Blocked feeling lasts several weeks.
Facial plastic surgeons and rhinologists understand a rhinoplasty to be a major surgical operation on the face involving bone, cartilage and mucosal linings. One of the physically most challenging symptoms that patients experience after rhinoplasty is a feeling of severe nasal blockage. Patients want to know: How long will my nose be stuffy or blocked? The solution is quite simple: the nose will feel blocked due to internal splints for 1 week. The patients can have the after-feeling of the blocked nose caused by the swelling of internal tissues, which may last for 6 to 12 weeks, and which is not continuous but fluctuating.
At Lin Health Europe Clinic, post-surgical congestion is considered by us as an inevitable biological healing phase. We tell our international tourists to Turkey that the congestion is not a surgical mistake but rather an protective inflammatory reaction. The facility offers the latest ultrasonic rhinoplasty to help you achieve your cosmetic goals and the prompt reopening of your natural breathing pathway.
In The First Week: Internal Splints and Silicone Supports
The rhinoplasty leaves your nose almost completely stuffed up. This is a result of the nasal packing and, in some cases, the internal silicone splints that the surgeon uses for the protection of the nose. These splints are like an internal ‘cast’ that keeps the septum straight and prevents the formation of a hematoma between the mucosal layers. After the 1st week, they will be removed. Until then you will be a mouth breather.
At Lin Health Europe Clinic in Turkey we use Doyle-style silicone splints very thin, which have a small breathing tube, this can get blocked due to surgical crusting. It is only after the removal of these splints (usually on day 7) that patients experience a dramatic but very brief sudden influx of air.
Subsequent to The Removal of The Splint: Mucosal Edema (Weeks 2–6)
When the splints are out, many of the patients assume that they will be able to breathe well, but the nose can still feel as if it is “stuffed” after several hours. It happens because of mucosal edema – the swelling of the nose lining itself. Since the tissues inside the nose have been injured, the turbinates that help in air humidification become large and inflamed.
At times, this congestion is “reactive,” that is, it shifts from one nostril to the other and/ or worsens when lying down. Staff at our clinic will make sure that you understand this is the stage of active neocollagenesis and remodeling. Literally, your internal airway is being “hurried” by its healing response, a process that gradually comes to an end with the stabilization of the vascular system.
The Function of Crusting and Saline Rinsing
A major part of the “stuffed” feeling comes from surgical crusting or the deposition of dried blood and mucus. These crusts need to be properly handled, or else they will harden and subsequently block the already narrow nasal passages.
At Lin Health Europe Clinic we won’t let you go without following a Saline Irrigation Protocol. Gentle saline spraying or washing with a neti-pot style multiple times a day is one of the most important procedures from a clinical standpoint. This moisture helps to loosen the crusts so that they can be removed safely without causing any trauma to the healing incisions. Our international guests in Istanbul are made aware that a clean nose is a breathing one; thus, scrupulous hygiene during the first month is the surest way to “de-clog” your recovery.
How Long Before Breathing Will Be Like “Usual”?
The duration before one can say that the breathing is “normal” is generally longer than the duration before one can say that the appearance is “normal”. People at work may be of the opinion that you are fully recovered at the end of 1 month, but in reality, your internal airway is still going through subtle changes.
- 1 Month: Most patients feel about 60-70% restored.
- 3 Months: Majority of the internal swelling is gone; breathing feels mostly “normal.”
- 1 Year: Complete final maturation of the tissues.
Clinical Warning: Strict criteria must be adhered to to avoid using over-the-counter decongestant nasal sprays (like Afrin) during this period. They may provide relief instantly, but they, in fact, make you more congested when their effect disappears. Their continuous use results in permanent damage to your nasal lining, thus causing serious complications to your rhinoplasty results.
Rhinoplasty in Turkey
At Lin Health Europe Clinic, we maintain that the triumph of a rhinoplasty is not solely based on your good looks but also on your breathing. Our clinic in Turkey will be where you breathe clearly, and your beauty will reach its peak. At our clinic, piezo or ultrasonic technology is used for a minimally invasive procedure, thus causing fewer people seasonal reactions of swelling and trauma after the operation. State-of-the-art, JCI-accredited hospitals where we give priority to the global health standards are the places where we perform our first-class operations that rival our worldwide names in medical tourism.
Selecting Lin Health Europe Clinic means selecting the team of surgeons in Istanbul who always keep their long-term airway health goals in mind. Your 3D respiratory analysis is only your first visit, and the clear breathing reveal will be your last experience of the exquisite professional rigor and the elite hospitality that have made us the leading name in aesthetic medicine. With us, you will be managed by the very best in the world to have a journey to your beautiful and functional nose.
FAQ:
The main blockage will obviously be during the first 7 days while the internal silicone splints are still in place. After removing them in Turkey, you will get a changing “stuffy” feeling for an extra 4 to 8 weeks as your internal mucosal tissues are healing and the swelling is gradually going down.
You must not blow your nose sharply for at least 3 to 4 weeks after the surgery. The mechanical force of blowing can cause very bad epistaxis (nosebleeds), it can break the small delicate stitches inside, and it can also push air into the tissues around the face leading to infection or additional swelling.
If you lie flat, then blood and interstitial fluid from the face and head move by force of gravity and as a result, there is “postural edema” of the nasal turbinates. We require you at our clinic in Istanbul to sleep with the head at an angle of 2 pillows for the first month to reduce this type of congestion.
If during the operation, you had the functional septoplasty or turbinate reduction done at our clinic, then your breathing in the long-term will be greatly improved. Still, you have to allow 3 months for recovery, as at first, due to surgical inflammation the breathing may be more difficult than the original condition.
It is usual to have some whistling or “clicking” sounds from inside during the first weeks. They are caused by internal crusting or minor holes in the healing mucosal tissue. Such sounds almost always disappear if you keep using the saline irrigation and the lining of the airway is smooth and clean again.
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Constantian, M. B. (1994). The incompetent external nasal valve: effects and treatment. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Guyuron, B. (2008). Rhinoplasty. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Tebbetts, J. B. (1999). Primary Rhinoplasty: A New Approach to the Logic and the Techniques.
Daniel, R. K. (2010). Mastering Rhinoplasty: A Comprehensive Atlas of Surgical Techniques. Springer.
