It’s important to factor in the recover time of a procedure before making the decision to move ahead with surgery. Patient obligations range from busy school schedules to holiday plans, which is why it’s best to plan ahead when scheduling a rhinoplasty consultation at Utah Facial Plastics. This way, we can discuss how long it takes to recover from a rhinoplasty so you can plan accordingly.
Although the healing process is different for each individual, most patients experience tenderness and swelling immediately after surgery which continues for an extended period of time. The tenderness that patients feel does go away much faster than the swelling. Swelling after rhinoplasty can take up to a full year to resolve but is approximately 80% less swollen after 3 months for most patients. To help minimize swelling, we recommend most patients sleep on their back with their head elevated. We also typically prescribe a steroid medication that helps with swelling.
We typically see patients one week after surgery to remove sutures, splints (if applicable) and the cast. After this visit patients start to feel significantly better but may still have some bruising that will continue to subside. To help reduce bruising we highly recommend patients avoid aspirin, ibuprofen, Vitamin E, fish oil and other medications that can thin the blood for one week before and after surgery.
Most patients do not experience an intolerable amount of pain after surgery but it does vary depending on what exactly needed to be done during surgery to help a patient achieve their goals.
Some temporary restrictions after rhinoplasty surgery include no heavy lifting, no running or jogging or any other strenuous activity until cleared by their surgeon. If the patients blood pressure is increased it can cause bleeding and prolonged swelling of the nose.
Most rhinoplasty patients are ready to return to work or school after one week although bruising can take about two weeks to fully resolve on it’s own.
To learn more about how long it takes to recover from rhinoplasty surgery, please call our office at (801) 776-2220 or contact us HERE.