Rhinoplasty Surgery: Risks and Complications

All surgery has risks, including rhinoplasty. You may think that any procedure where they send you home right after must be completely safe. Wrong. I am not saying that rhinoplasty is dangerous for the average healthy individual, but that you have to consider that things can and occasionally do go wrong.

Rhinoplasty complications range from serious ones such as infection, bad reaction to anesthesia, excessive bleeding, and loss of the sense of smell to your just not liking how your new nose looks. You could conceivably have a heart attack or stroke during surgery caused by a bit of blood clot or other material that lodges in the heart or brain. These serious events happen very very rarely, but they can happen. Many of the complications from rhinoplasty are no different than those related to other types of major plastic surgery procedures, such as for breast augmentation.

Less serious rhinoplasty risks can also occur. Even when a highly skilled surgeon performs your surgery, your body may not heal correctly or you may have adverse reactions that could not be predicted in advance. You may end up needing revision rhinoplasty. Some patients will lose their sense of smell, temporarily. Although most swelling goes down within a few days, some swelling may remain for up to a year and in some patients for longer than that. In rare cases, the scar tissue may heal in a way that may cause a whistling sound to be heard when you breathe in and out. It isn't painful, but it can be truly annoying.

Many rhinoplasty patients end up with two black eyes for several days after surgery. It is possible to develop tiny red marks and spots on and around the nose caused by tiny blood vessels that may have burst under the skin during the surgery. In rare cases, the spots may not go away. Scarring is minimal if the incisions are made inside of the nose, however when an open rhinoplasty technique is used, or if extensive narrowing of the nostrils is desired the scars made on the outside of the nose may be quite visible until they fully mature, which can take months.

Depression After Surgery and Revision Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty has the highest rate of revisions of all cosmetic surgeries. This surgery is considered to be a type-changing surgery. It seems that some patients, especially older people having their nose changed, may not readily accept their new look. Being accustomed to their old nose and how they looked, they just can't seem to comfortably make the transition to the new nose.

There are many reports of depression after rhinoplasty. It has been reported that disrupting the sensitive nerve receptors in the nasal cavity can lead to minor disorientation and depression after rhinoplasty or septoplasty. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if this is the reason for any one person's psychological problems or whether they are due to the discomfort, being upset with all the bruises and swelling, or disliking the shape of the new nose. Becoming sad or depressed is not uncommon after any form of cosmetic surgery and is certainly not unheard of after any surgery.

If you feel yourself start to become depressed, discuss this with your surgeon or your regular physician. Get help.

You must remember it will take about a year for your nose to fully heal and show the final results, although most of the visible swelling resolves in a few months. Please be sure to choose your doctors wisely when it comes to revision rhinoplasty as secondary surgery is more difficult to perform due to scar tissue and less tissue to work with in general. In other words, it is easier to remove than to replace.

Risks of Rhinoplasty Anesthesia

You can find more information on our Anesthesia page.

Many of the risks of any kind of surgery are related to anesthesia. You could have an allergic reaction to one of the medications used during anesthesia. Causes of serious injury related to anesthesia are usually linked to the heart or respiratory system and most of them are rare and even less common with local anesthesia and sedation.

With general anesthesia, you could have an airway blockage that cuts off your oxygen supply, have a build-up of fluid in your lungs, or respiratory arrest, where you stop breathing. You could have a heart attack, a problem with the rhythm of your heartbeat or a serious rise or drop in blood pressure.

Your risks of having any kind of a problem due to anesthesia are very minimal, but they go up if you are a smoker or if you have any underlying health conditions such as diabetes, asthma or heart problems. Also, certain medications are known to interact with anesthetics. Make sure both your surgeon and whoever administers anesthesia to you has your complete medical history and a complete list of every medication you currently take or have taken in the past few months. This list should include vitamins and herbal products.