Question:
How long will it take for my nose to heal and look as intended following the procedure?
Answer:
Patients often ask me what the recovery will be like after the rhinoplasty procedure. I like to explain it in the following way. The first forty-eight hours will exhibit the highest amount of swelling. During this time, cold compresses over the eyes will help to bring the immediate swelling down. Approximately eighty percent of my patients get some swelling of the lower eyelids, but they do not get “black and blues” in the lower eyelids. Days three through seven there is a gradual decrease in swelling. At day seven, the patient is presentable in public. Any minor bruising can be covered with mild make up. Seventy percent of the swelling resolves in the first three weeks following surgery. The next twenty nine percent of the swelling will resolve over the next six months. At the six-month mark, the nose is about ninety nine percent of the final result. The last one percent of swelling resolves over the last six months. The nose is said to be fully healed at one year after surgery. In conclusion, the nose begins will look better than the pre-operative appearance at five days after surgery, when the cast is removed. From then on after, it improves on a daily basis.
Posted by Dr. Bustillo