One of the many questions patients ask doctors when consulting for a rhinoplasty is, “how long for nose job recovery?” With today’s modern techniques, the answer is anywhere between days and weeks. This is because every individual heals differently.

Nose job recovery starts right after surgery. This is because with today’s procedures, there’s less trauma to begin with. But no matter how quick the surgery itself was, nose job recovery will still require lots of patience from the patient.

Following the surgeon’s instructions is the number one thing to remember. Right after surgery, your doctor or his assistant will give you an orientation of what to expect in the coming days and weeks with regards to pain, healing, discomfort, bruising and just general instructions on what to do and not do.

Here are some factors that will affect nose job recovery:

* Type of procedure – some rhinoplasties require more work than others

* Physical features – how the surgery itself was done

* Intra and post-operative complications – each individual is different when it comes to bleeding, bruising and healing

* Smoking – if a patient is a smoker, then healing usually takes longer

This list tells you how long a typical nose job recovery is. Do not worry if yours takes longer, because as mentioned earlier, the body’s reaction to trauma, and surgery is, depends on many individual factors.

Counting the days

First 24 hours of nose job recovery time:

* Pain is expected by the time the anesthesia wears off but with the medications prescribed by the doctor, it can be easily managed and controlled.

* Swelling in the nasal area is obvious and numbness can be felt which could last for weeks.

* Sleep pattern and position are the most affected ones due to pain. Supine position or lying on your back with your head tilted or elevated to prevent swelling and causing any movement to your nose is advised. Usually a splint is placed to keep it stable while nasal packing can also be an addition to prevent swelling and bleeding. This is part of nose job recovery, to make sure that the nose is protected at all times.

First Week of nose job recovery time:

* Nasal splints and packing still remain in place except for nasal packing which are changed every day, if needed. The nasal splints on the other hand are removed either after 8 days or between a week and two weeks.

* The number one problem for this period is your nose itself. You can feel stuffiness and congestion and feel a difficulty in breathing which your very challenge here is preventing yourself from blowing your nose.

* Bleeding is normal still part of the nurse job recovery, and so is bruising.

* Stiff upper-lip together with the others is common that lasts until few weeks.

Second to Fourth Week of nose job recovery time:

This is when things start to get back to normal. Bruising fades, the face is less sensitive and tender and there is less stuffiness. Swelling also usually is gone. Care should still be exercised because nose job recovery does not end when the bruises and swelling are gone.

It is best to stay away from situations like contact sports and any physical activity where the face becomes vulnerable. And also, if you’re thinking about revision rhinoplasty, most doctors advise their patients to wait at least a year. If you follow your doctor’s instructions, your nose job recovery time is well worth the new and beautiful you.