Whether you have a medical condition, like sleep apnea, caused by a deviated septum or you just feel self-conscious about the size, shape or symmetry of your nose, you could benefit from rhinoplasty at Soler Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Tampa, FL. Today, we’re revealing everything you need to know about this procedure, from how it works to what to expect afterward, to help you determine if it is appropriate for you.
What Happens During a Rhinoplasty Procedure?
What will happen during your rhinoplasty procedure depends primarily on the goal you are trying to accomplish. For example, if you are trying to augment your nose, Dr. Soler will remove cartilage from your nasal septum and implant it strategically to enhance the appearance of your nose. If you are seeking to correct a botched nose job, the cartilage may be taken from another part of your body, like your ear or rib.
During your initial consultation, Dr. Soler will determine the appropriate technique necessary to give you the aesthetic and functional results you’re looking for. Once he knows this, he will review what will happen during the procedure in greater detail.
How Long Will the Procedure Take?
This also is dependent primarily on the goal you are trying to accomplish. If you are looking to correct a botched nose job or reconstruct a broken nose, the procedure may take between 2.5 and three hours. Contrastingly, if you are simply trying to enhance the appearance of your nose, your procedure may only take an hour or two.
Will My Nose Be Broken During the Procedure?
Nearly every nose job we perform is completed without breaking the nose. Noses are only broken during rhinoplasties when doing so is absolutely necessary due to an extremely significant change needed to the shape of the nose.
Even if you come in for an extensive reconstructive procedure, most of the time, we are able to shift your nose into a more favorable position without having to break it further before repairing it. During your initial consultation, we will assess the physical structure of your nose and discuss your aesthetic and functional goals to determine if we need to break your nose during your procedure.
Will the Procedure Hurt?
You will experience neither pain nor discomfort during your procedure. Depending on the extent of the correction that needs to be made, you may receive general anesthesia or local anesthesia in conjunction with sedation.
General anesthesia is a medication that both numbs the entire body and puts you to sleep. It is delivered intravenously. Local anesthesia is injected and causes localized numbness but does not cause sleep. A sedative will be used to put you to sleep.
What Happens After the Procedure?
After the procedure, you will be observed before you are sent home to ensure that you are alert enough to go home. Once we have ensured that you are adequately alert, we will review your post-op instructions with you one final time.
How Long Does it Take to See the Results of the Procedure?
Everyone’s skin heals after a procedure differently. However, you can expect to wait approximately 12 to 14 months after your rhinoplasty to see the final results. This is because it takes up to 14 months for your skin to heal and your cartilage and skin to settle into their final resting place. Furthermore, most people find that they must wait between four and six weeks to see the initial results of the procedure.
What Can I Do to Make My Recovery Process Smoother?
During your initial consultation and after your procedure, we will provide you with a comprehensive list of post-op instructions. If you follow these instructions to the letter, you will experience a much smoother, shorter recovery. Here are the most important things you can do to make your recovery smoother:
Listen to Your Body
After any procedure, the best thing you can do for your recovery process is to listen to your body. If you are feeling constipated, eat more fiber. If you are feeling thirsty or sluggish, drink more water. If you are feeling peckish, eat a snack and if you are feeling tired, take a nap.
Your body knows what it needs to heal faster. If you listen to it, you will have a much smoother recovery. If you’re not sure how to listen to your body, the most important thing you can do is listen to Dr. Soler.
Listen to Dr. Soler
Whether you are in tune with your body’s needs or not, it is imperative that you follow each of Dr. Soler’s post-op instructions to the best of your abilities. This is so important that he will review post-op care instructions with you and if you don’t feel confident you can abide by the rules you may be deemed a poor candidate for the procedure.
If you have any questions at all, it is crucial that you call and ask if it is safe for you to do something. Otherwise, you may end up slowing your recovery process considerably. The timeline for when you can resume your usual activities is fairly set in stone. For example, it’s a bad idea to do anything that can elevate your blood pressure for the first six weeks post-op even if you feel antsy when you don’t lift weights.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is always important for your health. It is even more important when you have undergone a cosmetic or medical procedure. To ensure that you are adequately hydrated, check your urine to verify that it is translucent or an extremely pale yellow. If it is dark yellow or brown, you are severely dehydrated and need to focus on the intake of more fluids.
If you find it difficult to sleep throughout the night due to excessive urination, try to intake most of your fluids early in the day. Start tapering your fluid intake in the middle of the afternoon until you stop drinking four hours before bed. You may want to add a little extra sodium to your diet. Just be aware of your total daily sodium intake. Most people experience elevated blood pressure after consuming two grams of sodium within a day.
Take a Full Course of Antibiotics
Another incredibly important thing to do for the sake of your recovery process is to take a full course of antibiotics exactly as prescribed. Before your procedure, the incision sites will be sanitized with an alcohol-based antiseptic. The tools used to perform the procedure will also be sterilized, and the procedure will be performed in a sterile room. There is no risk of infection during your procedure.
However, if you do not keep the incision locations adequately dry and clean, you may expose yourself to a harmful virus or bacterium. To mitigate your risk of contracting an infection after your procedure, it is absolutely crucial that you take your antibiotics post-op. An illness could set your recovery back weeks.
Eat Plenty of Cruciferous Vegetables and High-Fiber Fruits
After your procedure, you may choose to take prescription opioids to ensure your comfort during your recovery process. However, a potential side effect of these potent painkillers is constipation. To mitigate your risk of uncomfortable bloating and constipation, stay hydrated, and eat foods containing plenty of soluble fiber. The fruits and vegetables you eat should have approximately three grams of soluble fiber for every gram of insoluble fiber for the best results.
Walk Regularly
Your skin and cartilage tissues heal after a nose job because the platelets in your blood contain human growth factors that tell your body to heal itself. To ensure the fastest recovery process possible, make sure you are walking regularly to keep your circulatory strong. A strong circulatory system will deliver your nose all the growth factors, water, and nutrients it needs to heal rapidly.
Remember, it is absolutely imperative that you keep your blood pressure within a normal range during the first six weeks post-op. Therefore, you should be walking at a light- to moderate-intensity rate. In other words, you should be able to sing while you walk. If you can’t even hold a conversation, your intensity is too great and you need to ease up on the pace.
Keep Your Shoulders Back and Head Up As Much As Possible
In addition to not engaging in strenuous exercise, you should keep your nose as immobile as possible. Even simple movements, like bending over, can apply an excessive amount of pressure on your nose.
Furthermore, to prevent excessive nasal pressure, you should not blow your nose for the first six weeks post-op. If you feel congestion, take a decongestant or spray saline up the affected nostril.
Sleep on Your Back
Another important thing you must do during your recovery process is to sleep on your back. If you sleep on your stomach, even if you use a neck pillow, you will put too much pressure on your healing bones. Sleeping on one side or another is also less than ideal due to the pressure that would be placed on your nose.
If you usually sleep on your side, we recommend that you try sleeping on your back for the first six weeks pre-op. If you normalize sleeping on your back before your procedure, your quality of sleep will be much greater after your procedure. If you tend to toss and turn in your sleep, sleep in a recliner or use rolled-up towels on both sides of you to prevent you from rolling over in your sleep.
Keep Your Head Elevated
A lot of your recovery will be spent sitting or lying down. It is easy to keep your nose elevated above your heart when you are sitting. However, unless you sleep with at least two pillows under your head, your nose may not be elevated above your heart when you sleep. To ensure a smooth recovery, make sure there are at least two pillows under your head when you lie down.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is another one of the most important things you can do to ensure a quick, comfortable recovery. We strongly encourage our clients to sleep for at least nine hours a night and take naps whenever they feel tired. During the first five to seven days of your recovery process, use blackout curtains to ensure your bedroom is dark even when the sun comes up and do not set any alarms on your phone. White noise also promotes adequate sleep.
Learn More About This Life-Changing Procedure Today
If you have been self-conscious about your nose for as long as you can remember, you are probably a good candidate for rhinoplasty. To learn more about what to expect during and after the procedure, or discover if you are an ideal candidate, please contact our experts now at Soler Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Tampa, FL to book an appointment.