Side Effects of Rhinoplasty Surgery in Los Angeles
Rhinoplasty is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures in Los Angeles since altering your nose can completely transform your appearance and confidence. Along with facelifts, rhinoplasty is one of our most requested procedures, especially since Dr. Aynehchi has performed hundreds of successful nose jobs that improved patients’ lives and wellbeings.
The photos of recovering rhinoplasty patients can be a bit scary with the bruising and swelling, so many people looking into the procedure may be scared away. However, bruising and swelling are going to be side effects of any kind of surgery.
Another thing rhinoplasty patients may notice is a loss of taste and smell after surgery. In present day, the loss of taste and smell is much more alarming than it was, say, five years ago. However, you have nothing to worry about.
Our Los Angeles facial plastic surgery specialists have compiled a list of side effects to experience with rhinoplasty below.
Loss of Taste or Smell
While your mind might immediately jump to contracting COVID during your procedure, losing your sense of smell or taste is a temporary side effect of rhinoplasty. In some cases, this may be permanent, but it’s extremely rare. If you are suffering from a loss of sense of smell or taste after a rhinoplasty procedure in LA, one of our doctors may be able to perform revision rhinoplasty to correct this issue.
Why would a rhinoplasty surgery in Los Angeles cause a loss of smell or taste? Understanding this issue first starts with understanding the nose.
When you inhale through your nose, the nerve endings on the inside of the nose can detect a scent as air passes by. They send these signals to the brain, which then puts a name to the scent. Scent and taste are closely related because the same molecules that have a smell will pass through the nose and to the back of the throat. This close relationship is why a stuffy nose from a cold will also result in the loss of taste.
Rhinoplasty is an extensive and invasive procedure that drastically affects the external and internal parts of the nose. Following your surgery, your nasal tissues may swell, which will affect the nasal cavity’s nerves and your nasal airways; therefore, molecules will not pass through the way it would if your nose was normal.
This swelling should reside in about two weeks as the rhinoplasty recovery process goes on. While these senses may still be traumatized, your sense of smell and taste should return in three to six weeks at most. Any rhinoplasty surgeon in Los Angeles will tell you that the complete healing process for a nose job will take six months to a year, so don’t worry if your sense of smell is still absent in the months following your treatment.
Rest assured, your nose job will be fully healed and all swelling will subside within the first year of your surgery. Once the swelling subsides, you will be able to see your new nose as it will permanently appear for the rest of your life. If you visit our gallery, you’ll see some of our proudest accomplishments in the world of rhinoplasty. We guarantee that you will be happy following your Los Angeles nose job experience.
As previously stated, a nose job is a surgery, and all surgery comes with complications. The loss of smell and taste is rare, and you are more likely to experience the following side effects.
Difficulty Breathing
Your Los Angeles rhinoplasty doctor should improve your breathing when operating on your nose; many choose to get a nose job for this reason. In fact, 98% of rhinoplasty patients surveyed by the University of Illinois report that their breathing improved post nose job.
If your breathing has gotten more difficult after getting rhinoplasty surgery, then this may be due to obstruction or collapse in the sides of the nose, which means your airways are obstructed. This can occur if your surgeon removed too much cartilage during your procedure. Our surgeons put an emphasis on reshaping instead of removing cartilage and bone, so this shouldn’t happen.
If this struggle to breathe nasally does not go away within a year of surgery, then you may need to contact a rhinoplasty specialist about getting a revision.
Infection at the Incision Site
Another risk of rhinoplasty surgery is developing an infection at the incision site. This is much more common than losing your sense of smell.
Because a nose job often involves cutting into the skin to give the surgeon access to your nasal tissues, cartilage, and bones, it’s possible that these incision sites become infected if they aren’t well cared for during the healing process.
In some cases, our cosmetic surgeons in Los Angeles will perform closed rhinoplasty, which involves minimal cutting and minimal risk of infection. This lowers the risk of complications. In certain cases, fillers can be used to perform a rhinoplasty procedure, eliminating incisions altogether. If you are nervous about the incisions that will be performed during your nose job, then please let our surgeon know because we can choose a procedure that will make you both comfortable and happy.
About Westside Face
We have won various awards for our rhinoplasty procedures, so you don’t have to worry about the outcome of your nose job. Westside Face employs double-board certified doctors extensively trained and educated in the art and science of the face. We develop a treatment plan that that’s unique to each individual patient where we can make small, but impactful, improvements.
Each patient that undergoes cosmetic enhancement at Westside Face can expect:
- Natural-looking changes
- Long-lasting results
- Shortest possible recovery time
Plastic surgery patients often want to return to their everyday life ASAP after a procedure, and our approach allows a speedy recovery. Minimal downtime plays a huge role in client satisfaction. Schedule a consultation with an aesthetic specialist at Westside Face today by calling 310-846-8519 or emailing appointments@westsideface.com.
