Revision Rhinoplasty Turkey

Most people who write to us about revision rhinoplasty in Turkey have been living with the problem for a while. They paid for one operation, waited through the swelling, and then slowly realised the nose in the mirror wasn't the one they'd been promised, or that they couldn't breathe through it properly any more. Some are angry. More are just tired of it.

If that's you, a revision rhinoplasty in Turkey can usually make a real difference. A second rhinoplasty is a harder operation than your first one, though, and it pays to know why before booking. Our rhinoplasty in Turkey overview covers the general background.

Swelling, or a real problem?

In the first year it's genuinely hard to tell, and that's the reason for the twelve-month wait mentioned above. A tip that looks bulbous at four months may be perfectly fine at fourteen. Some things don't settle, though. A middle that has caved in won't, and neither will a nostril that has lifted so you can see inside it from the front. A step along the bridge that you can feel with a finger is usually there to stay as well.

Lining up your own photos month by month, as a rough before and after, often shows whether things are still changing, especially if each one is taken in the same light and from the same angle. If you're not sure, send us photos anyway, with the date of your first operation. We'd rather tell you to wait another few months than have you sit worrying.

Common problems after a botched nose job

"Botched" is a harsh word, and many first operations were done with good intentions. Still, the same problems keep turning up in the noses we see for revision.

The pollybeak is one of the most frequent. The area just above the tip stays full or even rises after surgery, so the profile curves down like a parrot's beak. Usually the tip wasn't supported well enough, or scar tissue has built up above it.

Then there's the saddle nose, where the middle of the bridge has sunk. Most of the time too much septum came out, and the bridge had nothing left to rest on. Breathing tends to suffer as well. The fix is to put cartilage back.

A pinched tip is more subtle. The tip looks narrow and the nostril rims dip inwards, especially when you breathe in hard. Over-rotated tips, where the nose has been turned up so far that the nostrils show from the front, are another common reason for a second rhinoplasty. So is a nose that's simply still crooked.

A nose that was made too small

Sometimes the problem is that too much came off. The bridge sits low and the tip looks pinched, so the nose seems shrunken against the rest of the face. People in this position often say they look "operated on", even to strangers.

Making a nose bigger again is entirely possible, but it means adding cartilage back, usually quite a lot of it. Rib is often needed here, since the septum may already be gone. The aim is to restore proportion, not to recreate the original nose exactly.

After a closed operation elsewhere

After a closed rhinoplasty done elsewhere, what people most often notice is a little ridge on the bridge, appearing once the swelling has gone. Under thin skin even a millimetre can catch the light. These are often among the easier problems to fix, sometimes with a much smaller operation than a full revision.

When the reason is breathing, not looks

Some revisions have nothing to do with appearance. Take too much cartilage from the middle of the nose and the side walls can sag inwards. Surgeons call it valve collapse. In daily life it feels like one side, or both, shutting when you breathe in, and a lot of people end up sleeping with their mouth open.

The repair is structural. Thin strips of cartilage, called spreader grafts, go along the bridge to hold the walls apart, and a septum left crooked the first time gets straightened. All of it happens in the same revision.

Where the new cartilage comes from

You'll see the order surgeons work through in the section above. What it can't tell you is how each option feels afterwards.

Taking cartilage from the ear leaves a cut tucked behind it. Most people say the ear aches a little for a week or so, and then they forget about it.

Rib involves a cut on the lower chest, and coughing or laughing will hurt for a few weeks. Our ethnic rhinoplasty page describes rib recovery in more detail, since it's used there often too.

Why almost every revision is done open

Once a nose has had surgery it's full of scar tissue, which makes it hard to tell one layer from the next. That's why we open it up, as described on the open rhinoplasty page: the scar can be freed and the framework checked before anything new goes in. If your first operation was open, the same small scar under the tip is usually reused.

Getting your old surgical notes

Your old operative report is the most useful document you can bring. It says what was removed and roughly what's left. Asking in writing usually does the trick, as the record belongs to you. You want the full operative report, not a short discharge letter. Notes in another language are fine; we'll get them translated.

Sometimes there's nothing to get, for example because the clinic no longer exists. In that case we rely on the examination, and a scan if it's useful, and some choices are left until the operation itself.

Is a touch-up enough?

Some problems are small. A little bump on the bridge, or a slight irregularity at the tip, can sometimes be dealt with in a much shorter procedure. Filler occasionally hides a minor dip, though that only covers it up.

Anything involving breathing, or a nose that has lost its support, needs a full secondary rhinoplasty. We'll tell you honestly which group you're in. A smaller procedure is quoted at its own price, so you won't pay for a full revision you don't need.

What a revision can't do

It's worth being straight about the limits. Skin that's been operated on usually ends up thicker and stiffer, and hides detail. Not all scar tissue can be removed, and a nose that lost a lot of support the first time may never look quite as fine as one that's never been touched.

What you can reasonably expect is a clear improvement in your main complaint, often with easier breathing. People who know it isn't a fresh start usually end up the most satisfied.

A second opinion after surgery elsewhere

We see many people who had their first rhinoplasty at another clinic, in Turkey or abroad. You don't need to bring anyone's approval or explain who's to blame. We simply look at the nose as it is now and tell you what can be done. Sometimes the answer is to wait. Occasionally it's that the result is better than you think, and the problem is mostly swelling or expectation.

A longer day in theatre

Revisions usually take longer than a first rhinoplasty, sometimes a good deal longer, because scar tissue has to be freed slowly before anything can be rebuilt. If rib is being taken, that adds time as well. Before the day, our anaesthetist checks you over independently, and you stay the first night on the ward. None of this changes the price. Your plan will say roughly how long to expect.

Trusting a surgeon again

It's normal to feel wary after one bad experience. Ask whatever you need to, and don't let anyone rush you into a date, including us.

Revision rhinoplasty recovery

Expect a little more of everything than last time. Swelling is usually heavier after a revision, partly because of the scar tissue and partly because more work is involved. Your splint is off at roughly day seven, and bruising fades over the following fortnight.

Then there's the wait. Revisions often need more than a year before the tip shows its final shape. After waiting once already, that's hard, but a verdict at six months is usually premature. For revision rhinoplasty in Turkey, most people stay seven to ten nights in Istanbul, a little longer if rib was used.

Judging revision rhinoplasty before and after results

There's no photo gallery here; the videos above show actual revision patients. Judge a revision rhinoplasty before and after by the problem it set out to fix. If the bridge is straight now, or a blocked side breathes, that's a good result even if the nose isn't perfect.

Ask surgeons for revision rhinoplasty before and after photos, not first-time cases, and ideally ones that resemble your nose. Revision patients' reviews often say how the second recovery compared with the first, which is useful to know.

Revision rhinoplasty cost in Turkey

€4,000 is what revision rhinoplasty in Turkey costs with us. That includes any cartilage needed, from the septum, ear or rib, as well as the hospital night, anaesthesia, transfers and follow-up. The plan states which cartilage source is likely before you travel, so the price doesn't change on the day. A lower price elsewhere that leaves the cartilage source vague is worth questioning.

The table above compares that with typical revision costs abroad. If you're comparing, find out whether another clinic's revision rhinoplasty price covers rib harvest and the hospital night. Not all do.

More than one revision?

One revision is enough for most people. A very complex nose, particularly one that's already been through two or more operations, sometimes needs a smaller extra procedure later, once it's settled. Every operation adds scar tissue, so the improvements tend to come gradually.

If your nose has been operated on several times, send all the notes and photos you have. A revision rhinoplasty in Istanbul after multiple operations needs more planning time, and we'd rather take it.