Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Gold Coast - Pacific Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

This webpage has been designed to improve understanding of Fractured Noses and contains answers to the most commonly asked questions about this treatment. If you have any other questions that the website does not answer or would like further explanation please ask a member of our medical staff.

The problem
The bones of the nose have been broken. This can produce problems with appearance and breathing. Whether the nose needs to be put back in the right place has already been decided by the doctor who examined the broken nose. The treatment that is about to take place involves a general anaesthetic, ie: the patient is going to be put to sleep completely.

What does the operation involve?
Once the patient is asleep the nose will be manipulated back in the right place. This usually does not involve having to make any cuts on the outside or inside of the nose. When the bones of the nose break the cartilages in the nose can sometimes bend and may also need to be straightened.

To help protect the nose after the surgery a splint made of plaster of Paris or a similar material is often stuck to the nose. This stays in place for around 10 days. If the nose bleeds at the time of surgery packs will be placed in each nostril. These packs are removed on the day following surgery.

What can be expected after the operation?
It is likely to be sore and regular painkillers will be arranged. The discomfort is usually worse for the first few days although it may take a couple of weeks to completely disappear. Broken noses usually heal without infection and it is not necessary to give patients any antibiotics.

There is a variable amount of swelling and bruising around the eyes. These changes are most noticeable in the first 24 hours after surgery and have very much reduced by the end of the first week. Swelling and bruising can be reduced by using cold compresses around the eyes and sleeping propped upright for the first few days after surgery. Most of the swelling has disappeared after a fortnight but there is often some subtle swelling that can take several months to resolve although only the patient and their family are likely to notice this.

Patients usually stay in hospital for one night following the surgery and leave for home the following morning. It is not usual to X-ray the nose following treatment of a fracture.

Before patients leave hospital an appointment will be arranged to remove the splint and review the patient in the outpatient department. It is important to keep any dressings as dry as possible until they are removed.

Does this procedure require any time off work?
This varies enormously from person to person and depends on what kind of work they do. We recommend that most people have around a week off work if they are having just a genioplasty carried out. It is important to remember that patients will not be able to drive or operate machinery for 48 hours after general anaesthetic.

What are the possible problems?
Occasionally the nose may start to bleed again once the packs have been removed. This bleeding usually settles by applying pressure and pinching the nose. Rarely the packs need to be reinserted.

Some people who have broken noses straightened require further revisionary surgery to improve the appearance or help with breathing. This is usually not carried out for several months because it can take as long as this for all the bruising and swelling to completely disappear.