If you wonder what is the most popular cosmetic surgery around the world, the answer is simple – it is the nose job, or in more scientific terms, rhinoplasty. If you are unhappy with the size or the shape of your nose or if you want the improve nasal breathing, correct your nose after trauma, stop snoring or have any other medical condition which need to be fixed, that is something you should consider. The surgery’s results are permanent, but also invasive to your body, so the biggest question is will I have scars after rhinoplasty? The answer is yes, but it, of course, depends on the type of surgery performed.
Scars after rhinoplasty
Is there something like a surgery which does not leave you with a scar? Not really. Anytime an incision or any kind of damage are made to your skin, the body’s natural response is to create scar tissue to heal the wound. After new cells in the damaged skin remove the dead cells, a temporary protective structure is formed, which is composed of randomly places collagen. Eventually, that is replaced by a permanent arrangement of tissue resembling the lost tissue. At the beginning, the scar may be reddish and itchy, however, with time it flattens and become more like the surrounding skin. In very rare cases, the body may produce too much scar tissue that will further cause healing problems. In general, it is possible sometimes that the scar tissue will be remade and minimalized by a plastic surgeon.
There are two ways of performing nose surgery, i.e. an open rhinoplasty and a closed rhinoplasty. The former involves a small incision between nostrils on the underside of the nose allowing better access to the tip of the nose and the lower and middle third of the nose. The closed rhinoplasty or so-called endonasal rhinoplasty does not leave any visible skin incisions, as the surgeon makes small lacerations inside of the nostrils.
Forming scar tissue will appear where the incisions had been made and it may become more noticeable if you do not take a proper care of your healing nose. The place where most likely the excessive scar tissue may develop is the nasal tip, as this area may become swollen or bulbous after surgery. You should let your surgeon know straight away about any concerns you may have in regard to the potential scar tissue.
What to avoid after rhinoplasty in order to heal your incisions properly
Infection
While your skin is healing, a little redness and itchiness are absolutely normal. However, the wounds will not heal properly in case of the infection. The cut may get bigger as the skin will pull away from the healing part and instead of healing it, your body will be fighting the bacteria causing the damage. That may result in prolonged scarring and development of excessive scar tissue.
Sun exposure
You should avoid sun up to one year after the surgery, as scars are very sensitive to sunlight and the healing skin may easily get sunburned. UV rays will definitely make the scar tissue darker and thicker and this discoloured skin may never brighten enough to match the hue of the healthy tissue around it.
Smoking
Typically, the healing process of smokers takes longer and there may be more complications after surgical procedure, due to the lower level of oxygen and toxic constituents of cigarettes in blood. Oxygen helps greatly in the process of creating scar tissue, and cigarettes diminish greatly transportation and metabolism of oxygen at the cellular level.
Damaged skin
To reduce the risk of having big scars, you should take good care of your skin and prevent its dryness and roughness. Proper moisturizing of the incision area will speed the healing process and help to protect the skin and appearance of scars.
Age
As your body gets older, it needs more time to mend itself after any kind of injury, although it does not automatically mean that after you are of certain age you cannot have the rhinoplasty. The only concern is that older skin is less elastic and supple and due to that fact, it is harder to heal, which may also heighten the risk of scarring from a wound.
Allergic reactions
To avoid any kind of allergic reaction preventing quick healing of the wounds, you should inform your surgeon in advance. Irritation, rash or infection of the wound may be the effect of adverse reaction to the postoperative supplies or even to the instruments used while performing the surgery.
Minimizing rhinoplasty scars
How to minimize rhinoplasty scars?
Knowing what to avoid during your recuperation will help you in the healing process. Your surgeon will provide you with instructions how to proceed after the surgery, but below you will find few steps you should take to avoid chances of getting a visible scar after the rhinoplasty procedure.
Watch out for infections
Redness, soreness, a little swelling and warmth are typical after the surgery and they should be gone within a week after the procedure. Small blood drainage is also nothing to be worried. However, there are few signs that your wound is infected, i.e. oozing smelly pus, fever, lingering pain and redness, tenderness and hotness of the wound’s area. If you have any of the above, contact your doctor straight away. Majority of the infections are treatable with antibiotics, but when ignored, they will cause excessive scarring and may be even life-threatening.
Clean the incision site
Proper wound cleansing is extremely important, as it speeds your wound’s healing. Remaining debris and crusty discharge may cause irritation as well as bacterial infection, which will slow down the healing process and skin over the incision.
Control swelling
Swelling and warmth around your wound after surgery are normal, meaning that your skin is healing. Ice packs will help you to control those and will bring much-needed relief. Uncontrolled swelling may cause pulling apart your sutures and slow down the healing.
Avoid strenuous activity for a week
To make sure that your nose will heal properly, follow this advice – take it easy on you. Try to avoid exercising, picking up heavy weights, bending or any activity that may result in nose trauma.
Stay out of the Sun
Direct sunlight should be avoided at least for a year after the procedure, as it may darken your scar and make the healing tissue thicker than the surrounding area. Your scar is also much more prone to sunburns, so keep that in mind and use the highest SPF available.
In most cases, you do not have to worry about the scars, as a majority of surgeries are done inside of the nose rather than on the outside. Rhinoplasty scar’s healing time may vary among the patients, however, an experience of the plastic surgeon and taking good care of the wound will prevent having a visible scar. That said this article is about making you aware of the risks not to dampen your resolution and excitement of having your dream nose done.
Call !
If you think about cheap rhinoplasty, you should definitely take into consideration surgical procedure abroad. Rhinoplasty abroad, especially rhinoplasty in Poland, is not only affordable for everybody but also safe, as our surgeons have years of experience and they work in top-notch clinics in the biggest Polish cities where you can travel from around the world. That said, considering your next holiday destination, you may also think about affordable rhinoplasty we can organize for you.
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Klaudia has been working for a medical tourism company as a patient advisor for years. She has been helping a lot of patients from the UK, the USA, Scandinavia and many other countries. She knows very well foreign patients needs and she does her best to help them.
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