Nasal Trauma

The nose is a common area of trauma to the face, ranging from falls, to car accidents, and everything in between. If you've experienced nasal trauma, reach out and set up a consultation with The Vila Institute for Plastic Surgery today, and learn more about how we can restore your nose and your breathing abilities.

Sometimes, the nose can appear crooked or deformed after an injury. Due to Dr. Vila’s experience with rhinoplasty, he is an expert at fixing these deformities after injuries. If caught early enough after the injury, the injury can be treated in the office under local anesthesia without a need for going to the operating room.

What Can I Expect During My Nasal Trauma Consultation?

Dr. Vila will spend time with his patients to understand their concerns and goals.

Depending on the type of injury, whether due to a fracture, or simply swelling, Dr. Vila will discuss the best treatment to avoid future deformity.

He will examine each patient carefully to put together an individualized treatment plan.

What Will Happen During the Procedure?

If there is a fracture of the nasal bones causing a deformity, and the injury occurred within a week, the fracture can be reset, or reduced, in the office under local anesthesia. If it is a severe fracture, or if the fracture has already started healing (occurred longer than 2 weeks before), then Dr. Vila will recommend going to the operating room. In the operating room, fine instruments are used to make small cuts in the bone if needed to restore the shape of the bone.

Sometimes, no additional maneuvers are needed, and the bone can simply be guided back into place, known as a closed reduction. If this is not sufficient, then small cuts in the bone must be made via small incisions on the inside of the nose, known as an open reduction. At the end of the procedure, sutures are used to close the incisions, and tapes and a cast are applied to maintain the new shape of the nose.

If there are soft tissue lacerations and no fractures, this can usually be addressed in the office on the first visit. If the injury is severe, this at times may require going to the operating room for repair.

What Will the Recovery Be Like?

All patients are able to go home the same day after surgery. The external cast will stay on for one week. The associated discomfort from surgery is typically mild, lasts only a few days, and is well controlled with pain medication. Most people are able to get back to school and work activities from home after 3 days. Some swelling and bruising of the nose and eyelids may occur, but usually resolves by 7-10 days. The swelling of the nose mostly resolves by 10 days, but a small amount of swelling may persist for up to 3 months. Patients can return to normal activities after 1 week.

Sutures placed for skin lacerations are kept for 1 week. After removing, patients should continue using ointment on the wound for another 3 days. Normal activity can be restarted after suture removal.

Nasal Trauma

What Can I Expect During My Nasal Trauma Consultation?

What Will Happen During the Procedure?

What Will the Recovery Be Like?

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