If pain is severe after stitch removal following nose surgery — criteria for distinguishing inflammation from irritation reaction

01

Is severe pain after stitch removal inflammation? — the actual question

Q. It's day 6 since my nose surgery. I had the stitches removed today, and the pain on the right side of the bridge is so severe. The medical team in charge said it isn't a situation to greatly worry about, but the pain is strong so I'm asking out of anxiety. Could something be wrong?

A. When stitches are removed at about a week post-surgery, tissue gets stimulated so pain can feel more sensitive. The bridge area especially has thin skin and soft tissue, so even small stimulation can make pain feel great there.

If at the directly-examined visit you heard it's not inflammation findings, the current pain is likely a temporary irritation reaction from stitch removal and injection treatment. Most cases gradually ease over time.

Still, if the changes below accompany, it's good to get the state re-checked. For now, watching the course for a few days rather than excessive anxiety looks appropriate.

02

How do watchable pain and signals needing re-examination differ?

The core isn't the pain intensity itself but accompanying symptoms. Since thin-skinned areas like the bridge can feel great pain from stimulation alone, concluding inflammation from strong pain alone is hard. Conversely, even without severe pain, if rapid swelling·warmth·discharge·skin color change exist, confirming at the clinic is good.

03

If the tip and alae look spread together, must the alae always be reduced?

The bulbous nose surgery case examined together is also worth reference — a case where tip cartilages spread left and right made the nostrils look laid down and gave an overall wide, blunt impression, which proceeded toward tidying the alae via non-incisional method then tying the tip cartilages to raise the tip moderately.

• About 4mm-thick silicone was used at the bridge to supplement height without excess.
• Since septal cartilage wasn't sufficient, ear cartilage was additionally utilized.
• The septum was slightly bent to one side (septal deviation) so it was corrected together during surgery — a feature that isn't visible when the nose is low but rather stands out more once raised.

Many people think the alae must always be reduced when considering bulbous nose surgery, but in reality quite a few cases improve sufficiently with tip cartilage tying alone. Alar reduction also isn't only incisional — there's a non-incisional method with relatively less scar burden. The course of actual cases can be confirmed in before-and-after photos.

04

Summary — watch accompanying symptoms, not pain intensity

Pain right after stitch removal is often an irritation reaction that can be experienced during recovery. But it's a different story if rapid swelling, warmth, discharge, or skin color change appear together. Rather than focusing only on pain intensity out of anxiety, it's good to use whether accompanying symptoms exist as the criterion and get confirmed directly at the clinic if needed.

If the recovery course feels unsettling or you have questions, you can get your state checked in a 1:1 video consultation.