Packing in the nose after rhinoplasty surgery is one of patient's greatest fears about the surgery. The thought of having to remove nasal packing after the procedure is an uncomfortable one.

The thought of ansal packing removal is unpleasant at best and downright painful at worst. I have found that many potential rhinoplasty patients often ask....are you going to pack my nose? After hearing this concern numeruos times over the years, I have come to appreciate a patient's apprehensions over the issue of packing in the nose after rhinoplasty surgery.

The good news is that the need for packing a rhinoplasty surgery patient is very infrequent. In cosmetic rhinoplasty, where only the visible part of the nose is being changed, there is very little reason to ever have to pack the nose after surgery as this causes very little internal bleeding. If your nose surgery is to improve your breathing, known as functional nasal airway surgery, nasal packing may have to be used if there is persistent bleeding still at the end of the operation. My experience, however, is that this is not very frequent.

Nasal packing achieves two purposes; 1) to manage bleeding during and after surgery, and 2) to push the lining back into its proper place against the bone or cartilage walls of the internal nose. When straightening the septum, which is often necessary to improve nasal breathing, the lining of the nose must first be lifted up. The lining of the septum must be put back after it is straightened. Historically, packing the nose with gauze squeezed this lining back in place. The use of packing has been replaced by many surgeons with sewing it back into place through a sewing technique known as quilting. This has virtually replaced the need for packing, much to the applause of patients and plastic surgeons alike. Only in cases where there is too much bleeding at the end of surgery will packing be used to control it, much like the way it is used to stop difficult nose bleeds.

So to those patients considering most forms of rhinoplasty surgery, this is one issue that you need not overly concern yourself with! Modern rhinoplasty techniques have virtually eliminated the need for this uncomfortable consideration. Not only is the concern about pain associated with packing removal eliminated, but the fear of not being able to breathe through your nose at all ( a claustrophobic sensation) right after surgery is also alleviated.