Due to its growing popularity in the entertainment world, more and more people are choosing to get a rhinoplasty (or as it is more commonly known, a nose job). Along these lines, one of the most frequent questions people ask concerning having this procedure is exactly how long does it take to recover, as well as what will the recovery encompass. The intent of this article is answer these two frequently asked questions.
As you can imagine, your nose is going to be very sensitive after the operation. While the pain can be dis-comfortable, most people become very worried when they see the facial swelling and bruising. Luckily, this swelling will only last for the first 2 to 3 days). To minimize the amount of facial swelling, many surgeons will place packing in your nose (the idea being that the pressure of the packing will discourage swelling) and encourage you to use icing.
As for the bruising, it can last up to 10 days before it totally disappears. While this may sound like a long time, if you are a smoker, it will prolong the bruising to the point that it can last longer than 10 days (it can take between 3 to 5 weeks for the bruising on smokers to disappear).
The last aesthetic issue that someone recovering from a rhinoplasty will have to deal with is the 2 black eyes. Unfortunately, this surgery can and does produce black eyes in its patients.
Now that we have described what you can expect from the surgery, we can move on to post operative care. You should be scheduled for a few follow-up appointments to ensure you are healing right. Failure to attend these appointments can easily lead to complications from infection, so please ensure you attend these appointments.
Also, to combat infection, you will most likely be prescribed antibiotics. Furthermore, most surgeons will prescribe pain medication to alleviate the discomfort caused by the surgery.
Lastly, you will be able to return to work around a week after the surgery. While you may go back to work, you should refrain from any hard physical activity for at least 3 weeks. It is important that you take all precautions to ensure you do not bump your nose during the recovery period. Failure to heed this advice could result in a misaligned nose.
Tom Jenkins owns the Beverly Hills Rhinoplasty Guide. This website provides information on the various facets of rhinoplasty, from the nose job recovery to how much a rhinoplasty cost in Beverly Hills.