The splint comes off at day seven and everyone posts a photo. The nose you actually keep appears months later.
Breathing through the nose is restricted for the first days. Bruising around the eyes peaks at day three and fades by day ten. The splint is removed on day six or seven, and the first look is always swollen — this is not the result.
Most patients return to office work at ten days and light exercise at three weeks. Contact sport, heavy lifting and glasses resting on the bridge stay off-limits for six weeks. Numbness at the tip is normal and resolves over months.
Swelling leaves the bridge first and the tip last, which is why the tip looks bulbous for months in thicker skin. Eighty per cent of the shape is visible at three months, the definitive result at twelve to eighteen.
Take standardised photos at week 2, month 3, month 6 and month 12 in the same light. Judging the result from a week-two selfie is the single most common cause of unnecessary revision anxiety.
Day six or seven, once the splint is off and the surgeon has checked you.