Rhinoplasty (Philip Young MD, Seattle / Bellevue WA) generally takes about a week recovery but subtle swelling can last for quite sometime. And usually we say most people can go back to work in one week. Most of the swelling and bruising usually takes about a week to resolve. Sometimes the recovery is less and sometimes more depending on the person. It also depends on what was done. If tip surgery only was done the recovery is a little faster. But reduction of the tip can take a long time for the subtle swelling to go down. The finer tip curves and smaller size can take months to go down and this can continue for up to 2 years or more. When you break the nasal bones, this action can create more bruising and swelling that could prolong the recovery to more than a week. In general, I tell patients that they should get 60% of their healing at 6 weeks, 80% at 6 months, and 88% at 2 years and it tapers off after that. Major changes to the nose does take a little time to be fully realized in the nose. The subtle changes over the years will show continued improvement. This is good in the way, because people will not notice the big changes initially and the more subtle changes will slowly occur so that people will not be shocked at the major changes that can happen in your nose and its appearance.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for reading, Dr Young
Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington