Repairing Broken Noses - David Greene, MD Provides Naples, FL

What to do with a broken nose?

Did you just break your nose? It is very important to have your broken nose repaired within two weeks. After 2 weeks, your nasal bones heal in the wrong position, and can no longer be easily moved into the right position.

For this reason, it is very important to be seen by a board-certified facial plastic surgeon / otolaryngologist as soon as possible.

When repaired within the first two weeks or so, even severe nasal fractures can generally be repaired without any incisions whatsoever!

Incision-free techniques (that means no cutting and no stitches) can be used to reposition all the bones and cartilage where they belong, enabling your nose to heal in a normal fashion. A timely repair can get your nose looking good again, and breathing well.

Will my medical insurance cover treatment for my broken nose?

Yes. It is medically necessary, and therefore covered by medical insurance.

What will my doctor do for me when I come in for a broken nose?

Dr. Greene will thoroughly examine you, take photographs, and create the documentation necessary to get you the maximum insurance coverage possible. If there is pain from the injury, then you will be given pain medication. If there is any nasal bleeding, it will be treated immediately.

Next, after allowing some time for your nasal swelling to go down, the fracture will be repaired.

A combination of local anesthesia, and sedation or general anesthesia will be done so that you feel no pain. Generally, you will be asleep during the entire procedure and you won’t feel a thing.

When you wake up, you should feel good. You will notice that you have a splint on your nose to hold everything in place. You will be able to go home the same day. Dr. Greene will see you the following day, and remove the splint one week later.

What do I do if my nose was broken more than two weeks ago?

After two weeks, the bones get frozen and scar down in the wrong position. Do not lose hope! Your nose can still be repaired and restored. New, minimally invasive techniques are available to free up your broken nasal bones and restore them to the correct position, and restore your nose to a normal appearance.

I can't breathe well because of my broken nose. Can this be repaired as well?

Yes. The goal of repairing the nose is to restore both form and function. The repair corrects the nasal fracture, straighten out the nose and make it look normal again. The repair also opens up the nasal airways, to get you breathing well again. For many people, they breathe even better than they did before the nose was broken.

If I break my nose, how soon should I be seen?

You should get seen within the first week to 10 days. Since the nose swells up a lot making accurate correction of the fracture difficult, we generally let the nose settle down for about a week before the fracture repair is done. Letting the swelling go down enables us to do a much more accurate correction than doing the repair immediately when the nose is maximally swollen.

I was never happy with how my nose looked even before the fracture. Can Dr. Greene do anything to improve the appearance of my nose?

Yes, Dr. Greene is a Double Board-Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, who did his fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery at Stanford University Medical School, residency training at the University of California, and education at Harvard University and Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Greene performs rhinoplasty, septoplasty, and the full range of nasal plastic surgery to improve the appearance and function of your nose.

I broke my nose years ago. Can I still have it repaired?

Absolutely! Reduction of nasal fractures, septoplasty, rhinoplasty, and multiple other techniques are offered by Dr. Greene, which can repair your nose even decades after your fracture occurred. Nasal surgery performed to restore your ability to breathe, and restore the normal shape of your nose, is generally covered by insurance.

I suffer from sinusitis. Can Dr. Greene correct this problem as well?

Yes! Dr. Greene is a board-certified otolaryngologist, specializing in nasal and sinus surgery. He is a Fellow of The American Rhinologic (sinus & nasal) Society, and provides the full range of care for your sinuses, including advanced and minimally invasive sinus surgery and in-office procedures for nasal blockage, congestion, and sinusitis.