If you’re investigating a rhinoplasty surgery, you likely already know the results of how long the surgery will last. A rhinoplasty is a surgery that involves the reconstruction of the actual cartilage and structure of the nose, and the change is permanent. However, no surgery can completely stop the natural process of aging. What should you know about how your rhinoplasty might change as you get older, and how can you best care for your face?
Rhinoplasty recovery stages
To best ensure a long-lasting, successful result from your rhinoplasty, it’s essential to understand how it will heal. Rhinoplasty recovery occurs in three stages of healing.
The first and second weeks
The first few weeks are the most crucial stage of recovery and are when you want to take the best care of yourself. Expect bruising, swelling, heavy gauze, and bandages on your nose. You’ll want to take time off work during this period and make sure you have help around the house.
Expect that you’ll have to sleep with your head elevated, wear buttoned shirts, change bandages, and avoid certain foods. Your surgeon will give you detailed instructions for post-surgical care.
The first six to eight months
After a week or two of rest, the worst of your bandages will come off. After that, you can return to your routine, though you should avoid strenuous exercise for a while. You can expect most of your swelling and bruising to go away in this period.
After a year
Though you’ll have long returned to your normal routine, it may take more time to recover. Your swelling will go down completely in one to two years following your surgery, and you’ll be able to see your final result.
Best age to get rhinoplasty surgery
People of all ages can safely get a rhinoplasty. While the surgery is most commonly performed between the ages of twenty to twenty-nine, it’s the most popular surgery for patients under the age of twenty. Rhinoplasty is also performed on older patients, though the focus is somewhat different.
Most don’t consider a rhinoplasty to be an anti-aging procedure, but a drooping, widened nose is a trait that makes your face appear older. A well-performed rhinoplasty can lift and reshape the nose for a more youthful appearance.
For young patients, the primary consideration is to wait until the face is fully developed before performing rhinoplasty—around the age of fifteen or sixteen for girls, or seventeen to eighteen for boys. Depending on the patient, the procedure could be attempted younger.
Once the face is developed, a rhinoplasty can be perfectly safe. Young people tend to heal faster and will bounce back from surgery faster, leaving you with as long as possible to enjoy your new nose. If you get rhinoplasty at a young age, however, you may be concerned about how it will look as you age.
What effect can aging have on your nose?
Again, no surgery can slow the course of time. Your face will change as you age — but will your rhinoplasty affect that?
As we age, the cartilage and soft tissues that support our noses weaken. Our noses will often widen or begin to droop. If your rhinoplasty was performed well, you should have nothing to worry about. However, rhinoplasty techniques were not as advanced in the past, and surgeons may not have understood the impact of more reductive rhinoplasties.
Most rhinoplasties are performed to make a nose look more petite and more feminine. In the past, many surgeons achieved this by outright removing cartilage or bone, compromising the structure of the nose. Over time, as the reduced cartilage and soft tissue left after a reductive rhinoplasty begins to weaken, the weakened nose can collapse without proper support.
Modern rhinoplasties are performed to be reconstructive rather than simply reductive. With these newer techniques, you can be confident that the results of your rhinoplasty will hold up to the test of time.
Revision rhinoplasty
If you had a rhinoplasty many years ago, you might start seeing negative signs of aging on your nose. Many patients who had more simple rhinoplasties in the past can get a revision rhinoplasty now. Even patients who have perfectly stable results can get a revision rhinoplasty if they’re not entirely happy with how their nose looks in time.
A revision rhinoplasty is a reoperation on the nose. During this surgery, it’s possible to strengthen the structure of the nose and fix any issues that may have arisen over the years.
Even if you’re not happy with a rhinoplasty you had in the past, you don’t have to live with unsatisfactory results. Doctor Rival is a board-certified surgeon and experienced performs some of the best reconstructive and revision rhinoplasty Toronto offers. Request a consultation with Dr. Rival today.