 [ Symptoms ] how long does it take for all the swelling to be gone after cosmetic surgery [ Disease ] all of us are anxious to see results whether it is cosmetic surgery or building a home we like to see the work done and sometimes become inappropriately impatient i often have to remind patients that with any operation it takes nature 100 days to do the basic repair work and absorb most of the swelling whether that is an artificial hip replacement a hernia repair a breast reduction or rhinoplasty or septoplasty rhinoplasty with turbinate resection which not only improves appearance but also improves the airway and prevents sinus problems — it takes time for ole mother nature to do its job we can not rush nature we can not push the clock we have to understand that this is what it takes to finish the job you know the old saying “rome was not built in a day ” great noses are built in day but it takes weeks or months for all the swelling to go down now this does not mean that the nose looks hideous or is unattractive typically within seven to 10 days the nose looks very good but it continues to get better it ripens like wine swelling goes down refinement sets in the nose becomes thinner and more delicate less bulbous but all this takes place a tiny bit each day patients while told ahead of time that it takes weeks and up to a couple months for the appearance to optimize often become impatient and ask “what is wrong why is my nose still swollen ” or “what can be done to make the swelling go away ” we have to be frank and say to them that we cannot push nature beyond its speed any more than human beings can run faster than the fastest runner can run or make corn grow six feet in one week there are certain limitations that nature imposes on all things human however if the cosmetic plastic surgeon reminds the patient that the outcome will be better than it appears at a week or a month or two months or three months then hopefully the patient — and family – will accept that just this week one of our cosmetic nasal plastic surgery rhinoplasty patients came in prior to surgery she was an otherwise attractive young lady but had a crooked nose that was bulbous had a bump too big for her delicate face further it was turned down such that every time she smiled her nose almost hit her lip the crookedness implied internal blockage and indeed she had trouble breathing because of a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates to make matters generally worse she had some facial asymmetries which were also mirrored in the nose that was another reason why it looked crooked not the simplest of cases right nonetheless the prospects for success were very good when we took on the case in june of 2009 the case went very well “mission accomplished ” we straightened the nose corrected the asymmetry