A rhinoplasty (also known as nose reshaping) is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures available today. It’s estimated that in the US, around 220,000 are performed each year. Some familiar faces who’ve undergone this procedure include Blake Lively, Khloe Kardashian, and Kaley Cuoco—and those are just the ones who have admitted it.
A rhinoplasty can be a cosmetic procedure, but it can also be medically necessary in some cases. This surgery is often used to correct difficulty breathing through the nose and nasal obstructions. No matter the reason, the basics of the procedure and rhinoplasty swelling timeline remain roughly the same.
This guide will take you through everything you need to know from how much it costs to how long you’ll take to recover. Read on to find out more.
Rhinoplasty Surgery: What Does It Involve?
Like many cosmetic surgeries, when undergoing rhinoplasty surgery, you’ll go under either local or general anesthetic. Every rhinoplasty surgery will be a little different, as it is tailored to the person’s face and needs.
The surgery can be done from inside the nose or through an incision made on the top of the nose. The surgeon performing the procedure readjusts the cartilage and sometimes the bone of the nose to reshape it as needed. Length of surgery depends, but will usually be somewhere between 1.5 and 3 hours.
As with many other factors, rhinoplasty surgery cost can vary greatly depending on what exactly it involves. The average cost is thought to be around $6,000.
Rhinoplasty Swelling and Recovery
After the surgery, you may be cleared to leave the same day, but usually, patients stay overnight. Generally, you’ll leave the day after surgery.
Patients usually experience discomfort or pain for up to 72 hours, after which time it will begin to decrease. Your surgeon will likely prescribe you some sort of medication to help with the pain for the first few days. In many cases, patients wear their surgical dressing for up to 7 days.
There may be blood and mucus draining from the nose over the first few days. Your doctor will place gauze in your nose if this is the case, to capture and absorb the fluids.
The nose will be considerably swollen at first and swelling will decrease as time goes on. However, you should allow at least 2 weeks for the swelling to dissipate to unnoticeable levels.
Even after two weeks, the swelling will continue to wane for the first few months after surgery. Some ways you can help the swelling to go down quicker include icing your nose, keeping it elevated, and, if possible, sleeping in an upright position. For more information on the recovery process, see the page on rhinoplasty at Regency Specialties.
Your Rhinoplasty Swelling Timeline
As everyone is different, everyone will have a different rhinoplasty swelling timeline. Hopefully, this guide has helped to answer some of your questions surrounding this topic. If you’re looking for more insights on surgery or anything else, check out the rest of our site now.
