To help with your rhinoplasty recovery, you’ll be invited to attend a number of follow-up appointments in the days and weeks after your surgery, but it’s also important to understand how to look after yourself when you’ve left hospital.
We want to minimise the risk of complications, reduce discomfort and maximise your results, so will give you the support and guidance you need. After-care will be tailored to your specific needs, but if you follow these important steps you should start to feel you’re getting back to normal within a week or 10 days after surgery.
- Take it easy
Rhinoplasty, or a ‘nose job’ as it is commonly called, involves altering the size and/or shape of the nose. The surgery usually takes around two hours and involves a general anaesthetic and an overnight stay. While this isn’t a painful treatment, it does take time to recover so you’ll need to take at least a week off work and rest when you get home. That means watching TV, reading or listening to music and avoiding strenuous housework or daily chores such as food shopping.
- Look after your dressings
When you come round from your anaesthetic you will have a dressing on your nose to help protect you from infection and to aid the healing process. You won’t need to change the dressings until your next follow-up appointment, but you should avoid touching the dressing or getting it wet.
- Be prepared with pain relief
You’ll be given pain relief immediately after surgery but thereafter you can expect to feel a little discomfort rather than pain. When you return home you will be able to take Paracetamol if required. After a few days it may be appropriate to apply an ice pack to help reduce the swelling.
- Stay hydrated
Because your nose will be covered with a dressing for at least a week after surgery you’ll need to be prepared to breathe only through your mouth. This can feel strange at first (especially when you’re eating) and can lead to a dry mouth, particularly at night-time. Make sure you keep well hydrated during the day and take a glass of water with you to bed.
When your dressings are removed, you will be able to breathe through your nose once again, but you should avoid touching your nose. This can be difficult as your skin will scab. We will clean your nose when you attend your follow-up appointment and we will show you how to keep it clean without inflicting damage during the recovery process.
- Be prepared for a long recovery after rhinoplasty
While most patients are able to return to work within a week, it can take up to a year for your nose to settle completely and for your full results to be realised. During that time you’ll need to attend the follow-up appointments we offer so that we can monitor your progress and answer any questions you may have. To aid your rhinoplasty recovery time, there is usually one follow-up appointment in the first week after surgery. We will then need to see you a month after surgery. There will be a further two appointments – three and 12 months after surgery – or more frequently if we feel it is necessary.
