How to treat a broken nose and when to choose the best time to treat it

Nose fractures are common in real life. Generally speaking, treatment and repair as soon as possible after a fracture can improve the condition. So, how should a broken nose be treated?

Broken Nose Treatment:

1. For patients with simple linear fracture of the nasal bone, without obvious dislocation, external nasal deformity, and nasal ventilation disorder, no other treatment is required to stop the bleeding in the nasal cavity.

2. Sometimes, patients with nasal deformities should have their nasal bones repositioned before swelling occurs or after it subsides. Generally, fractures should be repositioned within 2 to 3 hours.

3. Local swelling a few hours after fracture will hinder the observation of fracture. If the external nose is obviously swollen, reduction should be performed after the swelling subsides. Applying cold compress to the local area immediately after injury can reduce local swelling. If the swelling is obvious, apply local hot compress or physical therapy the next day after injury to promote the disappearance of edema. However, it cannot exceed 14 days, otherwise malformation will occur. When the injury exceeds two weeks, reduction is difficult due to callus formation. Those who have residual deformities due to failure to correct them in time need to undergo plastic surgery.

The best time to undergo nasal bone fracture surgery:

Since the upper part of the nasal bone is thick and narrow, while the lower part is thin and wide, most nasal bone fractures occur at the lower part. If the nasal bone fracture is severe, it will be accompanied by nasal septum fracture, septum mucosal tear and other diseases. In most treatments, it is easy to ignore the existence of nasal septum fracture. When checking, you should also pay attention to choosing a good method. There are currently two main methods, X-rays and CT scans. The latter can more clearly reflect the true situation of nasal bone fractures.

The timing of surgery is the key to the success of nasal bone fracture surgery. Many people think that the surgery should be done in 6 to 8 hours. However, after research and practice, it is believed that it should be done in 2 to 3 hours, because the swelling of the injured area is still very light at that time, and the fracture is still easy to move, so it is convenient for surgery. If it is done after 3 hours, the swelling of the nose will affect observation and surgery, so the surgery should be performed after the swelling subsides, but it should not exceed 2 weeks. Because after 2 weeks, bone callus will form, and the surgery will be more difficult.

For comminuted nasal bone fractures with skin damage but no tear, if the nasal bone collapses again after closed reduction at the time of injury, there is no need to rush to perform open reduction. You can wait about a week and wait until the external nasal swelling subsides before performing closed reduction. At this time, the broken bone fragments have been connected into pieces by fibrous tissue and will not collapse after reduction.