Rhinoplasty Recovery – Recovery Time
The recovery process, after a rhinoplasty from our practice, involves a cast placed across the bridge of the nose for six days. Anticipate two weeks of visible bruising and swelling after a rhinoplasty procedure. At two weeks, patients were able to get back to work, school, or social environment. The full healing on a nose takes a year. That said, the majority of the swelling is usually gone by month two or month three but there are some very subtle changes that can occur in the first year after the procedure.
Many patients come to see me with negative images because they had mom’s nose or dad’s nose. I remove that stigmata and then that allows them to be more self-confident whether they’re out at a dinner party or social engagement, and their self-esteem just blossoms.
“Full healing after a rhinoplasty takes approximately a year depending upon the techniques performed, the skin type, whether there was cartilage grafting or bone work. The tip of the nose stays swollen for quite a period of time usually about 70 to 80 percent of the swelling is gone in the first month or two and about 90 percent is gone at three months but full healing does take a year when you’re when you’re talking about narrowing and making cuts in the nasal bones and then narrowing the nasal tip cartilages as well.”
Dr William Portuese
What is Recovery Like?
The cast is applied across the bridge of the nose at the time of the surgery and is removed about a week afterwards once we remove the the cast patients can see their new nose and immediately they notice that their tip doesn’t droop when they smile and it is lifted up statically as well. We tell patients to anticipate about two weeks of visible bruising and swelling after the procedure and then full healing process after a rhinoplasty about 70 percent of the swelling is subsided at approximately one month – about 90 percent at three months and but full healing does take a year to to take full effect. The patients tend to notice immediately after surgery even within days after the surgery that their nose doesn’t droop anymore when they smile even with their cast on.
