Most patients are aware of the visible side effects, such as bruising and swelling following a rhinoplasty procedure. These may be the more obvious symptoms after a nasal surgery, but they are not the only ones. Many patients report stuffiness and nasal congestion immediately following the rhinoplasty. This can make it uncomfortable or difficult to breathe freely through the nose.
Patients, on an average, begin breathing normally through their nose after 1 – 3 weeks. However, there are certain patients that may report nasal congestion for a few months. Double board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Eugene Kim provides nose reshaping plastic surgery to patients in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, and surrounding communities.
Getting Rid of Nasal Congestion
Nasal congestion is one of the most irritating or uncomfortable feelings following the rhinoplasty procedure. Your nose may swell as it heals, restricting the nasal passages. This may make it uncomfortable to breathe normally. You need to remember that the blockage is because of swollen tissues and not mucus or congestion.
Patients should refrain from blowing their nose for a minimum of 2 – 3 weeks following the surgery. Otherwise, you may end up damaging the healing nasal structure and compromise the results. You may find relief by using a gentle saline spray.
Wrongly Performed Nasal Reconstruction
Breathing through the nose is difficult for a few weeks to months following the rhinoplasty procedure because of swelling of the structure and lining within the nose. However, breathing can be a long-term struggle if too much cartilage is removed during the nose job procedure.
Fortunately, surgeons can make use of techniques that allow safe reshaping of the nose without any long-lasting problems. Experienced nose reshaping surgeons can focus on repositioning the different structures of the nose instead of removing a lot of cartilage. This is done to avoid breathing problems in the long-term.
Revision Rhinoplasty Surgery
Many patients that had rhinoplasty cosmetic surgery procedure a few years ago complain of nasal airway problems and sleeplessness following the surgery. This can be due to the surgeon removing too much cartilage. The nose sides may be collapsing inwards during inspiration through the nostrils.
Revision rhinoplasty is helpful in patients that had the surgery performed a long time ago. The second procedure can help in correcting the problem. A tiny pocket can be created to correct the over-operated areas of the nose. Your surgeon would re-graft cartilage taken from farther inside the nose or behind the ear into these tiny pockets to create a reinforcement structure.
This will prevent the nostrils from collapsing inwards. Spreader grafts and spreader flaps can be created from rib or ear cartilage for improving breathing and cosmetic problems. 98% patients, as per studies, reported improvement in breathing after having a revision rhinoplasty. These are encouraging results since majority of patients believe they will have to live without breathing comfortably through the nose.
Patients that are unable to breathe through the nose usually suffer from fitful sleep as well. Cosmetic surgeon Eugene Kim receives patients from Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, and nearby areas for Asian nose job.
Contact the Office of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Dr. Eugene Kim
Click here see more plastic surgery procedures and treatments performed by Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Eugene Kim on patients in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, CA and surrounding areas or call 310-271-6996 to schedule a consultation.
