Broken Noses and Athletes

Recently, we had a view of how professional athletes protect their noses using a plastic protective mask.

The University of North Carolina basketball player Tyler Hansbrough couldn't afford to miss important tournament games. With a recently broken nose and a chance of further injury only complicating the problem and slowing the healing, it was necessary to protect his nose using a plastic mask protector.

Typically, after the broken nose is corrected with the bones and cartilage put into place, it takes six weeks for them to be "rock hard." For most patients it is not necessary to wear a protective mask since there is little risk of direct injury. But, for those whose work or play carries such a risk, particularly in athletics, it is wise to have the mask fabricated.

The principles are the same for cosmetic nasal surgery. After all, during cosmetic nasal surgery, the surgeon does perform a "controlled break", by which, typically in order to narrow the nose, using instruments, the surgeon "breaks" the nose from its attachments and manually moves them into the desired position. Likewise, it takes six weeks for the nose to be fully healed, although one can return to normal nonthreatening activities within ten days.