Rhinoplasty Recovery: Day Seven

Today I'm almost completely back to normal. I can eat, sleep and chat like before. 

My friends came round to the house on day 5 and I was out of steam by midnight. My friend, who didn't know about the surgery, looked so shocked to see me with plasters all over my face. She didn't believe me when I told her I'd had a nose job. All three friends were great about it and couldn't believe how well I looked. They were expecting black eyes and swelling, but nope.

The stitches seem to be made of a cotton-like material and they aren't as scary as I first thought. The tip of my nose isn't as sensitive, although either side of the bridge is still tender and I'm worried that the swelling won't go down. At this point I could leave the house, but I don't want people asking too many questions. I answered the door to the postman and he was shocked and worried about the splint, thinking that I'd been in an accident! 

I stopped taking Cocodamol on Day 3 as I suspected that they were making me feel quite ill. Other than one dose of paracetemol for a headache, which may or may not have been related to the surgery, I haven't taken any pain relief and have felt fine.

Three more days until I have the splint removed. I'm planning on meeting some friends from work for lunch afterwards, so that it's not so daunting going back to the office next week.

xx

Rhinoplasty - Medication, Stitches and Splint

Day four is much better than day three. I think it was more to do with the medication than the surgery. Voltarol is used to relieve pain and inflammation and my nurse advised me to discontinue use if I experienced any stomach upset or heartburn. I noticed both on the evening of day two and it continued into day three, so I stopped taking them. Yesterday, thirst, drowsiness and headache were added to the mix. My nose also felt very swollen and straining against the splint. From my reading prior to the operation, a few people said that they experienced the most pain on days two and three, so if this is all I get I'm grateful.

Today I've experienced no pain and no bruising. I can flare my nostrils a little, although it does feel a bit tight. Some people have reported numbness in the nose following the operation. It does feel a little different, like it's coming round from pins and needles. Have a look at my blog post on how to minimise bruising after Rhinoplasty. 

Stitches 
My stitches are dissolvable, which means they're made from natural  or synthetic material that the body can break down over time. The stitch will either fall out or will be removed by the doctor once the wound is closed.

I have a little portable torch and had a look at the inside of the nostril. You can see where quite a large incision was made on the septum in both nostrils. The stitches look pretty sturdy, which made me think that there is no way they will dissolve by themselves. I'll let you know. It also made me think what an amazing feat Closed Rhinoplasty is. How does the surgeon do so much work from inside your nose, leaving such small scars behind?

Splint
This is made of Plaster of Paris material, moulded round the nose. It runs from between my eyes to just above the tip of my nose and it is attached with plasters. The plasters will be sore to remove - as plasters usually are - but the splint should just lift off.