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Gangnam before & after

Revision Rhinoplasty before and after: what to expect

A week-by-week recovery timeline from Gangnam clinics.

Revision rhinoplasty recovery is longer and harder to predict than a primary case. The surgeon is working through scar tissue, often using rib cartilage to rebuild structure, and swelling resolves more slowly than the first time. Plan on 2 weeks before you look presentable, 3 months before you look normal, and 18–24 months before the final result is set. The tip is the slowest area, and patients who have had two or more previous nose surgeries should expect the longest timeline.

Revision Rhinoplasty — Gangnam recovery timeline

Before surgery: what to prepare

Stop aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and any prescription blood thinners 10–14 days before surgery. Stop fish oil, vitamin E, ginseng, ginkgo in the same window. Smoking and vaping must stop at least 4 weeks before revision (longer than primary cases) and stay stopped through week 6 post-op, nicotine and revision tissue together massively increase the risk of skin necrosis and graft failure. Fast from midnight. Bring zip-up shirts; you will not be able to pull anything over your head for the chest donor site. Bring complete records of all previous nose surgeries including operative notes if you have them; the surgical plan depends heavily on what was done before.

The day of surgery

Revision rhinoplasty in Gangnam typically uses rib cartilage for structural rebuilding, runs 4–6 hours under general anaesthesia, and frequently requires a single overnight stay because of the donor site. You wake up with a hard external cast across the bridge, internal silicone splints, drip-pad under the nostrils, and a small dressing over the chest where rib cartilage was harvested. The chest incision can be more painful than the nose itself for the first 48 hours. Expect more nausea and a sorer throat than primary cases because of the longer surgery.

Days 1–3: peak swelling

Swelling and bruising peak day 2–3 and are heavier than primary cases. Under-eye bruising is universal. Chest pain from the rib donor site is the main complaint, it hurts when you cough, laugh, or take a deep breath. Sleep on your back with head elevation. Cold compresses on the cheeks (never on the cast). Take prescribed pain medication on schedule rather than waiting for pain to build. Do not blow your nose. Do not bend over. Avoid coughing if you can; if you have to cough, support the chest with a pillow.

Week 1: stitches out, bruising fades

The cast and external sutures come off around day 5–7. The nose looks dramatically refined under the cast, this is even more deceptive in revisions because the cast has been compressing scar tissue along with normal swelling. Internal silicone splints often stay in 7–14 days for revisions to support septal work and prevent adhesions. Breathing usually improves within hours of splint removal but mucosal swelling keeps congestion going for another week. The chest donor site is healing visibly; the soreness drops noticeably by day 7.

Weeks 2–4: back to public

Office work and public-facing situations from the end of week 2 for most patients, day 10 if you had only minor revision work. Bruising is largely gone. The nose still looks more swollen than a primary case would at the same point. No glasses on the bridge for 6 weeks minimum, longer if you had osteotomies. Light exercise around week 2; strenuous cardio, weightlifting, and contact sports wait until week 6 because of the rib donor site, not the nose. Saline nasal spray two or three times a day after splint removal.

Months 2–3: swelling resolves

Swelling drops noticeably from week 4 to month 3 but slower than primary rhinoplasty, patients with thicker sebaceous skin can retain 50% or more of tip swelling at month 3. The nose looks normal to anyone who didn't know you before, though it still feels stiff and numb to the touch. Chest donor site scar is fading from pink toward your skin tone. Costal cartilage warping (the rib graft bending slightly as it heals, a known complication) often becomes apparent earlier than this, within the first few weeks post-op rather than waiting until month 2–3. The surgeon will assess at every follow-up and discuss timing of any correction.

Months 6–12: the final result

Final result assessment for a revision is at month 12 minimum and many surgeons wait 18 months. The tip continues to refine slowly through month 18 and sometimes month 24, especially for thicker-skinned patients and multi-revision cases. Each previous nose surgery adds time and unpredictability to the resolution curve. If a further revision is being considered, the standard wait is 12–18 months from this surgery to give scar tissue full time to mature. Chest scar is largely faded by month 12.

Red flags: when to call the clinic

Call the clinic the same day for: fever over 38.5°C after day 2, sudden one-sided severe nasal swelling or pain, foul-smelling discharge, bleeding soaking through the drip-pad faster than once an hour, skin on the bridge or tip turning dusky white or black (graft blood-supply risk, higher in revisions), increasing chest pain or swelling at the rib donor site (possible haematoma or, rarely, pneumothorax), or shortness of breath. Go to an emergency room for sudden sharp chest pain combined with shortness of breath, pneumothorax from rib harvest is rare (under 1% with modern sub-perichondrial technique) but is time-critical when it does happen. Routine soreness, congestion, taste changes, and asymmetric facial swelling in week 1 are not red flags.

Patient before/after photo reviews

8 patient-published photo reviews across 6 clinics and 2 sources. Photos stay on the original platform so credit, context, and consent stay with the patient who posted them.