Rhinoplasty cost in Scotland: what the price includes, and what changes it
At Waterfront Private Hospital in Edinburgh, rhinoplasty starts at £9,200, and at £10,300 when the septum, the wall between the nostrils, is straightened at the same operation to help breathing (a septorhinoplasty). The price covers the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the hospital, a year of aftercare and treatment of complications caused directly by the surgery in that year. We price revision rhinoplasty separately, because it is more complex than a first operation.
The price depends on whether your breathing needs work too, and on whether your nose has been operated on before.
How much does rhinoplasty cost in Scotland?
Rhinoplasty
from£9,200
Changing the shape of the nose
- What it does
- Reshapes the bone and cartilage: a hump, the tip, the width or a crooked nose
- Anaesthetic
- General
- Time in theatre
- 2 to 3 hours
- Usual time off work
- One to two weeks
Septorhinoplasty
from£10,300
Shape and breathing together
- What it does
- Reshapes the nose and straightens the septum, the wall between the nostrils, where it narrows the airway
- Anaesthetic
- General
- Time in theatre
- 2 to 3 hours
- Usual time off work
- One to two weeks
Revision rhinoplasty
Priced separately
A nose operated on before
- What it does
- Corrects or refines the result of an earlier operation
- Anaesthetic
- General
- Why it is priced separately
- It is more complex than a first operation
The rhinoplasty prices are on our guide prices page. You get your own price in writing after the consultation, and the quote is valid for 90 days.
Both operations are day surgery, so you go home the same day. Most rhinoplasty at Waterfront is done with the open approach, through a small cut across the strip of skin between the nostrils, which heals as a fine scar. Your surgeon uses a closed approach, with all the cuts inside the nose, in selected cases. Your surgeon decides this with you at the consultation.
A short 3D animation of rhinoplasty. It loads only when you press play.
Rhinoplasty animation
What is included in the price?
- your pre-operative assessment and basic blood tests
- the operation, your consultant anaesthetist and the hospital
- medicines to take home, and dressings
- removal of the splint and stitches at about one week
- nurse checks and wound care
- follow-up with your surgeon for the first year, with a formal final review at about six months
- treatment of complications caused directly by your surgery in that year
The first consultation is £200 and is charged separately. If you would like a second consultation before you decide, it is free. You live with a new nose every day, so take the time you need.
What changes the price?
- Breathing. If the septum is bent and narrows your airway, straightening it at the same operation makes it a septorhinoplasty, from £10,300.
- A previous operation. Revision rhinoplasty is more complex than a first operation, and we price it separately.
- A chin implant at the same operation. Some people have a chin implant at the same operation, when the chin is part of what unbalances the profile. Our price estimator gives a rough guide of about £13,000 with rhinoplasty, or about £14,000 with septorhinoplasty, under general anaesthetic. Your surgeon recommends it only if your chin needs it.
Beyond these, the final price depends on how complex your operation is, which your surgeon can only judge by examining your nose. That is why these are starting prices. Compare clinics on your written quote.
Will the NHS pay for rhinoplasty?
Not to change how your nose looks. Under NHS Scotland’s National Referral Protocol, rhinoplasty is not supported where the main aim is to alter the appearance of the nose. A referral can be considered when a nose is crooked and there is also a problem with the airway, and surgery to correct the appearance after an injury is usually supported if you saw a doctor within a year of the injury. If you have trouble breathing through your nose, start with your GP.
Waterfront is a self-pay hospital. We do not treat patients through medical insurance.
Can I spread the cost?
Yes. Interest-free finance is available through Omni Capital Retail Finance over 6 or 10 months, with a deposit of 10 to 50 per cent, subject to status. Otherwise, payment is due in full two weeks before surgery, by card or bank transfer. We do not offer price matching.
What should I ask when comparing quotes?
A low quote can leave things out. Ask each clinic the same questions:
- Is the quote for rhinoplasty or septorhinoplasty, and does it include the anaesthetist and the hospital?
- Who removes the splint, and how many reviews with the surgeon are included, for how long?
- If something needs treating in the first year, who pays?
- Is the surgeon on the GMC Specialist Register, and how many rhinoplasties do they do in a year? Ask every clinic this, including us.
Part of the difference between quotes is who operates. Two quotes can look like this:
Both clinics may call their surgeons qualified, and both are allowed to operate. The surgeon in Quote A may have trained or worked in plastic surgery abroad, sometimes for many years, but unless the GMC has recognised that training they cannot join the Specialist Register. Only the surgeon in Quote B has specialist training the GMC recognises. Ask each clinic to fill in this table for the surgeon who would operate on you.
The Specialist Register is the row to check. The others are optional extras that not every specialist holds.
Rhinoplasty at Waterfront is performed by consultants who have had further specialist training in facial surgery, and every surgeon who operates with us is on the GMC Specialist Register for plastic surgery. Our guide to what the letters after a surgeon’s name mean explains how to check.
How long is the recovery?
You go home the same day with a splint on your nose. Bruising and swelling around the eyes peak at two to three days, and most of the bruising has gone in one to two weeks. Your nose feels blocked while the inside heals, which improves over two to four weeks, and you should not blow it for two weeks. The splint and stitches come off at about one week.
Most people take one to two weeks off work. Glasses should not rest on the nose for four weeks. Gentle walking is encouraged from the first days and light exercise can start at about three weeks. Avoid strenuous exercise for six weeks, and contact sports for six to eight weeks, and then only with the nose protected. Most of the swelling settles over two to three weeks, but the tip keeps refining for up to a year.
Nicotine in any form, including vaping, patches and gum, has to stop at least four weeks before surgery and stay stopped for at least four weeks afterwards.
When to get help
Call 999 or go to your nearest emergency department for a heavy nosebleed that does not stop after 10 minutes, sudden breathing problems, or a temperature over 38°C with confusion or unusual drowsiness.
Contact us for severe pain that painkillers do not help, a fever of 38°C or above, yellow or green discharge, or if the splint comes off.
What are the risks?
Swelling, bruising, a blocked nose and a numb tip are expected and settle. Around 5 to 10 in 100 people choose a second, usually smaller, operation to refine the result. Breathing usually improves or stays the same, but it can be worse once healing has finished, and breathing problems that need further surgery affect fewer than 1 in 30. A hole in the septum affects fewer than 1 in 30 where the septum is operated on. Bleeding or infection that needs a hospital visit or a return to theatre in the first month affects fewer than 1 in 100, and a blood clot in the leg or lung fewer than 1 in 1,000. The full list, with the studies the figures come from, is on our rhinoplasty page.
Who this is not for
Rhinoplasty may not be right for you, at least for now, if:
- you are under 18, because the face is still growing
- you want an exact copy of a nose you have seen, because your bone, cartilage and skin set limits
- you need the final result quickly, because the tip takes up to a year to settle
- you smoke, vape or use nicotine in any form and cannot stop for at least four weeks before and after surgery
- worry about your appearance is taking over daily life, in which case we may suggest talking to a mental health professional first
What happens at the consultation?
The consultation costs £200 and is face to face with the consultant plastic surgeon who would operate. Your surgeon talks through what you want to change and why, examines your nose, your skin and your breathing, takes standard photographs, and tells you what is realistic and what is not. You get a written quote afterwards, and a second consultation before you decide is free. You can book online or call the team on 0131 376 3785.
Questions patients ask
How much is a nose job in Scotland? At Waterfront Private Hospital in Edinburgh, rhinoplasty starts at £9,200, and a septorhinoplasty, which also straightens the septum to help breathing, starts at £10,300. Each price includes the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the hospital, a year of aftercare and treatment of complications caused directly by the surgery in that year. The consultation is £200 and is charged separately.
Why is revision rhinoplasty priced separately? It is more complex than a first operation, so your surgeon prices it for your case.
Will the NHS do a nose job? Not to change how the nose looks. NHS Scotland can consider a referral when a crooked nose also blocks your breathing, and usually supports surgery after an injury if you saw a doctor within a year of it. Start with your GP if you have trouble breathing through your nose.
Can I pay for rhinoplasty in instalments? Yes. Interest-free finance is available through Omni Capital Retail Finance over 6 or 10 months, with a deposit of 10 to 50 per cent, subject to status. Otherwise, payment is due in full two weeks before surgery.
How long do I need off work after rhinoplasty? Most people take one to two weeks. The splint comes off at about one week and most bruising has gone by two weeks. Strenuous exercise waits six weeks.
How much do rhinoplasty and a chin implant cost together? Our price estimator gives a rough guide of about £13,000 with rhinoplasty, or about £14,000 with septorhinoplasty, under general anaesthetic. Your surgeon recommends a chin implant only if your chin is part of what unbalances your profile, and your exact price is in your written quote.
Ready to talk it through?
Book a consultation online, call the team, or send us a question first.