Possible complications

Short-term complications (less than 1 month)

Infection

This usually occurs between 2 to 4 weeks post-operative. This is manifested by redness and edema of the nose appearing suddenly as the nose begins to deflate. It has a rare complication rate of 3% and can cause aesthetic sequelae if it is not treated appropriately.

Skin suffering

This is a very rare complication that generally concerns patients with very deteriorated skin attributable to many operations. This risk is significantly increased in case of smokers and those with a history of injecting hyaluronic acid into the nose.

Long-term complications (more than 1 month)

Disappointment in unsatisfactory aesthetic result

Rhinoplasty is an intervention of great technical difficulty, with intense healing and retraction phenomena that will come into play in the surgical consequences, especially in the case of secondary rhinoplasty or significant nasal reduction.
It therefore happens that the result does not live up to the expectations of the patients.

Asymmetry of the nose

During a rhinoplasty, the surgeon always ensures the perfect symmetry of the structures at the very end of the procedure.
Unfortunately, it often happens that with healing, tissues lose their symmetry in the months following the operation, a fortiori on a very asymmetrical base nose.
The most frequent asymmetries are located at the level of the tip, the wings of the nose and the nostrils.
It should be noted that in the vast majority of cases, post-operative asymmetry was already present before the operation.

Residual nasal deviation

Grafts that may be put in place, especially in secondary rhinoplasty, can twist in the weeks following the operation, especially in the case of a rib graft, and lead to a deviation of the nose.

Dorsal irregularity

As in an unoperated nose, it is common - and normal - to feel the underlying osteocartinous structure.
In the case of bone callus, structural asymmetry and displaced graft, it will be easily felt with the finger.

Scars and grafts

It is normal to feel the grafts that have been used to strengthen the deficit cartilage.
In the same way, endonasal scars can be felt with the finger.