Rhinoplasty

Q: Dr. Eppley, My main discomfort right now after my rhinoplasty is a frontal headache. It is quite severe and persistent since I got out of surgery. Do you think it would be relieved by taking off my nose guard? Is this common following rhinoplasty? Thanks for any thoughts you have.

A: Having a frontal headache is not a postoperative symptom that is common after rhinoplasty surgery. While you have had multiple facial procedures (chin, cheek and jaw angle implants) as well as a rhinoplasty it could be related to any or all of them. But rhinoplasty would be the potential culprit by anatomic proximity. I could only envision that the rhinoplasty with the nasal bone osteotomies could be the source. Fracturing the nasal bones so close to the forehead certainly sounds like it would give one a headache. Other aspects of your surgery could also create a headache due to the congestion caused by a septoplasty and inferior turbinate reductions.

Whether removing the splint would be a solution I do not know although there is only one way to answer that question. I hate to do it because it will cause more swelling but if your symptoms do not have improvement in another day that is what we should probably do.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana