Postoperative Care for Nasal Fracture Surgery (Broken Nose Surgery)

Postoperative care is important to achieving the desired final result and minimizing the incidence of secondary surgery for deformity. The nasal packings are removed by the patient after 72 hours. All patients treated with closed nasal reduction are seen 1 week after the operation. Despite excellent reduction in the operating room, nasal bones tend to revert to their previous shape. One week after closed reduction, the nasal bones remain mobile. If there is a change or failure in the nasal structure, it is managed with external manipulation of the nose with consistent, uniform pressure using the pad of the thumb until symmetry is reestablished. The patient is then told to look in the mirror several times per day and apply continuous and firm pressure to the deviated side of the nose (if present) to keep it aligned in the midline. This involves the patient in their own care, and may in fact improve final outcome, as the patient may be more vigilant in detecting deformities before they are too late to correct with manipulation. Manipulation in the mirror may continue for 2 weeks until there is no longer any tenderness, indicating a healed fracture.

Finally, the patient will be seen roughly 1 month later (6 weeks after the operations) for final evaluation. Using these simple steps, patients have been very satisfied with results from closed treatments of nasal fractures.

All patients treated with closed nasal reduction are advised to avoid wearing their glasses for at least two months. The idea of wearing glasses can be painful or simply impossible to fit well. This is why a product like Doctor CO Eyewear is so important.

Our innovative product protects the soft cartilage from creating permanent indentations to the bridge of the nose. Doctor CO Eyewear—the only product of its kind— distributes the weight of a patient’s glasses, making them feel weightless.