Hello everyone!
I am 23 years old and had rhinoplasty done two months ago. I always had a rather pronounced (large) nose that I was teased for as a child and teen and had the rhinoplasty done for exclusively cosmetic purposes, well, OK, and emotional ones, meaning increased self-confidence.
I could not be happier with my new nose! After the swelling lifted, and I did feel rough the first four or five days before the bandage was removed, I just couldn't stop looking in the mirror and the cosmetic improvement made it all worthwhile.
But... after my nose job, I also realized that I could actually breathe better. I had been a mouth breather all my life and that is still my default, but I swear nose breathing is easier. Do you think rhinoplasty is responsible for my reduction in breathing problems, or is this all in my head?
Hoping for some answers.
Hey,
Cool question. Rhinoplasty can absolutely fix breathing problems and snoring, if those problems originate from a deviated septum, meaning that bit between the nostrils being positioned oddly in a way that obstructs nasal breathing. Was your septum corrected during your rhinoplasty? If so, you have your answer right there.
It's no wonder that you didn't ask about this before your surgery as the breathing you were experiencing before was normal to you. Just enjoy your new freedom to breathe through your nose and perhaps mention it to your surgeon or checking nurse if you are going for another follow up appointment.
Rosie
Call that a "lucky side effect" of your rhinoplasty! It is truly awesome that you are able to breathe better through your nose since your rhinoplasty than before.
There are people with deviated septums who know they have breathing problems as a direct result of them who go in for a nose job primarily to fix the breathing problems and who then decide to have cosmetic surgery while they are already having that operation. Either way, you have two for the price of one if you like, and that is absolutely fantastic.
Did you experience a lot of pain after your rhinoplasty and how long did it take before you were comfortable with going out in public again?
You can lessen the chance of complications best simply by choosing a good surgeon and a good clinic. Still, it is surgery and things do go wrong sometimes. In this case, a follow up surgery would be the recommended action if breathing does not improve.
I stayed in hospital overnight and then went home. They require someone to pick you up because you are still weak and groggy from the anesthesia. The next few days I spent at home, mostly in bed reading and spending time watching films. I think the bandage removal happened after five days, or was it a week? I decided to opt for just tip surgery in the end, so that was less than for some people.
After that, I was back to normal with some residual swelling. I recovered quickly and it was not worse than a bad flu.