Risks & complications

Possible complications

A rhinoplasty, although performed for essentially aesthetic reasons, is nonetheless a genuine surgical operation, which entails the risks associated with any medical procedure, however minor.

A distinction must be made between complications linked to anesthesia and those linked to the surgical procedure, which is different from dissatisfaction.

As far as anesthesia is concerned, during the consultation, the anesthesiologist will inform the patient of the risks involved. It should be noted that anaesthesia induces reactions in the body that are sometimes unpredictable, and more or less easy to control: the fact of having recourse to a perfectly competent anaesthetist, practising in a truly surgical context within a recognized and sufficiently equipped care establishment (recovery room, intensive care unit) means that the risks incurred have become statistically almost negligible.

Indeed, techniques, anaesthetics and monitoring methods have progressed immensely over the last 20 years, offering optimum safety, especially when the procedure is performed in a non-emergency situation and on a person in good health.

As far as the surgical procedure is concerned: by choosing a surgeon trained in this type of operation, you can limit these risks as much as possible, without, however, eliminating them altogether.

Fortunately, real complications are rare following a rhinoplasty performed in accordance with the rules. In practice, the vast majority of procedures go off without a hitch, and patients are fully satisfied with their results.
However, despite their rarity, you should be aware of possible complications:

Bleeding: this may occur in the first few hours, but usually remains very moderate. If they are too heavy, they may require further meching, or even a return to the operating room.
Hematomas: may require evacuation if large or painful.
Infection : despite the natural presence of microbes in the nasal cavity, this is extremely rare.
In the event of infection, appropriate treatment should be sought rapidly.
Unsightly scars: these can only be external scars (when they exist), and are rarely so unsightly as to require further surgery.
Skin lesions: although rare, they are always possible, often as a result of the nasal splint. Simple wounds or erosions heal spontaneously without leaving any trace, unlike skin necroses, which are fortunately exceptional and often leave a small scar.

Perforated septum, in the event of damage to the nasal mucosa, leading to wheezing and repeated crusting.

Olfactory disturbances: these are usually transient, and in exceptional cases have been described as permanent.

In conclusion, it's important not to overestimate the risks, but simply to be aware that any surgical procedure, however apparently simple, always involves a small degree of uncertainty.

Imperfect results

They may result from a misunderstanding of the goals to be achieved, or arise from unusual scarring phenomena or unexpected tissue reactions, such as spontaneous skin redraping or retractile fibrosis. If these minor imperfections are not well tolerated, they can be corrected by a surgical touch-up, which is generally much simpler than the initial operation, both from a technical point of view and in terms of postoperative follow-up. However, such a touch-up should not be performed before several months have elapsed, in order to act on tissue that has stabilized and reached a good level of scar maturation.