rhinoplasty still swollen so very much after 1 week

i had a surgery on Dec 23rd and now, my nose is really eide instead of being straight, my doctor says it's swelling. i hope it is.

those who removed their casts and had pig noses r lucky. I removed mine and had a parrot/hawk's beak! it totally freaked me out!
And u guys said it will eventually droop lower mine is already curving downwards! so its gonna look worse then the piggy nose!

Does anyone know if your nose is curved downwards like a bird's beak is there any possible way it can heal upwards and curve up like a anime character? My nose looks long and silly on me.

Hello everyone, i'm a Rhinoplastician in Chicago and understand all problems if you need advice. Although there is a considerable amount of swelling in the first 2-3 weeks you must all understnad that it will subside completely in a matter of months - at worst, one year. Keeping the head elevated, preventing eating salty foods, not doing excessive excercise, putting damp cloths (NOT ice, as this is too heavy for the nose and may cause more swelling and bruising than before) and not touching the nose helps my patients the most. Avoid bending down unneccessarily as this causes extra blood flow to the face and could result in more swelling.

I'm here for any queries.

All the best,

Dr. Newman

I just had a septorhinoplasty about 8 days ago. I had really bad swelling under my eyes and down my cheeks to my jawline. I didn't bruise too bad but it did turn a yellowish-green and the swelling that went down to my jawline turned blue! Yuck! When my doc took the cast off my nose yesterday, he said it was really really swollen, more swollen than expected??? I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not but he advised me to massage my nose going up from tip to between the eyes and than outwards on both sides of the nose, twice a day or whenever I look in the mirror and it looks a little swollen. I have been depressed about my nose since the cast coming off yesterday. The hump is obviously down but the swelling makes me look like an Avatar! My nose is super wide from the swelling my I also had cartiliage added to my tip (small amount) and so it looks huge too. Doc says I should start seeing some definition in about a week but to be patient and it will get smaller and smaller. I am obsessed with looking in the morning too! Every mirror I walk by I have to look to see if there has been any changes! It's driving me crazy. Reading everyone's experience is giving me hope and I'm feeling so much better! Thanks everyone! And thank god for forums!

Hi I did my nose with dr. salas in Tijuana my nose was really swollen the first couple of months, then the first days after the surgery I was looking like a boxer I had my patch and my eyes were brussed I was in shock when I look my self in the mirrow but I was taking my medication in time with my cream they gave me, I went to see the doctor a couple of times because with the price you paid for the surgery it is included 3 months of free consultations so anytime I want and have the time I went to see him. The healling process was really slow but right now my results are pretty good the doctor did a good job if you can see me you can't know I had a nose job :D that's why I'm really happy it looks very natural

I'm reading everyones posts and I'm going through the same thing !!
I had a Open rhinoplasty and septoplasty 5 days ago (April 6th)
and obviously I'm still swollen and a bit bruised up under my eyes.. When I seen myself in the mirror and seen how huge my tip was and how much of a pig I looked I freaked out and started getting nervous that it will stay this way. Now that I've read everyone is having the same experience i feel more calm. I'm going back on Tuesday to have my splint and stitches removed and even though I'm aware of the extra swelling to come I know I'm gonna panic and keep staring in the mirror... I hate having to wait a whole year to finally see my final results! :/

Btw; the doctor who did mine is Dr. Sam Rizk .. He is located in NYC and is known to be one of the best surgeons he specializes in the face area only and also does rivisions if anyone is looking for a great doctor I advise you to check his web page out his work is phenominal although it is pricey (I paid close to 13,000)he has done models, & actresses. He's been on many t.v shows, magazines and books. If you'd like to find out more about him check out his web page

I will keep updating as my nose heals.. Thanks to everyones posts I feel more relaxed. Speedy recovery to all!


***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

i just had rhinoplasty on april 1st and am at 10 days post-op. the reason i am writing is because i am asian and have been scouring the internet in search of asian rhinoplasty personal experiences and haven't really found any to help get me through this!

i had been wanting to get a nose job since college and figured 27 was as good a year as any to finally get one. because my bridge was so low (my sunglasses literally rested on my cheeks), i had an implant put in, cartilage added to make the tip more refined, and had my nostrils narrowed. i also had a little lipo under my chin- figured, why not? well, let me tell you that i nearly went crazy the first week when my nose was all bandaged up, with the drip pad underneath my nostrils, and the compression bandages around my head. i felt claustrophobic and was convinced i would never make it to the week mark when the doctor would take the splint off my nose. i even called in and asked if i could come in earlier to no avail.

i think the worst part of getting a rhinoplasty (aside from all the mocos building up in my schnoz that my dr forbid me to pick out) is the psychological aspect of it, which reading this forum has really helped. not being able to breathe through my nose really effed with my head too...i felt like i was drowning. also, i had prepared myself for the process, but hadn't prepared myself for the feelings of despair that i feel now. my nose looks good enough even with the swelling and the bridge is actually much better, but i almost feel like it doesn't really fit my face like my old nose did. also, my nose feels like it's not mine and basically feels like a foreign object just hanging out on my face, all stiff. i've been trying to stay positive, thinking that my nose will eventually feel like a part of my face again and that it just takes time and patience for everything to heal and that i will love my new nose soon. it's just so hard to fathom that day coming soon enough.

It's been exactly 1 week since my closed rhinoplasty ... and they took off my cast today ... and my god, I look awful, my nose is worse than before, the bridge & the tip are extremely swollen ... I kinda got disappointed, I know it's just swelling, but damn how can I walk around like that? My nose looks unnatural, alien-like. It does not look like ME anymore. I look like a weirdo. The tip is big and bulbous <- this is exactly what I did not want ... the doc said the swelling would subside considerably after 1 month :'(
now because of this stupid surgery my self esteem has taken a complete 180 in the abyss.
Oh man this sucks, and I can completely relate to your pain guys

:'(

Operation 1 (Age 18):
As a kid I had girlfriends at an early age first kiss and all that then puberty came and so did a pretty large(bird like) crooked nose. As most may know adolescence can be pretty tough but when you have family members telling you your nose looks 'broken' or 'off to the side' it affects you(perhaps permanently). Luckily at 18( my insurance covered a procedure which was to 'improve' my breathing. I, being a vain then(and now), was of course more concerned with the aesthetics of my nose not its functionality. The doctor knew this and assured me that although the insurance was not giving a green light to the procedure for that reason, he would take care of me once he had me on the operating able. I had an open procedure. The result was a still crooked(Roman like) significantly smaller nose. There was no swelling but I was really young so that may explain it. Ironically my breathing did not improve at all. As time went on I realized that it was going to be a while (if ever) before I was able to change my nose so I began to drink a lot. Spending so much time in bars and around alcohol led to....

Operation #2(Age 21):
So while in a bar I was sucker punched(not gonna lie I've gotten my butt kicked in a straight up fight, this was not that) by a guy who claimed I was hitting on his GF. He tapped me on the shoulder while I was talking to someone, as I turned to towards him he punched me right in the nose, I knew it was cracked because blood started gushing instantly(he was a nice guy). Went to the ER and within 3-4 days I was back in the operating room. Getting straightened out. this was a closed procedure the doctor was really short with and uninformative but surprisingly my nose came out better than it was prior to the punch. It was still far from perfect off to the side and breathing was still hard or being done by one nostril. A week after the surgery there was no swelling, again was it cause I was young? This nose turned out to be quite good to me. Received compliments on it because it fit my face. But alas it wasn't meant to be.

Operation #3 (Age 28):
So remember how I said I have gotten my butt kicked in a straight up fight? Well I don't know that I necessarily took a beating but during a scuffle I did get hit in the nose. However this time it was different. The impact was not from an angle but more head on, I didn't bleed but when I was hit definitely felt(heard) a crack and knew that something had gone on in my nose. The fight continued was broken up shorty there after and no one really realized whet had happened. The following day my nose was pretty swollen and I went scheduled a visit to my primary physician who ordered up some x-rays. Sure enough the x-rays revealed I had a break in 2 places. He then proceeded to refer me to a specialist who told me that I need to be operated. We set the Surgery up and it happened toward the end of March. Unlike with the past surgeons I did my due diligence and researched all of this surgeon's credentials whih checked out perfectly. The surgeon was extremely informative and personable putting me at ease with the procedure(no matter how many times you go through it is still a little unnerving) telling me that it would still remain my nose but straighten it out and open up my breathing channels. Naturally after dealing with someone who upfront had everything you could ask for in a surgeon, my expectations grew as I dealt more and more with the surgeon. Then came the day of the cast removal, my nose is huge! it honestly looks like it did when I was 17. It is straight and I am breathing great but it is huge and there is a bump on one side which I am pretty sure is bone and the bridge is elevated well above weer it was before the bone fractures. IDK what to say.

Hoping that it is just because the surgeon had to move so much bone around that I am so swollen or that it is because I am older that my body is not recovering as fast(could be since I just experienced my first hangover last summer) and that this is far from the final outcome.However it is a little disheartening to think that after operation #2 I was pretty content and now am having to revisit my days of self-consciousness. My nose is now broad and large I don't look like myself at all. It hasn't been too long but I am afraid that I may be stuck with this incarnation (probably deservedly so). I don't know and thht is what is most nerve racking. If I knew what the final outcome was I could proceed to try and deal with it.

Well thank you for earlier posts. Despite my not experiencing much swelling in the past I'm hopeful that this(being a more thorough) procedure is taking a different path towards recovery. I'll post a much shorted update in the future.

I am very upset too, I really feel for you and understand. I had my cast taken off yesterday and cried as soon as I saw my reflection. I had a bump on my old nose and solely asked for just that to be removed, my surgeon said he will have to take the nose up slightly to avoid it looking too long which he did. My nose now is SO swollen, it looks like a big blob on my face, the bridge is 3-4 times wider than before and the actual bobble of the nose seems to come up really high and take over the whole nose - it's huge! I have locked myself in my room and refuse to interact with the outer world. There is no way I could face friends, family or anyone. I hate myself for it.
I hated my old nose but I really wish I could have it back in a second compared to this.
I am considering surgery again, does anyone know how soon I can be operated on? Do I have to wait a certain amount of time?

You've descibed exactly what has happened to me, I had my cast off yesterday. I am so upset, I won't leave my room, see anyone, go anywhere. I really hope this is just swelling and not the final result. I look deformed! Like a big blob has been splattered on my face. I had a really thin nose before but now it's so thick and just as you said 'alien-like'. Please keep me informed on how you get on.....I wish you all the best, I really do. Everytime I catch my reflection I want to just curl up and disappear.

I'm in the same boat! It has been 3 days since my cast came off and I looked deformed! I've been putting ice on it 3-4 times a day for 5-10mins each time and seriously it works a treat!!!!! There is a huge improvement, don't get me wrong it's far from perfect and I'm still hiding away from everyone but it REALLY helps. When using the ice do not put too much pressure on the nose though - very important.
I hope this helps me and you!

Hi guys, its so calming to read that swelling can last longer than a few weeks and that the nose gets better and better. Also looking at the pictures is very hepful, thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. I had rhinoplasty about three weeks ago on april 13, and one side is a little uneven and also im a little disappointed with the bridge being a little higher than i wanted.. does the tip reduce in size or the whole nose?

hi everyone - i too am very glad i found this web page!
i am now 10 days into rhinoplasty having had the splint removed yesterday.
i wasnt exactly thrilled with the result when the splint came off.
i had a large nose which to me was just this big old beak thing (similar to concorde) stuck on the front of my face and remember being bullied at school for having a large nose.
so ive been waiting at least 16yrs to do this.
i was aware that there would be swelling but wasnt prepared for what awaited me when it finally came off.
i didnt know quite what to say to the nurse but it certainly wasnt 'wow look at my fabulous nose' more a case of 'b****r me thats still big'!
i think we all know that there is going to be swelling but i was never made aware of how severe the swelling was actually going to be!!
im just thinking to myself patience is a virtue - but its something we expect tp be corrected almost there and then, i mean weve had the operation and the splint is off - similar to having your leg in a plaster, once its off then eveything should be sorted!!!
the one thing that no one seems to mention is all the dried blood clots in the nostrils which make my nose feel swollen and make breathing impossible.
i had to pick off some of the crusts at the entrance to the nostril as the splint was causing compression pains.
so far ive only read one post where the person was told not to pick at the crusts, my surgeon never once menioned them and the nurse hasnt advised how to get rid of them either, they are the only thing causing discomfort in my nose at the moment.
so time will hopefully tell, but i know one thing, im NOT having a revision, it looks better than it did, and hopefully when the pig like tip has gone down it will be way better.
mixed reactions from my freinds, some say i look like ive had a bloody good beating and otheres say it looks good - hmmm who is tellng the truth or just trying to make me feel better?!!
good luck everyone!

I think when the plastic surgeon is operating on the nose, he sees the final result of what it will look like and afterwards, while its healing and the cast comes off its majorly swollen. Hopefully the doctor knows what he did and thats why they reassure you that you need be patient for the swelling to go down. Ive heard that three months is about the time half of the swelling has gone down and patients are expected to enjoy their end result then. By the way to the person above me, that sucks that someone would actually poke a joke about anothers nose.. everybody has flaws so that person must have thought they were god's gift or something.