So Glad I Chose Dr. Richards! Bethesda, MD

A rhinoplasty is something I've always wanted and when I saved up enough money I decided why not get one! Upon making my decision I did quite a bit of research on the many doctors in the DC area and was able to narrow it down to 2. My research was based on three things: 1. The doctor's reviews on realself, 2. Their webpage and the ability to see before and afters, and 3. What that doctor's idea of what an "ideal nose" looks like, as I found that can be extremely subjective. I was able to see the first doctor I contacted right away and went in for a consultation, I explained what I wanted, the hump of my nose removed, and he started talking about a chin implant, skin graphs, a lot of internal work for breathing problems I didn't know I had, it all seemed very salesman-like and almost like a way to get insurance involved, as they told me they'd be happy to provide me insurance codes so I could get some of the cost covered. This made me uncomfortable as I really have never had a problem with my breathing. I then contacted Dr. Franklin Richards and was able to schedule a consultation about a month after my first, seeing him was a whole different experience. He was very relaxed, did not tell me I needed anything beyond what I was asking for and didn't even mention the idea of insurance. Although it would be great to have some of the cost covered, I think that having an honest doctor who is trying to do the right thing for you and not their pocketbook is most important. I left Dr. Richards knowing he was the right person to do my surgery! A couple weeks before my surgery I went back to the office to gain an understanding of what would happen during and after the surgery and what I needed to do to prepare. On the day of my surgery I was extremely nervous, blood and needles are my biggest fears and I was terrified of needing an IV, the staff was very understanding and tried their best to calm me down. I was expecting the worst after surgery but in reality it wasn't that painful. I took my pain pills regularly and slept much of the next week. Luckily, I had someone taking care of me and changing the gauze under my nose every 20 minutes, cleaning out the inside of my nose, and putting neosporin on my stitches. My face looked like someone had beat me up, but it looked worse than it felt. Each morning when I woke up their was something different going on with my face, I actually started looking forward to making my way to the mirror each morning to see what had happened over night! First a bruise around my nose, then purple swollen eyelids, which lasted for days, then my cheeks swelled, but by the time I was getting my splint off, one week after surgery, most of that had gone away. It was pretty amazing to see how fast your body can heal! After getting my splint off the skin on my nose was very rough and broken out and there was a lot of swelling, but overall I could see that the shape was going to be what I had been hoping for. It has been 2 weeks since I got the splint removed and the swelling has decreased, the skin quality has improved greatly, and the soreness has almost gone away completely. I am so happy about the results, I know that the swelling will continue to decrease over the next 6 months but what I see at this point is exactly what I wanted. Dr. Richards seems very detail oriented and made sure that I got the nose I wanted. I think that I definitely made the right decision in getting this surgery and I'm so glad I did the research to make sure that I had the right doctor.