final healing process still takes 6-12 months. Until the healing process is finally complete, changes to the shape of the nose and the nose function can continue to occur. For complex nose operations, particularly rhinoplasty, it can take longer than a year in certain circumstances.