Can You Get Pimples After Rhinoplasty?

Many Toronto rhinoplasty patients are young adults or even teenagers, and this age group can be particularly prone to acne breakouts. Following your facial cosmetic surgery, you may find, regardless of your age, that you suddenly break out. If you have always had relatively clear skin, this troubling complexion change can be frustrating and cause concern that something is wrong with you.

Don’t fear- acne breakouts after cosmetic surgery are actually quite common, for a few reasons. Thankfully, they are generally temporary just like many of the other, expected post-operative symptoms like swelling or bruising.

Why Are Acne Breakouts After Surgery Common?

In the week immediately following your Toronto nose surgery, you will likely have a splint and surgical tape placed over your nose to help stabilize and protect your new contours. While this tape and splint serve an important purpose, this can occlude the pores on the nose and interfere with clearing of sebum/oils from the pores. Clogged pores due to any cause will typically cause acne breakouts. However, removing the cause will allow pores to gradually clear and normal sebum production on oily areas like the nose can be cleared away.

Some people are sensitive to medications as well and their skin may show changes when taking antibiotics or pain medication- both of which are typical after Toronto rhinoplasty. If you note a rash, itching or sudden skin changes after beginning your medication regimen, talk to your surgeon right away. Allergic dermatitis is rare but possible in reaction to certain adhesives, and medication allergies will usually cause more widespread symptoms. Acne on the nasal area is expected, however, and not something to be concerned about.

What Can You Do?

If you experience nasal acne breakouts following your nose job in Toronto, you are not alone. You can feel free to talk about your concern with your rhinoplasty surgeon and let them advise you about when and how it will be safe to wash and/or apply topical acne medications. It is crucial to avoid direct pressure to the nose or otherwise interfere with a splint that your surgeon has put in place, so you will need to be patient as you wait for a safe time to wash your face normally and treat any temporary breakouts.

If you normally have clear skin, you can likely expect things to normalize and return your complexion to an acne-free state as soon as your swelling resolves and you are no longer taking medications.

Inflammation can also cause the skin to react by creating additional oil and sensitive skin may break out more easily or develop rashes and irritation while inflamed. The swelling you can naturally expect post-rhinoplasty procedure is at it’s peak for the first two weeks so you can rest assured that inflammation and the dermatological issues that often come with it will resolve over the first month.