“How long after septoplasty will I look normal?”

Depends on how much needs to be done. Generally 2-3 weeks for septoplasty only.

Thank you for your question.
A septoplasty is a procedure that is done to straighten the crooked nasal septum. The nasal septum is the middle wall of the nose. Typically, a septoplasty does not change your outward appearance. You may have a splint placed inside the nose that is removed after 1 week, but you should look normal pretty much immediately after a septoplasty. Some people mix up a septoplasty with a rhinoplasty (nose job). In that case, then it may take a couple of weeks to no longer look swollen or bruised.

Nose takes about 12 moths to stabilize.

If you are talking about the resolution of swelling and bruising from a septoplasty, most of the time patients see very little so you can look normal within days to a week. If your septoplasty includes revisions of the external aspects of your nose (ie., hump reduction, correction of asymmetry, improvement in tip shape, etc.), it may take 1-2 weeks for the bruising to resolve and swelling to decrease to the point where you look "normal".

A septoplasty is not a rhinoplasty. There is no outside nasal surgery, so there is minimal or no changes to the nose. Septoplasty is inside the nose surgery. Therefore, no outside changes to the nose.

Depending on how extensive the septoplasty has to be, there will be some swelling. Also, you will probably have packs in your nose and may have septal splints for about a week. Your airway will, therefore, fell pretty “stopped up”.
The good news is that once all the foreign material has been removed you will look normal even if you still sound a bit nasal. Swelling takes about a month to clear up.

A septoplasty is a procedure designed to improve your breathing and generally does not result in any significant swelling so you should expect to look normal within a week or so following your surgery.

Septum only rarely produces much beyond a week of swelling and should not alter your appearance

Recovery from a septoplasty alone should have minimal recovery and minimal swelling. If a rhinoplasty is included, you may have tip swelling for up to 6-12 months.

Roger Friedman, MD

1-2 weeks

Might take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months

My advice to anyone undergoing a rhinoplasty, or "nose job," is that it can take 9-12 months for all the swelling (called edema) to resolve. While you are specifically asking about septoplasty, correcting the septum often entails inflammation and swelling to the soft tissues above it, especially if the septoplasty is done with an open approach (which is how I and many other plastic surgeons would perform it). If other maneuvers are done to improve your nose's appearance or function, such as tip work, then swelling can persist in that area for up to a year and beyond.

Most noticeable swelling, however, should come down rapidly, and most of the swelling is gone by 3 months' postop. Everyone's healing is different, however, so you should treat this information as general guidance. Depending on the extent of your septoplasty and what approach your surgeon takes to perform it, your swelling may be more significant and take longer to resolve.

If, by use of your word "normal," you are instead asking about the straightness of your septum, then I would say that this becomes evident right away. You may not notice it, however, until after your surgeon removes any internal or external nasal splints, which is usually done within 1-2 weeks postop.

After that, and assuming a technical success with your surgery, you should notice a change, or at least, changes can be pointed out to you by your surgeon - e.g., improvements may be more obvious when looking up at your nose (a "worm's eye view"), which is not ordinarily how you view yourself in the mirror. However, the way overhead lighting shines on your nose (the light reflex) can point out improvements in your dorsal aesthetic lines (DALs) as well as the straightness (or correction in deviation) of your operated-on septum.

Hope this information helps you! Ensure your septoplasty surgeon is Board-Certified in Plastic Surgery or Otolaryngology (ENT) with sufficient education, training, and experience with rhinoplasty and facial plastic surgery.

Nirav B. Patel, MD, JD, FCLM

Great question. A standard septoplasty, with out cosmetic tip and or dorsal plastic surgery ( termed septorhinoplasty), usually takes about seven days to begin to show reduction the mild swelling. Most people return to light duty at a weeks time as well, and may begin to return to exercise and lifting by two weeks. By that time, very little swelling is even noticed, and the nose inside is well on its way to give better airflow. Enjoy a quality life!

That will depend if you also have a rhinoplasty. In a couple of weeks, edema should resolve 75%percent.

You will probably be able to return to work or school in a few days and to your normal routine in about 3 weeks.