Do I Need To Have My Nose Packed After Rhinoplasty?

One of the real concerns of many patients who are considering rhinoplasty surgery, I have learned, is that their nose will be packed after surgery.the removal of nasal packing is a very uncomfortable thought for most patients and one that they would like to avoid.
That thought is one of significant uncomfortability at best and outright pain at the worst. I have found that many potential rhinoplasty patients often ask....are you going to pack my nose? After hearing this concern numeruos times over the years, I have come to appreciate a patient's apprehensions over the issue of packing in the nose after rhinoplasty surgery.
The good news is that the need for packing a rhinoplasty surgery patient is very infrequent. In cosmetic rhinoplasty, where only the visible part of the nose is being changed, there is very little reason to ever have to pack the nose after surgery as this causes very little internal bleeding. If your nose surgery is to improve your breathing, known as functional nasal airway surgery, nasal packing may have to be used if there is persistent bleeding still at the end of the operation. My experience, however, is that this is not very frequent.
Nasal packing achieves two purposes; 1) to manage bleeding during and after surgery, and 2) to push the lining back into its proper place against the bone or cartilage walls of the internal nose. When straightening the septum, which is often necessary to improve nasal breathing, the lining of the nose must first be lifted up. The lining of the septum must be put back after it is straightened. Packing of the nose has been traditionally used to push this lining back into its original place. The use of packing has been replaced by many surgeons with sewing it back into place through a sewing technique known as quilting. This has virtually replaced the need for packing, much to the applause of patients and plastic surgeons alike. Only in cases where there is too much bleeding at the end of surgery will packing be used to control it, much like the way it is used to stop difficult nose bleeds.
So to those patients considering most forms of rhinoplasty surgery, this is one issue that you need not overly concern yourself with! Modern rhinoplasty techniques have virtually eliminated the need for this uncomfortable consideration. Not only is the concern about pain associated with packing removal eliminated, but the fear of not being able to breathe through your nose at all ( a claustrophobic sensation) right after surgery is also alleviated.
Dr Barry Eppley runs a private plastic surgery practice through his hospital-based medspa locations at Clarian Health in Indianapolis. To learn more about the latest trends in plastic surgery, spa therapies, or skin care, go to his daily blog, http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com