Tips for Adjusting to your Rhinoplasty Reflection

Thinking about your rhinoplasty procedure can sometimes cause stress and anxiety. It’s hard to imagine how your nose will look after surgery and many patients have trouble ‘seeing through’ the swelling to anticipate their rhinoplasty result. When you see your reflection in the mirror immediately following a nose job, the initial bruising and swelling may be concerning. Thankfully, at Profiles Beverly Hills, bruising and swelling are not a major component of healing and most patients feel comfortable with their appearance fairly quickly after surgery. In order to ensure a healthy and smooth recovery after rhinoplasty, follow these tips to help you get through the initial healing phase:

• Relax. Stressing out over how you look right after surgery will not help your nose heal any faster. In fact, stress can sometimes prolong your recovery. Try to relax during this time period. The bruising and swelling is only temporary and will resolve quickly. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids, pay attention to your nutrition, and get adequate amounts of sleep. Following the doctors’ instructions and keeping active rather than lying around will help speed up healing and get you back to life as quickly as possible. 

• Do not obsess over your reflection. Even after a complex facial cosmetic surgery like rhinoplasty, you are still the same you. Drs. Solieman and Litner advise all of their patients not to pick apart their reflections in the mirror every day in the first month after surgery. You may not look like a super model during the healing process, but you should be presentable within a week to ten days after surgery. Remember that time will take care of everything.

• Catch up your to-do list. Staying busy will help you get through the first week or two after surgery. Focus your attention on accomplishing tasks that will keep your mind off of your appearance. Distract yourself with productive activities throughout the day, or get lost in a book.

• Be patient. The first week after surgery, you may have some bruising and swelling. Within a very short period of time, your nose will look much better. Do not become discouraged if your nose does not look perfect right away. Remember that while you should soon like what you see within the first few weeks, it can sometimes take up to a whole year to see the final results of a rhinoplasty. Good things come to those who wait!

Overall, do your best to stay positive and realistic while your nose heals. Though it can be disconcerting to see your reflection at first, keeping a sense of humor and putting concerns in perspective will go a long way toward reducing anxiety and helping you get back to your normal routine. Optimism will pay off in the long run when you have achieved your goals and are happy with your new nose.

A helpful way to endure the weeks after rhinoplasty is to work with facial cosmetic surgeons who will provide the best nose job results. Do not rush into a procedure like rhinoplasty. The surgeons at Beverly Hills Profiles dedicate their professional lives to being the best rhinoplasty surgeons in the field. Other facial cosmetic surgeons have been known to travel to the Beverly Hills office in Los Angeles to undergo procedures by these two professionals. The doctors and their team at Beverly Hills Profiles are here to ensure you have a comfortable rhinoplasty experience before, during and after the procedure. Please feel free to call the office with any questions or to set up a consultation.