If your first rhinoplasty didn’t turn out as expected, there’s hope and good news. A rhinoplasty that does not turn out as you expected can be corrected by a skilled surgeon with special training in this area. Even with the best surgeons, 7-10% of rhinoplasty needs minor revisions six months to a year or later after the initial surgery. This is due to the nature of the variability of each patient’s recovery and the pre-existing and pre-operative condition of the nose. If the initial surgeon “overdoes” the initial rhinoplasty or has failed to correct the initial deformity, the patient may need to undergo a more complete and sometimes more complex revision rhinoplasty surgery.
Even excellent, highly skilled rhinoplasty surgeons with long experience may have minor issues that need to be resolved or corrected after surgery; however, it is a minor procedure compared to revising a nose that was previously operated by an inexperienced surgeon who does not know the current techniques and can only do a few rhinoplasty surgeries per year.
Revisions, known as “secondary” rhinoplasty, are often much more difficult than the first, so you need to choose a surgeon who regularly performs rhinoplasty and is up-to-date in their techniques.
Typically, secondary surgery takes longer. Also, it usually takes a little longer to realize the final result due to scar tissue from previous surgery or surgeries. People who are dissatisfied with the initial result should be patient and allow time for the healing process to complete before undergoing revision rhinoplasty. This usually takes about a year. This is due to the natural nature of tissue healing and the time it takes for swelling to resolve. In revisions, this period may take longer than one year.