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Before The Nose Job

Before getting a nose job or rhinoplasty, your doctor will want to examine your current condition, take a few photographs, discuss your options, and then walk you through the procedure.

The photographs will enable both you and your doctor to decide on the best shape for your face and health.

Part of the examination will take your age into account because patients under the age of 14-15 (for females) and 16 (for males) haven't reached the required puberty growth spurt.

Discussions regarding anesthesia occur beforehand, and, assuming that all goes well, you should receive a set of guidelines for eating a proper diet, resting, and taking medication before coming in for the surgery. Pre-surgery smoking and/or drinking is entirely out of the question.

During The Operation Itself

There are several ways to perform a nose job, and your surgeon will determine the best approach after making a thorough initial diagnosis.

Either through an internal entry or external incision, skin is removed from the bone and cartilage that supports the nose so that portions of the underlying skeleton can be extracted or added to.

Once the desired shape is acquired, the skin is replaced with surface layers from another part of the body or with a synthetic material. To help secure the new shape, the nose is held in place with a splint and stabilized with dressing.

After The Nose Job

Immediately following surgery, you will not be allowed to drive home even though you may feel fine, so make sure to bring a friend or family member to chauffeur you home. This is a precautionary measure reinforced for your safety because soon after, you will experience some swelling and pain (especially headaches).

Following the surgery, you should lie down with your head elevated for the entire day and take your prescribed pain relievers and/or antibiotics.

In the next few days, your eyes may appear swollen and bruised. Rest assured that this is a normal reaction and that they will return to their natural state on or near day four of your post-operative care.

Those who've undergone extensive surgery, however, may experience bleeding, but this is also normal result.

As long as you refrain from doing strenuous activities for two to three weeks following, you should be able to return to work or school after only seven days - the time in which your doctor will remove any splints or stitches applied during surgery.

Do not expose your nose to the sun, and never blow your nose for the first week after surgery. Follow your postoperative hygiene instructions and keep all your follow-up visits to the doctor.

Failing to follow these directions opens your sensitive condition to risks that could delay or complicate the healing process. This is because while in post-operation, your nose is extremely vulnerable to things like displacement or infection.