Nose Stiff After Rhinoplasty?
Many people mistakenly think of Rhinoplasty as a simple operation with quick recovery. This is generally true, but you can expect your nose to be stiff after Rhinoplasty.
Nose Stiff After Rhinoplasty?
Your body has a number of very complex internal mechanisms that deal with just about anything that can go wrong. What happens inside the body on a cellular and chemical level when you are cut or bruised or bumped or stabbed is remarkable when it is completely understood. However, there is one major problem. Your body’s internal mechanisms are not very intelligent or sentient. In other words, you can’t explain to them that Rhinoplasty is an operation designed to improve the appearance or improve breathing function.
The body is going to view your Rhinoplasty operation in the same way that it will view someone punching you in the nose or slicing at it with a knife. Most of the post-operative conditions that you will encounter will be the body’s normal reaction to injury. When you understand this principle, it is easier to deal with and understand what is happening. Pain is a good example. The purpose of pain is to signal your body that something is amiss. Well, something is certainly amiss. Your nose has been sliced up by a surgeon. You do not need this warning from your body, but your body does not know this and so it warns away.
Swelling and bruising are the same. They are caused by internal bleeding and the reactions of the body tissue to trauma. The fact that the trauma is controlled and surgical does not matter to the body. It still reacts in its normal fashion. These body reactions are anticipated and normal, and the surgeon does his best to minimize them. In most cases, the body does its work and the conditions rapidly disappear with just a little bit of time.
Nasal stiffness is much the same. It is most likely caused by the body sending a physical signal that something is wrong. Stiffness, like pain, is often a way the body warns us of injury. When an injured limb is stiff, for example, we will tend to use it less and protect it more. In a vast majority of cases, this stiffness will go away as time passes and healing occurs. The body is used to the changes that have been made and the feeling of stiffness goes away.
These are some cases where the nose will feel somewhat stiff and unnatural for a long time. This is because a major change has taken place, and it is as if the body just will not accept it. Although permanent discomfort and stiffness occurs in only a very small percentage of Rhinoplasty procedures, it is usually mentioned during the discussion of potential complications. This allows the patient to weigh the cosmetic or functional improvements against any potential risks in the most honest fashion.
