When to have revision rhinoplasty

It’s a difficult question to answer on how long one should wait for revision surgery following rhinoplasty. It's always a disappointing conversation for a doctor to have with their patient because one would ideally have the best result with the primary surgery. However, there are some situations where a secondary rhinoplasty is necessary.  

This article explains when it is best to have revision rhinoplasty and whether it is covered by health insurance.

How long should I wait for revision rhinoplasty?

Usually, we quote figures around between five and ten per cent for revision operations following rhinoplasty, which is a figure that is probably accepted around the world. I think there are certain factors that determine whether or not one should, or how quickly one should consider revision surgery. We tend to follow patients up regularly.

We would see patients initially the week after primary surgery and then three months and then usually at about a year. It is during that follow-up period that we get a feel for whether or not the surgery has been successful or if there may be additional surgery required.

I think it depends a little bit on the patient’s expectations and also there are certain physical factors like skin type, skin thickness, and the nature of the surgery that they had originally as to how long one should wait. However, it is generally regarded as being appropriate to wait for about a year following initial surgery, which allows all of the swelling and scarring to have matured before considering second intervention.
 

Is rhinoplasty covered by insurance?

This is another very common question that we get asked and the most direct answer is unfortunately not. It would be most uncommon for insurance companies to cover revision rhinoplasty. There may be some situations where there are functional issues that have been created through a trauma that may be covered, but it would be an exceptional circumstance.

I think there is an acceptance that for cosmetic procedures, the insurance companies probably shouldn't be contributing to the costs of that sort of intervention. As I say, there are occasional functional issues that may be addressed, but again I don't think that patients should consider that their surgery would be covered by insurance.