Rhinoplasty, commonly known as a nose job surgery or a nose reshaping operation, is a very popular plastic surgery procedure that alters the physical and functional aspects of the nose. There are so many things that are available when you search the web in regard to rhinoplasty, but there are also some important considerations that you should know about the nose job procedure. Here are some of the essential aspects of a nose job procedure that you, as a potential patient, should consider and understand.
Nose job procedure: The preparation
For you to better prepare for the nose job surgery, you must first have a fruitful and informative initial consultation with your rhinoplasty surgeon. This will enable you to learn about the ins and outs of the nose job procedure, as well as the things that you need to do prior to the surgery. Lab tests, comprehensive medical examination and assessment, and discussion with your surgeon are important so that the surgeon can create a customised treatment plan for you as well as help you curb your expectations and turn them to realistic ones.
Your surgeon may require you to change some of your habits and daily routines like your intake of certain medications, diet intake, activities and exercises, as well as vices like smoking or drinking alcohol. These habits can affect your nose job procedure either during the surgery or recovery.
Nose job procedure: The risks and potential complications
If you have done your research thoroughly, you may notice that no surgery is exempted from risks and complications. Since a nose job procedure may include an extensive major surgery, it can also pose some serious risks to your health and safety. Common risks of rhinoplasty surgery include bleeding, risk of infection, and adverse reactions to anaesthesia. Some patients can also complain of temporary post-rhinoplasty effects like swelling, bruising, tenderness, and numbness, but as mentioned earlier, these complaints are expected to subside as your recovery emerges. Swelling, however, may be expected to come and go for the next few months, as well as the tenderness depending on the extent of the nose job procedure.
Nose job procedure: An additional surgery?
One of the things that your rhinoplasty surgeon should inform you even before the nose job procedure takes place is that there is a possibility that you would need a second or additional rhinoplasty. It is required not because there is a possibility that the results of the first surgery is unsatisfactory, but it is because the results may not potentially be enough to reach the expected improvement or enhancement that you are looking forward to. Based on the treatment plan of your surgeon, he must explain to you that there is a need for an additional surgery to be performed once your nose has recovered from the first one. There is also a possibility of getting a revision rhinoplasty, especially if the surgeon who first performed your nose job procedure is incapable of doing it flawlessly. There are also some patients who experience complications following the surgery that affected the results, so a revision surgery is required. No matter the reason, if the surgeon recommends a secondary rhinoplasty or revision surgery to be performed, it is up to you and your needs if you would want to push through or not.
Nose job procedure: The recovery
If you are contemplating undergoing rhinoplasty, check your schedule and plan to have a week or two off from work, schooling, and other extracurricular commitments. Your rhinoplasty surgeon may recommend or order you to be two weeks in complete rest to help your body recover from the surgery because you have to remember that, no matter how small your nose is, rhinoplasty is still considered a major operation. The first few days after the surgery will be the most uncomfortable days, but you will feel progressively better each day during the first week. One week after surgery, people usually feel like they are themselves again. The common complaints patients claim as mentioned earlier are all going to be present all at the same time during the first few days. It is helpful that you have someone with you so there is someone who can help you perform daily activities and self-care. Expect that a few weeks, even months, after the surgery, there will still be some swelling present, and it can take many months to fully go away. Most people stop noticing it after a couple of months, but they would claim that once in a while their noses would still feel stuffy and swollen. People are usually back to performing most activities after a week and resuming all activities after two to four weeks.