Rhinoplasty is surgery to re-shape, decrease or increase the size of a patient’ s nose. It is perhaps the most common of all cosmetic surgical procedures, and is performed on men and women alike who are unhappy with the shape and profile of their nose. Alterations to the bridge of the nose, the tip of the nose and even changes to the width of the nostrils can be made with rhinoplasty surgery.

How does it work?
A surgeon will set to work on creating a patient’ s desired nose shape by making small incisions inside the nose, so as to disguise scarring from the operation. Nose cartilage and bone will be removed and/or reworked in order to sculpt the new nose profile. No surgery is performed on the outside skin of the nose. Once re-shaping is complete, surgical packing will be applied to the interior of the nose to help control bleeding.

How long does surgery take?
Surgery may take 1 – 3 hours to complete, depending on the amount of re-shaping needed. The patient will be under a general anaesthetic during the procedure, but an overnight stay in hospital is rare.

What is the recovery time?
Most patients return to normal activity within 7 –10 days. Nasal swelling, which may impair the ability to breathe through your nose, can take up to 3 months to settle down.

How long will it last?
Rhinoplasty surgery produces permanent results.

Are there any side effects?
Bruising, swelling and nose bleeding are to be expected in the days following surgery. During the first 24-48 hours, surgical packing will be placed inside the nostrils to control bleeding. This will prevent you breathing through your nose. If your rhinoplasty included bone work then you will have a splint across your nose for about 1 week after surgery. In the first 7 – 10 days it is advisable not to sneeze or blow your nose as this could damage the internal nasal healing
process.

Breathing through your nose may continue to be impaired for up to 3 months after rhinoplasty surgery.