How To Tape Nose After Rhinoplasty?
How to tape nose after rhinoplasty? You finally had surgery on your nose. Except for the swelling, it looks like the main results are what you wanted. Now you can finally show everyone your new nose, but can you?
The doctor says you’ll have to use those white tapes to cover your nose for a while. With tapes that look like bandages in the middle of your face after a nose job, it’s hard not to stand out. So, you might be wondering if you don’t have to tape at all.
Even doctors don’t agree on whether or not nose tapes are necessary after rhinoplasty. Most nose job surgeons agree that it is an important part of care after surgery. For others, it just depends on the shape of the patient’s nose and how thick their skin is. So, it’s up to your surgeon to decide if you need it or not, since it depends on how your nose looks and what your surgeon prefers.
Follow your doctor’s orders, even if that means putting on and reapplying nasal tapes for a few weeks after surgery.
How To Tape Nose After Rhinoplasty Step By Step
Surgeons who suggest taping after rhinoplasty usually do so because they think it will help the swollen skin wrap down quickly on the bone underneath. Also, one study suggests that wearing tapes after rhinoplasty can help your mind “bridge” the gap between your old look and your new one.
As with how they do surgery, different doctors have different ways of taping. How you tape your nose after rhinoplasty will also depend on the shape of your nose and how thick your skin is. Still, the basics of taping after a nose job are pretty much the same. You need to clean the area well with soap and water before getting in.
Tape Nasal Bridge First
Your doctor might start at the tip of your nose. Again, it will depend on what he or she wants and what kind of nose you have. Take 3–5 pieces of tape to tape the bridge of your nose (about 2 inches each). We suggest putting the first stripe on the swollen area above the tip of the nose and continuing up the nose.
Each stripe should go over part of the one before it. As you put the tape on, it’s also important to slightly squeeze the area so that it sticks well.
Tape The Tip Of Nose
Now, get a piece of tape that is longer. Making a “U” shape, wrap around the bottom of the tip while pulling the tip slightly up. Try not to cover your nose with your hand. You should not cover the top part of your nose tip. Depending on what kind of surgery you’re having, you may or may not have to pinch the tip area.
How To Remove Nasal Tapes?
After two to three weeks, you should change the tapes every two to three days. Note that taking off nasal tapes is just as important as putting them on. Since your nose won’t be fully healed for at least two months after surgery, the skin is too thin and you shouldn’t pull the tapes off too quickly.
Rhinoplasty splints, also called nose splints, are two silicone or aluminum devices that are put inside or outside the nose of a patient after a nose surgery. The purpose of these things is to help the patient’s nose keep its new shape. No matter if the surgery was inside or outside the nose, putting on nose splints is an important part of post-operative care that speeds up the healing process.
Tape Vs. Splints After Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty and septoplasty are the two main nose surgeries that need nose splints. Rhinoplasty is surgery on the nose that can improve the way it looks or how it works, or both. Both internal and external splints are used for this kind of surgery. Septoplasty is a surgery to fix the nasal septum, which is the cartilage that separates the two sides of the nose. After a septoplasty, you need internal splints.
After nose surgery, the septum, nose, or nostrils change in shape and size. Nasal splints are used to protect the nose’s new shape and keep the bones from moving while they get used to their new size and shape. They would hold the nose’s bones in place so that the nose’s shape wouldn’t change.
They stop hematomas from getting bigger. At the same time, internal splints keep the skin of the nose away from the bones. Because of this distance, there is no room for hematomas, which are pockets of blood.
As using nasal splints is part of the after-care for rhinoplasty, there are no specific rules about it. It’s better to use a saline nasal spray in the nostrils so that you can have a better, easier time and avoid getting crusty. Be gentle with your nose until you can see your doctor and get your nose splints taken off.