Complications of Rhinoplasty

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Michael Walker from Hill Country Plastic Surgery Center, and I'm here today on behalf of Expert Village, to talk to you about rhinoplasties, or nose jobs. What might the complications be? Well, typically after a rhinoplasty, you're going to have a little swelling, and you're going to have a little bruising. Those will usually last for about a week. Sometimes black eyes may occur if the bones have to be re-broken to straighten the nose. A little nosebleed is also frequently a problem for several days after, but nothing that won't stop with a little compression or some ice. Other problems are asymmetry, or different appearance of one side to the other. That's more common with people who have really, really traumatized noses and have a lot of scar tissue. Occasionally a patient will get an infection in the nose. That's usually treated with antibiotics. However, if the infection is severe, it can cause the cartilage in the nose to dissolve. And that will reduce support of the bridge of the nose and cause a saddle deformity, or a scoop. That requires another procedure to correct that, either with a cartilage or a bone or some sort of artificial implant."