How many revision rhinoplasty can you have?

Nose surgeries are complicated and challenging, and often the first surgery might disappoint or leave you with complications like nasal deformities, the chance of scarring, or breathing issues. In such cases, what you need is called revision rhinoplasty. In a revision procedure, surgeons correct or reshape your previous nose surgery results, but what if you are still unsatisfied even after getting a correction?

It might sound a lot at first to have multiple nose job revisions, but actually talented and broadly experienced surgeons can perform more than one revision rhinoplasty. Most probably it will be far more different than your initial surgery. Your rhinoplasty surgeon might need to know what happened and what changed during your previous surgeries.

If you have decided to take another revision rhinoplasty surgery you should know some vital details. This whole article is all about the tertiary, quaternary, or even quinary rhinoplasty operations you are looking for. Are they possible?

So, when we go back to the first question, how many revision rhinoplasty can you have?

How many revision rhinoplasty can I have?

You can have revision rhinoplasty procedures as long as you need changes to improve your nose shape and its function. However, once the surgeons you consulted start to warn you about much more dangerous risks that cannot be undone, that should be your stop sign. Revision surgeries are safe as long as your surgeon is an expert in his or her field, although, there is a limit even for experienced surgeons.

Most of the time surgeons try to do their best during the first surgery, but that is only the case for some rhinoplasty operations. Especially, changes on the tip of the nose tend to become less predictable with every surgery you take.

While surgeons decide on whether it is risky or not, they might walk through the previous surgery. We will explain it in the simplest terms.

The limit is your nose

For example, let’s say you had surgery because your nose was broken, or you wanted to see major changes. In that case, common revision rhinoplasty surgeons either add or remove some parts of your nose to rebuild it.

In a primary rhinoplasty or secondary rhinoplasty operation, surgeons use the cartilage inside your nose, from the wall between your nostrils called the nasal septum. It can only be used once meaning, additional options of harvesting cartilage from the ear or from the rib might be required in further surgeries.

Now imagine this rebuilding, like a vase is broken, and then glued back with some extra support in it. The first attempt would be the easiest and the second and third get harder because the vase is more fragile now. No doubt the surgery is much more complicated but this is pretty much what the surgeons do.

Of course, you might also have some minor changes during your first surgery. This would help a lot when you are looking for further ones. Especially when you ask for changes over the untouched parts of your nose, those would be easier. The less risky it becomes as your nose stays intact. Most of the time this is where inexperienced surgeons fail and lead you to further complicated revision procedures.

As you can see there is no limit to how many revision rhinoplasty surgeries you can get. However, after a while, surgeons can only make small changes or might prefer not to operate because of increased risks. These risk factors are best eliminated during a first surgery, but how is that possible?

How long should I wait before getting a second revision rhinoplasty?

After nose surgery because of health concerns, a revision patient should wait for a while to let their nose settle and completely heal. During this time, all the swelling inside your nose and the nose structure will get better for another manipulation.

So, how long after a revision rhinoplasty can you get a second revision? There is no specific time limit for anyone to wait before getting a second revision surgery. Usually, the minimum waiting period is a year, but in some cases, this period can go up to 2 years. This waiting period is for normal conditions, if you have a serious complication you might need to get the revision sooner or later.

What makes your waiting period take longer?

Like we said before there is a healing period during which the residual swelling inside your nose settles and your nose gets ready for another operation. For some people because of genetics, this process might take longer. In general, your waiting period might take longer based on:

• How many revisions have you had before
• The complexity of your past surgeries
• Your genetics; poor healing
• Your lifestyle; diet, self-care, etc.
• External factors; injury, nose complications

You might have had three, four, or more revisions before, these will definitely prolong the waiting period. Besides, having complex procedures before like major changes all over your nose should make the waiting period longer.

Genetics and lifestyle play a big role in your healing period as well. You should care for your diet to heal faster. Unfortunately, you cannot do anything to change your genetics but still, it would be good for you to know. Lastly, to have a smooth short recovery, you should protect your nose from outside dangers.

The factors we listed and explained will all contribute to a prolonged healing and waiting period for your next rhinoplasty operation. Mostly these are all connected with the swelling inside your nose. Rarely some scar tissues and complications might occur that also needs to heal before any further rhinoplasty operations.

When is a third revision rhinoplasty needed?

Rhinoplasty operation is to make your nose look better while maintaining its all functions, most importantly breathing. When all the previous surgeries have disappointed you so far, you might ask for a third revision rhinoplasty.

If you already have a nicely shaped nose after three nose surgeries but want to see a little bit more change, you might want to reconsider your decision. The cosmetic outcome of a third revision rhinoplasty might give you less than you hope or might cause complications that require further surgeries.

We recommend you have a third revision surgery only in necessary cases like; after having a botched nose job, to correct scar tissue, or to enhance your breathing. For cosmetic reasons make your decision wisely.

Revision rhinoplasty the third time is called what?

When you have a revision rhinoplasty for the second time, it means this is your third nose surgery. Here we will explain them in literal terms.

We are all familiar with primary and secondary rhinoplasty operations. When you take a rhinoplasty operation for the first time, it’s called primary and continues as secondary, tertiary, quaternary, quinary, and senary rhinoplasty.

Hopefully, you do not have to see that much of rhinoplasty operations and think about the question of how many revision rhinoplasty can you have. If you are already undergone a series of revision rhinoplasty operations, the best way to avoid further ones and achieved your dream nose is to find an experienced plastic surgeon who has lots of experience in rhinoplasty. To get the best results and put an end to these endless nose surgery sessions, you can always contact us for a free consultation.