Nose Fracture Treatment- Ear Nose And Throat (ENT)

Injuries to the nose are very common.  Nasal fractures account for around 40% of bone injuries during facial trauma. A nasal fracture (nose fracture) is basically a crack or a break in the bone or cartilage of the nose. Nose fracture generally occurs over the bridge of the nose or in the septum. Septum is the area that divides nostrils.

Which Speciality to Consult?

An orthopedic surgeon is the the specialist doctor who should be consulted for treating a nose fracture.

Treatment:

Treatment for nose fracture depends on the severity of the injury. It is important to remember that not all nasal injuries require surgeries.

• Home remedies: Before seeing doctor for nose fracture, patient should try to relieve pain and reduce swelling by using ice packs, cold compresses, and pain killers. To avoid worsening of throbbing and swelling, head should be kept elevated.
• Minor injuries: Patients with minor fracture that does not cause nose to become crooked or otherwise misshapen, may not need any medical treatment. By following certain self-care measures such as using ice on the area and taking over-the-counter pain medications may help the patient to reduce the swelling and pain.
• Major injuries: In order to fix major fractures such as displacements and breaks, manual realignment or a surgery (rhinoplasty or septorhinoplasty) may be required.
  • Manual realignment: If the break on the nose has displaced the bones and cartilage, it may be manually realigned. Patient is either given an injection or nasal spray to ease discomfort. Doctor would open the nostrils by using a nasal speculum and then realign the broken bones and cartilage by using special instruments. Doctor would splint the nose by using packing in nose and a dressing on the outside. The packing stays like that for a week and patient is prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection.
  • Surgery: Septorhinoplasty, a surgery to repair nasal septum, is required if the break has damaged patient’s nasal septum and creating an obstruction as well as difficulty breathing. Rhinoplasty is a surgery which is used to realign the nose that cannot be done manually.

Pain and discomfort from these surgeries generally reduces within 72 hours of the procedure. Patient should not play any sports for the first two weeks after treatment and avoid contact sports for minimum six weeks after the injury.

References:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=15508543
• https://www.healthline.com/health/nose-fracture#treatment
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/broken-nose/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20370444

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