Mrinal Supriya opens up about the pain level of a nose job (rhinoplasty)

Laura Livesey: Does rhinoplasty hurt?

Mrinal Supriya: The short answer to that is no. Rhinoplasty, in itself, is not a painful surgery. Most people are more aware of numbness of their nose, and at times of their upper teeth rather than pain.

What you will have is blockage of your nose. It will be like having a bad head cold. That is because of swelling and crusting inside your nostrils after the surgery, which will obstruct your breathing for a week or two. Think of it as you have a bad cold, which is gone maybe in a day, or in a week or two weeks. But, if you are concerned about having a lot of sharp pain, that does not happen with rhinoplasty.

Laura Livesey: What about bruising? I kind of have this idea that you end up with black eyes, and you get a lot of bruising after surgery. Is that true?

Mrinal Supriya: I don’t remember the last time any of my patients had a major bruise. You read about having a black eye or a bruise on your face. Theoretically, that is possible, and I suppose once in a while, it will happen to my patients as well. But, it is not the norm. Don’t worry about that. You are very unlikely to get a major bruise around your eye or your face.

Laura Livesey: Surprising. What is the general look after treatment?

Mrinal Supriya: You will have some swelling of your nose. It is a subtle swelling, which will last for two to three weeks. And during that phase, it is obvious that you have swollen skin. It is not very gross, and it is not something that you need to worry too much about. And very gradually, all of that swelling will settle down to allow the underlying refined features to show through the skin.