Rhinoplasty: Stories

did you spent $ 23000 ?

who did your surgery?

Hello. I just wondered if you could give an update?

Dr T?

i left u a long message that was supposed to be somewhat helpful awhile ago...did u read it???

Did you say the collapse of your nose was due to the rhinoplasty you had first? I hope everything turns out well for you.

Regarding the photos, my surgeon said HIS photo looks better because theirs is a professional camera which takes a "flat" photo and professional lighting, while personal cameras (I am an amateur photographer so I have a pretty good camera myself--and know that what he says is untrue) give a "fish eye" effect...SO apparently I'll not ever be able to take a proper candid photo???!! I had a follow-up with him last week and he was very abrupt and rude. At least in the past, he was really kind. You pay Gold Coast prices, you expect Gold Coast treatment--especially for a surgery so closely tied to self-esteem. I added another photo up at the top--the digital image he created which he said he could deliver. You can see there are minor, but important changes. For some reason he decided that instead of taking care of that and giving me the aesthetic I expected, he would take out my septum and use it to lengthen my nose (didn't want), used additional rib to create a bridge piece (even a radix graft that sticks out as a bump on my bridge) I don't want and don't like and never brought the wide tip in by leaving the original grafts in that make the tip look wide. He is unwilling to do another full surgery and wants to add even ANOTHER graft. I feel like a guinea pig and really just want my money back--it should have gone through insurance but I was so pleased with the digital image, I signed up to pay for cosmetic surgery. If I had known his surgery was going to take so long, anesthesia would price out to over $5000 and OR costs would skyrocket, I'd have thought twice. I hate the bridge graft so much but he is so proud of it and says "It took me over an hour to shape that piece". To me at the close up, it just looks funny and pulls my nose out farther so you don't notice my eyes as much, plus it looks crooked.

Hey there! First let me start by saying thank you for sharing your story with us. I am very sorry you have had to endure multiple surgeries and such an incredible financial commitment. You state that the 3rd and 4th photo ( the one taken at your doctors office) were taken around the same time, but I must agree with you in that the one the doctor took looks drastically different. Is he stating that's the projected final result or claiming that's where you are now? I would suggest moving or reposting your story with photos to the doctors q&a section of real self. They will be able to give you better plan advice, recommended treatment and possibly assistance with getting/demanding the result you anticipated. You are very pretty but should get what you paid for. Good luck to you and I will be sure to follow your threads and check up on you. Take care!

i also want to add that the UK Rhinoplasty Forum is great as well. If you post your experience they'll have some suggestions for you

I have no idea. I have to wait another month until a year anniversary hits. This surgeon is close by for surgery and follow-up and I've learned that reviews and reputation are not good ways to find a surgeon. With all that he did, finding another surgeon to do more work on it would be hard and just tiring. I have little choice but to stay with my current surgeon, but I feel taken advantage of from a business standpoint (even the surgical report says "reconstruction of nasal septum" but the business person claims it was only cosmetic and will not give my insurance company any codes other than "cosmetic" which isn't covered) and a standpoint where I didn't demand a written surgical strategy ahead of time, only promises that minimum would be done to make my nose look like the computer imaging. The staff has been great about some things but bad on other follow-up areas (for additional medical care on the nose and another area, they have been hands-off--even several weeks after when I had some broken cartilage graft come out from stitches that came out--I am always advised to drive downtown only to be assessed as to whether or not I need to be seen by my GP doctor. No antibiotics were given for sinus infection 1 week after surgery; I didn't even see the surgeon when I came in for the broken cartilage). I don't know where my trust lies, but I have few other options, especially when it comes to aftercare, it's so important to have a doctor close by. I could use any advice, ideas, empathy, sympathy--anything. This has literally ruined my life to the point where I have isolated myself and recently been put on medications and heavy counseling because my surgeon seems to just not hear what I have to say and dismiss me. I feel misguided. I think he's a good guy, but planned for a massive surgery which would correct my nose completely and make me happy--but I wanted a smaller, thinner tip to begin with and he failed to give me that, failed to correct the deformity and gave me a hard nose out of rib (he says my nose isn't hard because he used rib CARTILAGE, but we all know rib makes it hard and stiff. I have been unable to stop a bloody nose because I cannot pinch my nose shut anymore as it's rock hard. I need some truths, some affirmations and some advice and would appreciate anything any of you could offer. Just your postings are so very helpful to me.

I am so sorry that you have had to go through that. I too had to deal with a surgeon who did a totally incomplete nose job on me making me look worse then before and then having no sympathy at my emotions on how it really looked and acting like it looked great. For 23,000 you should have a perfect nose, seriously. YOur nose is not that bad but i can see where it could be improved. What do you think your going to do next?

The collapse came in conjunction with a multiple-year (yes, year) set of facial lesions which, when they finally gave me massive antibiotics, went away but the lesions (and a large nodule) had been in my nose too. Several of the lesions in the nose seemed to be full thickness. Anyway, it collapsed and I made the mistake of asking the first surgeon to also remove my dorsal hump. I was happy with the bridge after he did it, but the second surgeon (who is on Real Self) redid the whole nose with rib and added to the bridge which looks odd now. The surgeon's photo does look not so bad, but you can see how the candid photo taken at the same time looks--surgeons really do a lot of shadow and correction on their photos. All my current candid photos look like the third photo. It's way too wide--I never expected or agreed for the second surgeon to do all the rib and bridge work that he did. It cost me $23,000 out of pocket--yes, it should have gone through insurance. So I am way more upset because this cost us the amount of a small sedan out of our savings and I have a nose the size of a small sedan on my face. The surgeon, assuming because he doesn't want to do more surgery, proclaims it looks fantastic. I'm despondent (it wasn't Toriumi either) and feel as though I deserve at least a much smaller nose.

How did it collapse in the first place? I have to say the 4th photo is very beautiful. You can tell its a little off but its still a major improvement. Hope all works out for you/

Hi there! Did your nostril collapse on its own initially? Or was that the result of an accident or surgery?

You're a lovely, lovely lady, but your nose does look off still. Were both surgeries done by the same surgeon and was he or she board certified by ASPS or ASAPS? I'm not sure when you had this done, but it could still be somewhat swollen.

I'm going to suggest that you post your photos and a question to doctors in RealSelf's Q&A community. I think you'll be able to get some good feedback there.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and photos with us.

You might also want to check out the Revision Rhinoplasty community.

I'm really sorry you're going through this. Everyone deserves to have a nose that fits her face.