Tips to Quickly Recover From Rhinoplasty Surgery

In the United States, rhinoplasty, popularly known as a nose job, is among the top 5 most popular plastic surgery procedures. Rhinoplasty is a procedure to alter your nose’s size and shape to look proportional to the rest of your facial features.

In most cases, people undertake nose surgery for purely cosmetic purposes, although rhinoplasty can also be performed to correct congenital disabilities, fix injuries, nasal deviation, and breathing issues. The biggest concern of people considering rhinoplasty is the outcome and the healing process because it’s difficult to assess your appearance when your nose has finished healing.

If you’re thinking of getting rhinoplasty or have just had one, it’s important to consider your recovery at home. The recovery process of rhinoplasty, like any other surgical procedure, differs from individual to individual. This post will give tips on making your recovery as painless as possible.

1. Know the medications you need before and after the surgery. You will need to take antibiotics a day before the surgery, while the pain and anti-nausea medication will be required on the morning of surgery. You can also find some herbal supplements, such as Arnica tablets and gel, for swelling and bruising. Along with the pain medication, some patients are recommended to take Tylenol.

2. For quicker healing, surgeons recommend using a nose spray for about 4-6 weeks after the surgery. The bouquet may differ from doctor to doctor, but the rush aims to prevent skin dryness and moisten your nose tissue. This will also help in relieving congestion to avoid breathing problems. Make sure to follow the prescribed medication routine regarding when you should use the spray and for how long.

3. Post-surgery, patients are advised to sit propped up or lean back against several pillows. During recovery, you can keep around three pads under your head. It will work best to have an adjusting and reclining bed; otherwise, use cushions to keep your head propped up. This will help keep your head propped up at night, and a few places on the sides will help prevent your body from moving into a side sleeping position.

4. You will need gauze and tape to replace the bandages under the nose. It is best to keep extra bandages and gauze at home. You may use Kleenex for cleanup and Q-tips to apply Neosporin to the sutured area around the nose.

5. After rhinoplasty, you will feel moderate pain and swelling during the early days of recovery, which is normal. For this, a cold compress or ice pack can be used for the first 48 hours or to reduce the swelling afterward. However, it is important to keep your dressings dry.

6. Sometimes, patients complain of hard or stiff nose tips during the healing process. Again, this is also normal as it happens due to the swelling of the nasal tissue. To avoid this, a low-salt diet is recommended to relieve fluid retention.

Like any other surgery, rhinoplasty surgery needs some time to heal, so have some patience. To make it a pleasurable experience, trust your surgeon’s expertise to ease you through the healing process. An expert rhinoplasty surgeon will clear all your doubts regarding the healing process, how long it will take to recover, and what results should be expected.