The results are in & I'm completely satisfied!

I've been contemplating rhinoplasty for half of my life, and after certain events transpired, decided to act on my desire to do so. After several consults, I chose Beachwood Plastic surgery for several reasons - the website is one of the only ones with several before/after photos, Dr. Goldman's curriculum vitae (board certified in plastic surgery and otolaryngology, so he is proficient in both the aesthetic and physical aspects of rhinoplasty), the thoroughness and pleasantness of all of the staff, the fact that I never felt rushed, and the cleanliness/attractiveness of the office. The physical/emotional process was more difficult than I imagined (I will describe this in more detail in my Realself blog), but it's all been worth it.

I realized today that I barely have any photos that truly reveal my "before" nose, as I spent so much time manipulating camera angles to get photos that minimized the aspects of my nose that I disliked - the hump, hanging columella with bifid tip, over-projection, nostrils that could hide Jimmy Hoffa, formless cartilage, etc. I posted the "worst" pictures I could find to give an idea of how much my nose has changed in the month since I've had my septorhinoplasty w/ turbinate reduction.

I feel a bit vulnerable putting these photos on the internet, as some of them are a bit.. unsightly, but I think it's important to show them to people who are contemplating rhinoplasty. I thought I had done my homework, as I spent years researching rhinoplasty on the internet, but there were things I experienced in my recovery process that I hadn't prepared for (nor heard about), and it certainly was more difficult than I imagined. I saw so many photos with nearly instantaneous results that didn't look like mine (I'll explain further), and many stories that made recovery seem like a breeze. Mine wasn't. It's important to understand that pain, discomfort, emotions, healing, swelling, physical attributes, and other intricacies vary widely by person.

The biggest issue I faced was that I didn't realize just how much my tip would drop - when I first removed the drip pad, my nose looked incredibly over-rotated, short, and pig-like (as you can see in the photos). I SHOULD have called my doctor, but instead the days before my cast removal an emotional wreck (I'm understating this a bit) contemplating revision rhinoplasty and spending entire days on the internet trying to find out what went wrong. I felt much better about the appearance after the cast was removed, but my nostrils were still high until the end of my third post-op week. Additionally, my nostrils appeared to be asymmetrical (refer to the third photo) and I thought perhaps too much cartilage had been removed from one side and I might have alar retraction, but one month post-op, that issue is nearly completely resolved. Mostly likely, I just had uneven swelling.

As far as non-aesthetic issues are concerned, I had a moderate amount of pain for a few days, but more than anything, I was very uncomfortable. I barely slept, as I had to prop myself up to reduce swelling. I didn't really contemplate the fact that I wouldn't be able to taste ANYTHING, and I didn't for 3 weeks. I also became a complete mouth breather for 3+ weeks, and even with a humidifier, I woke up every morning with cracked lips (hence the sugar scrub on my lips in the photos) and a sore throat. I had acne before the surgery, but it was definitely exacerbated by the stress and the fact that I couldn't really wash my face the way I need to, so I developed a few cysts and a copious amount of blackheads on my nose where the cast was.

Three weeks out was the point where I finally started to feel relief (and those three weeks seemed like an eternity). Currently, I'm 5 weeks post-op, and the only physical issue I have is the swelling/hardness of my tip, which is normal. Aesthetically, the incision on my right nostril from the turbinate reduction hasn't healed as well as the other nostril - yet. I can't describe it in any other way except a "crack" like appearance, but I'm going to remain patient. If it doesn't heal as the other incision did, I will discuss this with my doctor at one of my follow-up appointments.