Many patients will say that the recovery after rhinoplasty was much easier that they thought. The nose is not significantly painful afterwards and will usually feel tender but also numb. Some will experience a headache the first day after surgery. Pain medication is not usually taken after the first few days. If internal airway surgery has also been done, then there will be a period of nasal stuffiness that will take up to several weeks to go away.
Most patients will have some visible bruising and swelling for the first two weeks after the surgery. The tapes and splint that are applied at the end of surgery will stay one for one week after which it will be removed in the office. Aspirin should not be used as a pain reliever in the recovery phase because it may cause nosebleeds as well. There is no painful packing placed inside the nose, which makes recovery much faster now than when packing was placed years ago.
Time off work should be a week to 10 days.The main obstacle to returning to work and be out and about is the external nasal splint which is usually an obvious sign that surgery was done. But if one doesn’t mind going to work with a nasal splint on, returning to a non-physical labor job could be done in less than a week. Some will develop bruising under the eyes afterwards. While this will eventually go away on its own, its resolution can be hastened by applying topical bruising creams, such as Auridern (Vitamin K) or Arnica, which I feel is very helpful to more quickly remove bruising than the body’s natural process.
There are no dietary restrictions after surgery. Eat and drink as you wich. Once can shower the next day and do not worry about getting the nasal splint wet. I recommend no heavy exercise for 2 weeks but one can treadmill or bicycle whenever you feel like it.
While many patients are very concerned that everyone will know they had their nose done, the reality is few (unless they know you very closely) will ever actually know. People are just not as perceptive about others as we commonly think. I regularly hear in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice from patients that their friends and acquantances comment on their looking better, but do not exactly know why. They often ask if they have lost weight or been on vacation.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana