About the Procedure

Although each procedure varies, generally, nasal surgeries follow this process:

Location options may include:

• Surgeon's office-based surgical facility
• Outpatient surgery center
• Hospital outpatient
• Hospital inpatient

Learn more about preparing for your surgery.

Anesthetic options may include:

• Local anesthesia
• General anesthesia

Average length of procedure

• About two hours

Recuperation period:

• Usually up and around in a few days
• Usually return to school or sedentary work a week or so after surgery
• Surgeon will provide guidelines for resuming normal activities

Some possible short-term side effects of surgery:

• A splint may be applied to nose to help maintain the new shape.
• Nasal packs or soft plastic splints may be placed inside the nostrils to stabilize the septum.
• The face will feel puffy.
• The nose may ache.
• You may experience a dull headache, swelling around the eyes, and/or bruising around the eyes.
• A small amount of bleeding is normal in the first few days.
• Small burst blood vessels may appear as tiny red spots on the skin's surface.

Final results:

• Healing is a slow and gradual process. Some swelling may be present for months, especially in the tip of the nose. Final results of nasal surgery may not be apparent for a year or more.
• When a traditional open surgical technique is used, or surgery is performed to narrow flared nostrils, small scars will be located on the base of the nose. The scars usually are not noticeable. Scarring is not visible when rhinoplasty is performed from inside the nose.