Early Rhinoplasty Recovery

Q: Dr. Eppley, I recently had rhinoplasty (4 weeks ago) and I am extremely unhappy with the result. I asked my surgeon to remove the bump on my nose but it is still there and also my nose looks extremely wide. I was wondering if this could still be due to swelling- and if so, how much can I hope for it to go down, and if not, how soon do you think I could get a revision – I really want to be able to feel comfortable with myself before I go to back to school in September. I’ve attached some photos – as you can see my bridge is very wide and there is still a noticeable bump- could these just be caused by swelling, is there a chance they could go down completely/a lot?

A: In trying to answer your questions, I am at a significant disadvantage. I do not know what your nose looked like originally and know no details of how your rhinoplasty was done. These pieces of information are critical to know as to whether the eventual resolution of swelling will produce a favorable outcome or not.

But let us assume that the outcome of your primary rhinoplasty is not favorable, the timing of any revision rhinoplasty would depend on what needed to be done. This would not be before three months at the minimum and likely six months after the original rhinoplasty procedure. The nasal tissues need time to heal and have all the swelling fully subside.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana