Rhinoplasty – Nasal Packing Removal

Hi everyone,

I am just awaiting my surgery date to be confirmed with Dr Sleiter for a closed Septo-Rhinoplasty. Having watched lots of video blogs of people’s journey and reading lots of articles online, none of the actual surgery phases me except for… the removal of the nasal packing a few days later.

I’ve read lots of horror stories online that the removal of the nasal packing is the worst and most painful part of the whole process, and it’s making me feel a bit sick at the thought! It certainly looks unpleasant.

Can anyone on here who has had a rhinoplasty share their experience with nasal packing removal? Is it possible to have some kind of numbing done to ease the pain or discomfort?

Thanks!

Hey! You must be soo excited for your surgery I know it was the best thing I ever done. I was the same, so worried about the removal of the nasal packagings, very dramatic to be honest when I had that appointment, I built myself up to think the worse but honestly it was over within minutes and there was no pain at all. I had open rhinoplasty and my surgeon was Dr Andrea, I’m not sure if surgeons use different nasal packagings or if open/closed rhino makes a difference but from my experience it was very easy and pain free!
Best of luck with your surgery x

Hi Louise,

Thank you so much for your reply – it’s certainly helped eased my worries a bit! I am very excited for the surgery but also nervous. I am having mine done with Dr Sleiter and it is a closed septo-rhino, so I will ask him what packing he uses and if it differs from with open rhino.

Can I ask how long you had your packing in for? and did you find it really difficult to breathe with the packing in? Also, what does it feel like post-surgery? I’ve seen its more of an ache than a pain?

Thank you in advance for any advice, I really appreciate it 🙂

Alex

The best thing to do is ask questions so your prepared for everything! I believe I had my nasal packs in for 2/3 days, you can’t breathe through the nose at all within those days and for quite a while after your nose will be constantly blocked and breathing will be a struggle through the nostrils, my surgery was in March and I sometimes still have difficulty breathing through my nose however this isn’t very often.

The day of your op ( that night after surgery) I felt fine, I actually felt a lot better than I thought I would, then second day my whole face was very very swollen, black eyes, swollen forehead, I looked awful and felt awful (don’t forget I have open so a lot more work is done) but then saying that day three I felt absolutely fine again, swelling went down so so quickly and I felt/looked normal within 48hrs of day two.

Everyone is different but honestly surgery, recovery and results have been amazing.

Best of luck!x

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