Good in the Longrun... but a LONG Recovery - Argentina

My story. I had a cute nose as a boy, and when puberty hit, it went big. A jewish nose and I'm not jewish. When people used to say I had a big nose, I never saw it as my nose as remember, I had a cute nose, so it was always like having something growing on my face. As a teen, my nickname was ratboy from friends, and comments here and there about how big my nose is. I always figured I'd get it fixed... one day.

Adulthood. My nose now suited my face...sorta.... until I was late 20s. It seemed to go from a large strong nose, to one that was starting to droop. I felt that as my youthful looks faded, people would just see the big nose.

At age 28, people were mentioning my nose for the first time in years.

At 29, I was in Argentina and it started to bug me. (photo 1) While looking up info on IPL for freckle reduction, I came across articles on nose jobs being so cheap in Argentina. $1,500, whereas it would be $8000 plus in Australia or USA. I booked an appointment at the Barrancas Medical Center.

Dr. Abel Chajchir, and his son run the cosmetic clinic in the the suburb of Belgrano. The place looked like a mansion and the staff were great. Both the father and son looked at my nose and said it would be easy. I asked about any possible complications, they said impossible. They were so confident that my mind wondered whether or not I did have the most basic nose to fix, or whether or not these two were snake oil salesmen.

The customers in the waiting room were both foreigners and locals. Because there were locals too, I figured that he must have a good reputation.

But it was too casual. "when do you want to book this in, next week?"

I decided to go for it. I was in Argentina, away from any family or friends who would stop me. I could do my recovery (which should be 2-4 weeks) in privacy, away from judging eyes.

I rented an apartment for a month and paid for the surgery. The thing that struck me was that they never asked for next of kin contact details. What would happen if I died under anesthetic? It just wasn't up to a Western standard... but I went ahead.

I didn't bring in photos of what I wanted, just talked to him. He said straight nose, I said I wanted a curve. He said a curve is a womans nose, I said I meant only a slight curve.

Surgery day. I go under, wake up, gasping. They come over, help spit out the blood in my mouth. I go into a recovery room and stay there over night. It didn't hurt at all, only if I were to touch my nose.

I go home. One week later, the bandages come off. I have two black eyes an a new nose. I hate it at first. Looks turned up too much. Miss piggy stuff. But when I got home I did the side profile photos. I like it. I might just have made a great decision. (photo 2)

One month goes by and still my breathing hasn't recovered. I take off on holiday to the south of argentina. I notice something photos, my upper lip is hanging low. I notice that it doesn't lift over the teeth when I smile. People joke that I look creepy when I smile! So the muscles were definitely affected. Getting worried.

Two months. My left nostril was so tight that I couldn't fit a cotton tip through it. It was that small! A nightmare.

Back in BA, and I visit. He charges nothing for these follow ups.

During the visits, he stretches it, he puts needles in, etc, and it is painful as hell.

4 months later, I am still not better. My new turned up nose makes my chin look very pointy (a smaller nose will highlight your other features, for better or worse.) . I go to him about fixing my pointy chin, which he tells me is dubbed a witches chin in the industry (fair call.) He proposes cutting off the point and creating two edges to give a square jaw look. So $500 for the chin, or $1000 if I use a gel implant. I say "why so much?" He brings me the packet and it has $500 written on a sticker on it, and claims the manufactuer charges that for the implant. I thought BS as it looked like he did it himself so I opted for 1st type.

On the day of the chin surgery, he proposes doing lipo on my tummy to get some fat out and fill out my chin. I am shocked that he dropped that decision on my on the day. I said no way. I didn't want any complications or scaring on my tummy.

So the chin worked out good (no more pointness and a square jaw look.)

Back to the nose. It's St. Patricks day, 4 months after surgery and i go out on the town. I come home and look in the mirror. Might have been the booze but as you can see, I look disfigured. I took a photo. My nose seemed like it was sinking in. I couldn't breath properly and my once ok looking nose job is starting to fall apart. Plus a dimple (or sink hole) has appeared between my eyes. I wanted to kill myself. What had I done to my face??????

I go back , and he puts in a filler in my nose and between my eyes, fixing it.

Winter comes, I've been in Argentina for 7 months and it is time to go. I move to LA, where I see a cosmetic surgeon. He says its still very swollen and they will not touch it for a year minimum.

One year and 4 months after the surgery, the swelling starts to finally go, and I'm getting definition back in my nose again.

I see another surgeron who tells me that I've got a great looking nose, but he will straighten the airways in my nose for $5000. I pass.

I see another surgeon who says they look pretty straight.

3 years on, and I one day start deciding to STRETCH the nose, by making facing, sticking out my tounge, scrunching up my nose, etc, etc. It actually helps. Try to move your nose around like a bunny and do all sorts of faces and you will stretch the inside of the nose, helping your breath.

My breathing is not 100%, but it is over 90% better.

Today, 4 years on, and I don't know whether it was worth it. I look back at old photos of the big nose, which was getting worse, and think "no way could I go back to that." But if you were to put me back in the shoes of me would I want to go through all that again?

People tell me that I have a nice nose now, and to me it isn't really a nose job, but more of a nose restoration, as I feel like I'm back to having a nose in proportion to my face, as it should always have been.

As for recommending the doctor, I feel that all cosmetic surgeons, regardless of who they are, have their patients who they deliver and the patients who they fail on.

Dr. Abel Chajchir didn't charge me for any of the follow up procedures to fix it. I heard that doesn't happen in the West. Had my nose stayed as it did when it was swallon and sinking I'd swear up and down that he was a butcher. But now I wonder whether all the complications were just my body's fault. Did my nostril over-heal and that's why I couldn't breath?

I'm happy with my nose now. I'd tell anyone who gets work done that a nose doesn't calm down for 2 YEARS after it's done. It is a HUGE SHOCK to the nose. It is super sensitive to touch for over a year afterwards.

You really need to go into this knowing that you could experience what I did, and worse still, your nose mightn't have the recovery that mine eventually did.

Ask me any questions you like, I'd be happy to help.