Question:
I had a nose job several months ago. Within a few weeks after surgery I loved the result but since then the nose swelling seems to have gotten worse and gotten bigger. I loved the original result so much and now I am worried that my nose will not look that way again. Is it normal for swelling to return like this and will the swelling go back down?
Answer:
It is not unusual for patients to notice variable periods of swelling after a nose job; sometimes it is better, sometimes it is worse. A lot of this depends on the position of the patient. Usually when you sleep at night and wake up in the morning, your nose is more swollen from having been lying flat and as the day wears on the swelling decreases. Some individuals, if they spend a day working in the garden or doing something where the nose is more dependent, they may get a significant amount of swelling that will persist for four or five days afterward and then begin to resolve.
One must remember that after a nose job and for the first year, the nose is certainly more sensitive to the possibility of swelling depending upon the position of the individual. Care must be taken in all your activities to help keep the head less dependent and low down, and you should not have any significant problems of swelling. However, most swelling, if it is not related to infection or something unusual going on, should resolve once you begin to have the head elevated again.
Posted by Richard Galitz, MD, FACS
