What to expect after rhinoplasty surgery?

Cosmetic surgery procedures are nothing new as they are being performed for thousands of years. Only the tools, procedures, and methods used in cosmetic surgery have changed over time but the objective has remained the same- ‘to improve the visual appearance of the face and make it look perfect’. Well, one such cosmetic surgery procedure that we are going to discuss in this blog post is rhinoplasty.

Rhinoplasty is the top 5 most common cosmetic surgery performed all over the world. Doesn’t matter whether you want to reduce the shape of your nose or wish to rectify the deformity, rhinoplasty is what you need. Apart from cosmetic purposes, rhinoplasty is even used in medical conditions such as deviated septum. 

But the one question most people have in mind is what happens after rhinoplasty surgery. Almost everyone out there interested in rhinoplasty surgery knows about the process and the preparation but it is also necessary to know about the post-surgery processes and recovery. Keep reading to stay illuminated. 

What happens after the surgery?

After the rhinoplasty has been successfully done, you have to rest in bed with your head raised higher in comparison to your body. This is done to minimize the chances of any type of swelling or excess bleeding. The raising of the head controls the blood flow in the nose and this is what keeps things safe. 

You might feel a bit of congestion in your nose and this is normal since it happens because of minor swelling and in some cases, it happens because of the splints placed in the nose during the surgery. 

In a few cases, the internal dressing is left in its place for a couple of days even after the surgery has been done. Some surgeons might even tape a splint to your nose and it is done just for support and protection. It is usually left in its place for about a week. 

Some common things that you might have to deal with are- draining of mucus and a little bit of bleeding. This usually happens after a couple of days of surgery and even after the dressing has been removed. Some surgeons even prefer putting a drip pad under the nose to simply absorb the drainage. 

The doctors keep on gauging the changes and suggest precautions to be taken based on that. The one thing that you should never do is place the drip pad tight against your nose. 

How long does rhinoplasty recovery take?

Since every rhinoplasty London job is different and every nose is different, there can never be a standard recovery time for everyone who has gone through rhinoplasty surgery. There are many factors on which the amount of time taken by your nose to heal from the procedure depends and these factors are-

• The thickness of the skin on the nose
• Type of surgical process used 
• Age 
• Health condition 
• If you have undergone any additional procedure along with rhinoplasty 
• How you have followed the surgeon’s recovery guidelines 
• Whether it was a revision or your first surgical process 
• Your body’s response to bruising and swelling, and much more 

The one thing that you must keep in mind is rhinoplasty recovery is a gradual process. The swelling because of the surgery can be substantial and it can take an ample amount of time to completely heal. During this process, the nose will keep going through changes and some of these changes will be so subtle that only you or your surgeon will notice them. 

You need to be patient to finally see the outcome of the rhinoplasty London surgery. In some cases, it can take up a whole year before the final results are fully evident. The surgeon who has performed the surgery will keep accessing your recovery during follow-up appointments. These appointments are necessary to keep tabs on your healing process. 

The doctor even checks how well you are following the guidelines given by him and whether you are taking the medications on time or not. A couple of things that you must avoid after a rhinoplasty surgery are- 

• You should quit smoking until you have completely recovered.  People who smoke have a slower healing process. Plus, tobacco increases infection and scarring. 
• To boost the recovery process, you must stay on a healthy diet and add fruits and green vegetables. This will even boost your immunity system and decrease the recovery time. 
• You should also avoid sun exposure as much as possible. Even if you have to spend time outside, you must use sunscreen. 

Before going through the rhinoplasty procedure, it is necessary to know what happens after the surgery so that you won’t set wrong expectations and you are well aware of the recovery process as well. Keep in mind, the more you follow the doctor’s guideline, the better your recovery will be.