| Hi,
I'm 21 and since I was around the age of 13 I have grown to dislike my
nose. Everyone has their 'thing' that they obsess about. Mine was my
nose.
It bothered me for so long I have noticed along with my family that I
had
started to have a 'pose' of sorts in pictures. Always to the side.
(Laughs)
And I didn't do that on purpose but ended up doing it out of habit of
hating
the way my nose looked front on when I smiled. I also would never smile
big enough to show my teeth in pictures unless I was caught off guard
for
the same reason. Or I would get a picture and cover up my nose with my
finger to imagine what I would look like with a smaller nose. This may
seem pretty obsessive or humorous to someone who has never disliked
their
nose but it bothered me. It didn't cause a huge problem for me, I just
disliked it. Finally this year, my car was damaged in a flood and I was
given some cash in exchange from the Insurance company. Since I had
just
moved into a situation where I did not have to pay any bills, I put it
all in savings. Then thought of the possibility of using that money for
a rhinoplasty.
I then began my long research online. Thank goodness for the internet! I think I have read all there is to read about rhinoplasty. (Laughs) I did a lot of research and ended up finding the best plastic surgeon I believe here in my city and called them up for a consultation. My mother, being the woman she is, insisted on coming with me. My parents of course didn't think I needed the surgery. After waiting almost an hour we finally came in and spoke with the surgeon. He did a visual exercise with us to help me relay to him what I had in mind. After speaking with him and seeing what I had envisioned I was visably excited and my mother was encouraged about the procedure as well. She said that although she did not believe I needed the surgery, that the image exercise that we had been shown did look great. Later on I had finally made my appointment for the surgery to take place and came in again to get some blood work done and sign all the paperwork concerning the surgery. I also came in later that week to talk to the surgeon again about what I wanted to accomplish. One thing that I was not satisfied with was their lack of keeping me informed of what was going on. They did not keep me informed before or after the surgery. The doctor did not even speak with us right after the surgery. I had to call and speak with his nurse just to get the information I needed, and their secretary was clueless to my needs but offered advice instead of directing me to someone else. I had
however papers printed from online on how to prepare for the surgery,
and
what medications to avoid, etc. for the two weeks prior. I also went
over
them with my parents, since they were nice enough to offer to take care
of me for the next week while I recovered. What they had did for me
proved
to help me out so much which I would recommend you prepare. They set
aside
a recliner for me to keep my head elevated, a neck pillow to keep my
neck
from hurting, a table by my side where I could easily grab water,
medication,
eye drops, etc., and also a trash bag in case I got sick. It was very
convenient
to have these things in easy reach at all times. You will not feel like
getting up to get anything, or even to bend over.
NIGHT
PRIOR TO SURGERY
Here
are some pictures that we took the night before the surgery. Obviously
this is without my makeup. (Laughs)
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DAY OF SURGERY I had been asked to come to the out patient surgery facility an hour before my scheduled time. I came inside and filled out some forms, paid for the use of the facility and talked to my anesthetist. Finally they brought me into the room, I changed into a robe and stretched out on the table. She then hooked up an IV and began to give me fluids. Not being in a real surgery other than my wisdom teeth, I was getting nervous and requested something to calm me down. They told me I needed to speak with the doctor one last time so I needed a clear head. Finally he came in - he was a little late. He had me stand up and marked on my nose with a marker and spoke with me one last time and then I just waited with my parents. They then wheeled me into the surgery room which was very cold and had me rollover to the table beside of me. (Laughs) That was not easy. He then gave me drugs and I eventually woke up in the recovery room. I felt like I couldn't open my eyes and I was just 'coming to'. I heard voices then heard a nurse mention my name and let my parents know I was ok. They had not heard anything, and the surgery lasted an hour longer than expected. My mouth was EXTREMELY dry and I asked a nurse to bring me something. She brought me an ice cube but then she couldn't get rid of me cause I wanted more! (Laughs) She finally gave me a cup of it once I was more aware of my surroundings. My face felt very heavy and it was very painful. The medication the nurse gave me seemed to not last long and she kept coming back giving me more and more. They then put me in a recliner and kept giving me pain killers. Since I had over an hour ride home they also had me take a pill. They had given me the others through the IV. After an hour and a half they had me change back into my pajamas and took me to the side waiting room and my parents came in to speak with me and the nurse. The nurse let my parents know about keeping my cloths changed under my nose, etc. When my parents first saw me they were shocked. My poor mother looked away quickly and cried, "Oh Jesus". (Laughs) It shocked them to see me a little banged up. We
then went to the car and eventually set me up in the recliner. I wish I
had slept most of that day. I wanted to, but the medication I was given
didn't seem to help me much at all. I was in constant pain and my dry
mouth
was driving me crazy. I would try to sleep but would wake up with a
terribly
dry mouth and pain every hour of the day and night.
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DAYS AFTER SURGERY Pretty much the next two days were the same. I was in a lot of pain. My eyes had bruised shut but I was surprised that I had not bruised more than I had. Just my eyes and underneath the eyes as well. Being the light skinned person that I am, I expected much worse. My parents kept my water full on my table, along with some juice as well. I kept a mask on full of ice that they had given me to help with the swelling and bruising. They also kept ice by my bed, which I put in my mouth constantly to help with the dry mouth. My parents kept giving me my medication at the correct times as well. The
second day since the surgery was very similar. The medication they gave
me for severe pain was not working well. Needless to say with the
packing,
splint, and cast on my nose I wasn't feeling peachy. Sleep was also
very
difficult. My upper lip was getting VERY large. (Laughs)
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THIRD DAY AFTER SURGERY I had an appointment today to go to the Plastic Surgeon's office to have my packing loosened and to be checked up apon. I told the nurse about my medication and she said that I should try the other medication for the lesser pain....that the other medication just may not be good for me. She told me that I should take two of the lesser, then one every four hours to see if it improved. The medication did work, but only if I took two at a time. Not only would I be out of medication soon if I did that, but the medication was also hard on my body so I just endured some pain. It was still better than before. If you're wondering, the medication I was taking was Hydrocodone and Meperidine which obviously didn't work too well for me. (Smiles) Going to the doctor's office and back took a lot of energy. Due to my appearance, I was quickly taken back in the office rather than waiting an hour like I normally did. (Laughs) I guess I could have scared their potential clients away... |
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FOURTH DAY AFTER SURGERY I had another appointment today to go to the Plastic Surgeon's office to have my packing taken out this time. I thought that this might give me some relief. It was extremely painful when the doctor took out the packing. Being in there for four days gave it time to bleed in a way to make it tough to come out so to speak. Painful and gross to say the least. He also tugged on some of my stitches - also very painful. I went home and just tried to get through the day but I suppose there was some slight relief when the packing was gone. Sleeping was still very hard to do. I also kept saline soaks on my eyes during the day along with the ice. What was great about the packing being out was that I was able to swallow much easier. For the last few days, the pressure was so instense that I could barely swallow....hence the ice cubes instead of drinking a lot of water. Once that packing was out, a lot of that pressure was lessened. My cheeks were very large at this point as well. I thought that I might be able to eat something by now, so I had a little bit of chicken noodle soup but I couldn't hold it down. Or anything I tried. I was miserable that night with nausea and pain. I hadn't thrown up right after surgery like the nurse said I would, so I should have guessed I would do it sooner or later. At
this point, I began to clean under my nose three times a day with a
q-tip
and hydrogen peroxide as directed. After cleaning, I also put a large
amount
of bacitraycin cream over the area healing.
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SEVENTH DAY AFTER SURGERY Today was the day that I was getting the cast off! Yay! Actually I was looking forward to this day and dreading the pain at the same time. I had heard some horror stories of how much it can hurt to have the cast taken off. Actually , it really wasn't too painful. It was the stitches that brought a tear to my eye. He had told me in my earlier appointment that after taking off the cast that he would place some tape on my nose. Cool, I thought. Just a little tape is fine and I'll be able to go out. I didn't know my whole nose was going to be taped up! Not exactly telling everyone that I had surgery on my nose, I didn't want to go out anywhere. (Laughs) Basically by this point I feel much better today. It was a relief to have the cast off, and although I couldn't really see my nose, I can tell the difference and I am excited. Under my nose is healing pretty well and the swelling and bruising has come down considerably. My dry mouth is gone but I still have to breathe through my mouth. I made another appointment for next week to have the splint taken out of my nose and the tape taken off. He had planned to take out the splints today, but decided to wait a week due to the sensitivity of my nose. Tommorrow
I will begin working again and I will start some very low impact
exercising
- walking my dog through the neighborhood. My stomach is now settled
and
I just feel so much better! My nose is still very uncomfortable with
the
splint and tight tape but the excitement of my new nose dims the pain.
I can't wait till next week when I can finally see my new nose!
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SECOND WEEK AFTER SURGERY So toward the beginning of this week, after my cast was taken off the presence of the splint inside my nose became more pronounced but I'm assuming it was because I was paying attention to it. I thought I wasn't going to be able to stand a week and take it out myself! (Laughs) But after a few days the pain was minimal and could be releaved by some over the counter pills. Patience is the key I'm told but it's easier said than done. I wanted this tape off my nose to take a look so bad! Now that I'm staring at my nose often in the mirror I can start to tell more about my new nose and how it is healing. At first it seemed as if my nose was pointing right. It does seem however that one side is at a slope while the other is not and is perhaps swollen. I went to the nurse on a monday in the afternoon to get the splint and tape taken off and to speak with her. I was told to put tape on my nose when I'm at home for the next month whatever purpose that serves. Since my nose is swelling differently on both sides my nose is still looking weird. You can also see very easily where they had made an incision on my nose but it has only been two weeks. THIRD
WEEK AFTER SURGERY
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FOURTH WEEK AFTER SURGERY Well once again my doctor is known for his tardiness and was 45 minutes LATE to the office for my appointment in the morning. And no he did not apologize but his nurse did. He is definately not a people person but I suppose he doesn't need to be, just a good surgeon. When he finally got in there he looked at my nose and said, "Oh looking great". I told him my concerns about my nose going to the right and he asked me how long since my surgery. "Three weeks", I said. He told me to put pressure on the left side of my bridge to help bring it down, and not to 'massage' it by putting pressure AND moving my finger around. He then told me to put pressure on my right side of my tip moreso than the left to put pressure on it to go back. Seems like the nose can still be positioned to heal how you want it, but it makes me worry the opposite of that could happen as well so I'm trying to be careful with my investment. (Laughs) At least for this next month. He unfortuantely told me that he may have to go in again to alter the tip graph if it does not go down much more. I am praying it goes down. I don't want to have to get a revision. Plus even though the revision is due to his mistake, I would still have to pay the out patient surgery facility at least a thousand to get it done there. I have taken pictures of my progress thus far and of my problem areas at this point. I won't see my surgeon for another month so I will post an update and images then. |
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LEFT: BEFORE ..|.. RIGHT: AFTER  |
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LEFT: AFTER ..|.. RIGHT: BEFORE |
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Here is how I look so far. It's an improvement, not exactly what I wanted but like I mentioned above, I'm praying the tip will go down more so I won't need to go through this again. My nostrils certainly look a lot better though. My nose, like anyone's at this stage is abnormally swelling so I'm hoping it has a way to go... It still looks better to me with tape on it! (Laughs) |
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THIRD
MONTH AFTER SURGERY
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| Well it's been three months since my surgery and I still do not regret it. At this point my nose is still very sore to the touch,and the tip of my nose is still hard. When I saw my doctor, I expressed my concerns about the swelling of my nose. He gave me some perscription strength cream and told me to continue to massage my nose how I want it to look. My nose is still wide, pointing to the right, and the tip is still large but hopefully it will come down. My doctor did say that it may need a revision but that he wanted to wait a year before he preformed it. So now I am just massaging and trying to be patient. My hopes are in nine months I will not need or want a revision. These pictures cannot truely show my or the doctor's concerns about my nose but you can see the changes. The swelling was not going down but as soon as I begun putting on the cream and massaging my nose again it definately came down a bit. I feel better since I had this done and I have also been getting back in shape. This has so far been a positive experience overall. But it was definately a costly investment. :) | |||
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YEAR+ AFTER SURGERY Well it's been over a year, and unfortuantely I need a revision. By looking at the previous pictures one might wonder why, so I'm uploading some new images.
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