After the nose surgery

You can usually get out of bed with the support of a nurse only a few hours after the surgery. You should try to stand up. A little walking the day after will help to reduce swelling even more.

• To avoid postoperative bleeding, try not to sneeze. If you do have to sneeze, sneeze through the open mouth.

• Clean the edges of your nostrils the day after the surgery to remove bloody rind.For this, use a Q-Tip that has been dipped into hydrogen peroxide. In doing so, do not manipulate the inside of the nose.

• Taking a shower and washing your hair is possible the day after the surgery.But, the nose splint cannot get wet. Get help when washing your hair.

• The nose splint will be removed on, approximately, the 10^th postoperative day.When the nose splint is removed, the nose can obviously be washed. In doing so, you should be utterly careful and you should use lukewarm water and mild soap. Do not rub your skin dry, pat it dry carefully. Important: Do not apply pressure to the nose.

• The nose will have made significant progress in the 10 days after the surgery.Yet, the nose will still be swollen, which is the reason why you will not be able to see the end results immediately. The majority of the swelling will quickly subside in the following days or weeks. However, in individual cases it can take up to one year until the last five percent of the swelling has subsided.

• The inside of the nose will also be swollen.This leads to difficulties in breathing, which gets better in time. Decongestant nasal spray can be regularly used in the first 10 days after the surgery. The inside of the nose should be nourished with oily ointments for at least 4 weeks.

• In general, you will get sick leave for 2-3 weeks after a nose surgery.For your stay in the hospital you will automatically get a stay certificate when you leave, which is accepted as a sick leave by your employer and health insurance. For the days after you have to get a medical sick certificate from your otolaryngologist or any other doctor.

It is recommended that your diet is low in salt in the first few days.Too much salt causes a redistribution of fluidity in your body, which can provoke additional or persistent swelling.

After surgery there will always be swellings. Although, I can and I will have an impact on the extent of the swelling. I care about gentle surgical techniques and start taking countermeasures during the surgery. Of course, the extent of the swelling depends on what kind of operations has to be performed on each specific nose.

A swollen tip of the nose usually endures longer than a swollen nasal bridge. A “foreign” or “firm” sensation in the tip of the nose is normal and will usually recede in the course of the first 12 months.

You can help to minimize the swelling. Immediately after the surgery you should cool your eyes. This relaxes your skin and reduces swelling. Apply ice packs (preferably crushed ice) to the eyes and cheeks in the first 48 hours after the nose surgery. Keep your head raised. For this, the upper body must be kept in an elevated position. At night, you should sleep with a second pillow.

The surgical suture material is self-absorbing, which means that it dissolves during the first 3-6 weeks and does not have to be removed. I use transparent sutures. If sutures at the nasal bridge are necessary, they will also absorb completely. Sutures that cause irritation or small inflammations can be carefully removed 14 days after the surgery.

A nose tamponade is rarely necessary when doing rhinoplasties. Nose tamponades prevent small secondary bleeding in the first couple of hours after the surgery. The tamponades have a very smooth and non-sticking surface, so that they can be removed without causing any pain at the end of the day of the surgery or the morning after.