Rhinoplasty: Stories

So I am scheduled for my surgery in 3 days and I am SO Nervous!!! I think I am mostly scared about post-op...

yup... still scared...

**Day 1- Post-Op*

Hi Everyone! It's been about 12 hours since I was scheduled this morning @ 8 am. I was so nervous and had a million thoughts running through my head. "What if i was making a mistake?" "Happens if i don't like the results?" I was dreaddddding hearing my alarm clock go off this morning at 630. I was so nervous that I had gotten to my office by 7:25 in fear that I would arrive late lol.

Before I had walked in the door, I started to break down. Thank god my boyfriend is such a huge supporter and he had reassured me things would be okay. The doctor made me feel very comfortable and had taken the time out to answer any remaining questions that I had had.

Time for anesthesia... :))

The anesthesiologist then walked into the room and put the needle into my arm. I was joking around with him and had asked "How long does it take for this to "kick in"? He had said "Ohh about 4-6 seconds!" Before it had even been 4 seconds after he has said that..I was OUTTTTT!!

It seriously felt like I was sleeping for a minute. It went by SO FAST! The Dr. probably started the surgery a little before 830 and I was out the door by 920. Extremely Fast!

As of right now, I feel pretty OK!! There is pain, but it's not THAT BAD. When I touch the skin where my eyes are and by my eyebrow area, yes, it is tender to the touch, but this is nothing that I can't handle. To be honest...I think having my wisdom teeth out was A LOT more painful post-op then having this surgery lol!

The most ANNOYING thing is I feel like I have a horrible cold and I am very stuffy. I CAN'T STANDDDD THISSSSS. How the heck am I suppose to sleep on my back with my head elevated? There is nooo way I am going to be able to get "good" sleep these next 7 days until my cast comes off...

The doctor perscribed me Vicodin and I had only taken one pill, and that was at 11:30. Kind of just let's you know that I am not in a lot of pain..I'm uncomfortable, but I don't feel any throbbing that I can't bare to stand...

The area of my eyes are a little swollen, and I can start to see some bruising...

....will keep updating! :)))

**UPDATE!! :) **

I actually got my cast off yesterday, one day early hehe :)). I called the office on Friday & asked them if I could come in and get it off on Monday instead of Tuesday and the dr. had said that 24 hours wouldn't make a big difference. That was probably the worst part of this whole procedure was having an ugly cast on. By the time friday came ((3 days post-op)) I was seriously about to rip it off myself haha! I could not standddddd it anymore!! & also, I could tell that some of the adhesive was coming off (prob due to the humidity and heat?) and the cast was starting to pull up and away from my nose. (prob cause the swelling was starting to go down?) I'm sure I could have pulled it off if I really wanted to I'm sure haha.

Anyways, I am AMAZEDDDDD by the results!! It was definitely what I wanted. I wanted results, but not drastic, very subtle. And I am very pleased that my dr. was able to do that. The small bump that I had is now removed and my nose is a little thinned out. I can already see a difference, but my Dr. had told me that I am still really swollen and that every month I will see a little change. With it being swollen right now, I think it still looks good!!

What really bothered me was the bump on my nose. It was making my nose look bigger than it really was and it was making my under eyes look puffy...

Overall, I am very happy. I told him I wanted my bump removed but didn't want a "scooped out" look. The bridge of my nose is prob 95% flat with a tiny bit of a bump (he said it will go down its still swollen) but maybe I should have opted for him to "scoop it out" a little? I kinda like that look lol..I guess I was just afraid that I was going to get too much done at once? Kind of like if You were to go in for a breast augmentation for a full B and then after the procedure is over, you wish you would have done a small C. Wowww does that even make sense? =P

I'm 2 days "Cast Free" Post-Op. As of now, I'm a little frustrated. I don't know if it is because I'm a little impatient or just annoyed?

My dr. took my cast off on Monday and right then I could already see a difference. The bridge of my nose was pretty well defined and he said as the months go by it would become more defined and smaller. He said that I was still very swollen, but at that point I already saw a difference, which I was happy about.

As of right now, the front of my nose looks the same. Now, I don't know if it is because since my cast is off, the swelling went back up? Because the cast was helping to keep the swelling down and it seemed as if it just a "ballooned" right up again as the day went on. Did anyone else experience this? Or am I just over reacting? lol.

Kinda bummed....

It's been 5 days since my cast has been off and I feel great. My nose is still tender to the touch and the tip of my nose is still numb. I'm still a little frustrated because the front of my nose looks about the same. Still looks swollen. I took a new picture yesterday, I will upload it in a few..

11 days "Cast Free". Saw a tiny change today in the front of my nose while getting ready for work... I think it's just my imagination though lol.. cause after 8 hours of work my nose looks HUGE again...

I've heard people talking about if you have "thick skin"..it takes longer to heal? I think that may be the deal with me cause i do have think skin around my nostrils..well at least i think i do? lol.

Well today was "suppose" to be my 1 month post-op appointment. I couldn't wait to get off of work to make it to my appointment....until the office left me a VM asking me if I could reschedule because the Dr. wasn't in today. Seriously?!! Kinda bummed... but I go in this friday @ 1130. I have posted a few new pictures that I took today...

I still have a SMALL, TINY TINY BUMP. does anyone else kinda see what I am seeing? lol. I am hoping it is just swelling. when I push down on it, it dissapears. Also, my front is still really swollen. I tried to "mimic" the before picture listed above with me wearing the pink scarf... any difference? ;)

** Sorry for the weird quality and the "brightness", they are off my phone...

sorry..i meant the picture of me wearing the pink scarf that is listed "BELOW" not "above"...

Went for my 1 month post op today :) !! I still had a "few" concerns that I wanted to make sure that I asked him such as taping at night & massaging my nose, thick vs. thin skin/oily skin, the front of my nose, and the TINY bump that is still a little there...

The nurse/assistant had walked me into the room & the first thing she had said was "Wow you look so good! You look like a different person!" This kinda "shocked" me a bit since I feel as if I haven't saw any changes yet. I feel like my nose from the front looks the same, obviously my bump is like 99.% gone, so I can definitely see a difference in my side view. It is probably because I'm so used to looking at myself in the mirror everyday that the changes in the front view isn't really evident to me...yet... lol.

Anyways, the dr. came in & he even said that I looked really good and he could definitely see the results.

I asked him if I should tape my nose at night. He said this isn't necessary and that "some" surgeons believe this theory helps to minimize the swelling & see results faster. He said you may see a VERY minor result when you take the tape off in the morning, but as the day goes by your nose will just swell back up again. & this is due to the oils on your face, heat, temperature, the foods you eat in the day, etc.

I asked him about "massaging" my nose. He said this isn't necessary either. He said it is kind of a "myth". Kinda surprising huh?

I asked him about thick/thin skin & having oily skin. He said I have thick skin and that I may have to wait longer to see results. Also, the oils in my skin also delay the healing process.

I asked him about my bump and he said when he was doing surgery he made sure he set the bones into the exact place that I wanted them to be in and that the bump was completely gone. The bump that I am seeing now is swelling (thank god!) & again..he showed me when he pressed down on it, it goes away. He said that the "bump" swelling will go down about 2-3 millimeters, which may almost look like a very slight "scooped" out look. Which is fine with me lol! Now, he did say that throughout the day to make sure I take one finger and press down on the bridge of my nose with moderate pressure. By doing this, he explained that it will help bring the swelling down a little faster.

Now for the front of my nose. He said that it is still very very swollen. He squeezed my nose with his fingers and showed me what the final results would look like..which made my nose look A LOT SMALLER..so I cannot wait for the final results!!!! :))) & for me, it may take up to 12 months (maybe longer!) for me to see the final results. He said the front of my nose will look almost 1/2 the size it is now when the final results come about. He also said he refined the tip a little (which I didn't even know that he did lol!!) so it wouldn't look "so bulbous". & the tip as well is still really swollen..which to me looks the same as well haha.

I also asked him if he could inject a cortizone shot for the swelling. He said he would like to wait a little longer for the swelling to go down. The next time I see him will be in 6 weeks (October 7th) & if the swelling is still the same by then, he said he will give me the cortizone shot, but he said right now it would be overkill.

What he did give me is an anti swelling gel to spread all over the bridge of my nose when I am sleeping. He also gave me these little square "bandage" looking things to wear over the bridge of my nose every day for a few hours. He said he swears by this anti swelling gel and he has seen REALLY good results. The bandage thingys are reusable and they have a silicone/anti inflammatory property built into them and they are reusable. So I am going to start with the gel applied to my nose tonight and to wear the bandage thingys tomorrow during the day for a few hours! :) Hopefully he is right & these are worth it!!

At the very end of the appointment, he took 3 pictures of my nose; 1 front view, and 2 side views. He came back 10 minutes later & had showed me my before pictures that we took in may at the consultation, the pictures that were taken right after the cast came off (1 month ago) and the pictures that were taken today. This was probably the moment that really moved me because having those pictures next to each other side by side was unbelievable. The before and after pictures were CLEARLY EVIDENT that my nose has been completely changed. I guess that's all it took for me to actually see the differences in my nose, front and side view. So all in all..i believe this surgery was definitely worth it!!! The results are amazing & they will keep getting better and better every month!!! I'm Really excited!! I guess I just have to be patient...which is hard!!! lol!

If I had to say some final words about this whole experience for the people out there who are "thinking" about getting a rhinoplasty, I really think the experience is worth it, and the dr. that you pick has A LOT to do with that. I am so glad I picked a great doctor who was so wonderful at answering all of my "worry wart" questions (lol) & letting me know that I will love the final results. The worst part was having an ugly cast on your nose. You kind of get into this "depression" type mode...but I believe the end results are worth it!

...sorry for the book! lol! :) Hope this helped some people!

If anyone is interested, here is my Doctor's Website.. :)

http://www.drroche.com/

& YouTube Video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YVA_pW0-qM

I would highly recommend him!

So it's been exactly 2 months and 2 days since my surgery. I can see that there has been changes to my nose, but I am still a little self conscious about it. I feel like it is still big for my face. The tip is still really swollen and I am hoping it will start to go down really soon. It just looks really bulbous and round.

As far as the side view..I still see a TINY bump. Like i said above, my dr. said it is just swelling and it will go down 2-3 mm. Well it's still there. I wrote a Q&A on the message boards asking what other professionals thought of the "bump" and 2 out of 5 professionals had said if it is still there and if you can feel the bone..most likely it is permanent and won't go down any more. Kinda dissapointed. But then again, they are looking at pictures that I had uploaded so it may be hard to tell over the internet lol!

I have my 2nd post op visit Oct. 7th so I will keep updating :)

Hi Everyone! I had my 3rd post op appointment on October 7th. I would prob say that my nose is still somewhat swollen. Tomorrow will be exactly 3 months since my surgery. Like I said above, I can definitely see a change in my nose. It is more defined and the bump that I had, well it's a lot smaller than it was before the surgery, but it is still there...

It seems to me that once the cast came off, the bump was like, 99% gone. My dr. had explained that as time went on, it would go down 1-2 mm more... well it seems thats not the case because i guess when my bone was healing, some scar tissue had formed :( I'm a little devastated because the whole point of me doing this surgery was to eliminate the bump completely. I ask my friends if they see what i see, and they all think i am crazy obsessing over my nose lol. But i mean, it is something i see when i look in the mirror, and again..it is something that bothers me. I mean this tiny bump is maybe 1 - 1.5mm high and yes, it is BARELY noticeable. Maybe I am trying to reach perfection and not improvement? :-/

My dr. had told me to put 1% hydrocortisone cream on the bridge of my nose every night for the next 6 weeks and massage it into my nose. He thinks that this may help the scar tissue to heal a little more and it may go down somewhat... So far, I'm not seeing a difference..

We had discussed a "revision" surgery in the future if the bump is still there. This would be an in-office procedure and he said it would be less invasive then the first surgery (no nose breaking this time lol!) It would be maybe about 20 minutes. I believe he said I would just have tape on my nose for a day or two...not a cast/splint. Also, I have a very less chance of bruising occurring. Swelling yes..but my nose is still a little swollen so thats not a big deal lol & again, it would be very minimum swelling. He said the next day I would be able to continue normal day activities..like work. (so I wont need to take off a week from work). Obviously nothing too physical like exercising. I have the option to be awake (of course I would be numb lol) orrrrr..be put to sleep. Problem is, I would hate to pay another heck load of $$ for the anesthesiologist to come back in and put me to sleep for less than a 1/2 hr. If anyone has had something like this done before…could you please give me some info??! He said that I would be able to feel the blood dripping down my throat and the noise of the drilling. I work as a hygienist..I am used to BOTH blood AND drilling! Lol =P But still..i don’t know if I would be able to be awake for this…happens if I move suddenly or something? Lol.

So yeah..i guess it is just the way my body healed itself and it stinks! I also may ask him to “scoop” out the bridge out a bit but I am afraid it will be too much. And then happens if I don’t like the way that looks?!

I go back for my 4th post-op on November 11th. Here again, he will examine my nose and see if the hydro cream is working at all and we will go from there to schedule the “revision” surgery. My dr. said I am still in my “1st trimester” of the surgery so to give it some time for it to heal more….

Updated some new photo's of my Left and Right side and some frontal views. Sorry for the weird quality (again! lol) I use my phone to take my pictures! =P

Last friday, I had another post-op appointment to discuss if I should go with a revision surgery or not. The small bump on my nose that has formed has NOT gone down at all. Yes, it is very small but that is something that I wanted completely gone. I understand, it makes my nose look "more natural" and not "done up"..which is what i wanted, a natural look. But it still bothers me.

Well..went in on Friday and did not meet with the dr. AT ALL! instead, some blonde girl (who says she is a nurse and assists with the surgery?) took pictures of me and I proceeded to tell her that i was thinking of doing a revision surgery. She said it wasn't a problem and that revision surgeries for rhinoplasty are VERY common.

Oh the problem you ask?! she quoted me 2200 $'s for the revision fee! 1000 for anesthesia and 1200 for the surgery (WHICH LET ME REMIND YOU..WOULD ONLY BE ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES!) i mean we are shaving a BUMP here that is like 1.5 mm high?! UNBELIEVABLE! MY MOUTH DROPPED!!! Why the F*** Should I have to fork out another two grand for something that wasn't even my fault?! I'm LIVID! & the thing that makes me even more MAD is that i didn't even meet with the dr! She said he was busy assisting other patients. REALLY?!

I don't even know that to do?! To leave my nose along? Pay the amount for the results that i want and DESERVE? go to someone else and pay another chunk of money?! This is OBSURD!!!

What do you guys think about this?!!!!

Hi Everyone. I guess I just wanted to quickly update my blog and address a few things. My last update that I wrote, I was VERY upset and confused, and I think it was the "spare of the moment" about me venting about my visit with my PS last friday. I just wanted to say that i'm sorry if it sounds like i'm being very negative and "whiny/needy". I understand that every surgery does not go as planned and no nose is perfect either.

Also, the only person I can really blame for this is myself. I have been wanting a rhinoplasty as long as I could remember. Once I had landed a good job, I woke up one day and said "I think I can afford one now!" I didn't do my research and went with a PS that a friend had gone to. I called the office and the next day I was in for a consultation and scheduled the surgery that same day 1 month later. If I could change things, I wish I would have went with someone who is BOARD CERTIFIED and specializes in rhinoplasty and reconstruction. I guess I was looking for someone who would give me a fairly good price.

In the consultation, no one had ever discussed a "revision surgery" NOR did I even know what one was until AFTER SURGERY once I began doing research and reading different blogs on here(yup! wish someone would have slapped me for not knowing!) I also didn't even think about the end process; "what if i'm STILL not happy with it"? because I trusted someone who could do the OUTCOME that I expected.

Also, once my doc and I had discussed a possible revision surgery in early october regarding the small "bump" that I still have, in NO way did I think he was going to do it for free. I knew I would have to pay SOMETHING for the anesthesia and surgical fee..but in the end, I feel like i just got jipped. I didn't ask for much. Just wanted my bump completely GONE and my nose a little narrower/more defined. If I would have asked for other things worked on like my nostrils/tip/septum etc..then yes, i would expected to pay a lot more! I just got minimum work done that i thought wasnt too much to do lol.

All in All..i'm not saying he's a bad doctor. But researching him online, I found a lot of bad reviews on him, which makes me even more upset. I'm sure he is good at what he does, don't get me wrong. & I've had a good experience with him and the staff/office every time I went in there...up until last Friday when I didn't even meet with him AT ALL! It was just a waste of my time and the drive, when he couldn't even take out 5 minutes for me to answer all of the million questions that i had.

I am overally happy with the outcome of my nose. But I just didn't get my $$ worth. & I don't know if he didn't shave down enough or if scar tissue really did form ontop of it. I will be getting a second opinion with Dr. Golden this Tuesday and I will make a decision.

PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU JUMP INTO ANYTHING! but i mean i'm pretty lucky, it could have turned out WORSE! hehe :)

This Month (Janurary) I am 6 months Post-op. So far..from a 1-10, with a 10 being completely satisifed, I'm gonna rate my healing process/"so-far" outcome satisfactory a 6.5. Still have a bump..& still not happy about it..

I met with Dr. Theodore Golden out of Troy the first week in November for a possible revision..VERY nice, intelligent guy! Quirky, but nice! He said he will not even TOUCH my nose until almost 1 yr post op. He told me to come back around March/April and we will discuss everything. When I saw him in november, he said my nose still looked really swollen. He said that once the swelling goes down, the small "bump" that was not COMPLETELY shaved down will become more evident and prominent, as the skin will begin to "shrink wrap" around it..and yup..he was right! It looks like my PS didn't even shave it down..and if he did..BARELY.

I recently just got engaged, so now this gives me even MORE of a reason to do a revision.... :-/ Sucks that I have to pay more money to somebody else, but either way I can't go back to someone who didn't even complete the job in the first place! & wants even MORE money from me for the revision. I might as well give the $$ to someone who isn't going to make that mistake like my PS did...

My nose is still swollen...especially the tip..:( it's gotta be from my thick oily skin..

Well after going back and forth deciding if I should have a revision or not, I have decided to schedule a Revision surgery this Monday, April 9th. I keep constantly doubting my decision..asking myself is it worth it again? Time? Being uncomfortble? More $$?!!!

I'm off for 13 days at my job, so I decided that this would be a good time to book the surgery since I am already off. I will NOT be going to the first doctor that did the surgery NOR did I even go back there since my last post-op appointment after such a horrible experience (read above!). I am not completely unhappy with my nose, don't get me wrong, I just expected to get more out of my surgery. I still have a bump which really bothers me (hearing that removing the bump is actually the easiest part of a rhino!) and even though my nose is a little more "defined" than before, I feel as if it is still wide for my face. I am getting married next June so I also thought that would give me enough time for the swelling to go down and look how it should have looked the first time!!!!

My fiance thinks I'm crazy (lol) and I actually haven't told my family in fear of just hearing my mom saying "Don't you have a wedding to save up for? blah blah blahhhhh" LOL! But it's my decision and if i'm going to do it, I have to do it right this time and go to someone who I feel confident in!

Also wanted to thank amw1986, kristy 978, scb71 for their positive input and experience about dr. Golden as all 3 of them chose the dr. I will be going to for the revision! Thanks girls! :)

Surgery is on Monday, and I get the cast off on Friday! sweeeeeet!!!!! :)

Surgery was yest at 830 so I'm gonna just say that today is Day 2! Doing great! I was extremely nervous yesterday, even though I did this once before, just wasn't looking forward to the "uncomfortable" feeling. The nurse took my blood pressure before putting me to sleep, and it was pretty high. Obviously because I was nervous. They gave me a valium to calm me down and after that I was OUT! I wasn't under "general" anesthesia, where you are "completely" alseep. I am not sure what it is called, but it's almost like you're asleep, but sort of awake? Like you kind of know whats going on, but not really? lol. Which i was totally FREAKED OUT about cause I was afraid I was going to be able to know and hear every thing that was going on around me, but that deffinetely was not the case at all! & they had all explained to me that this is the SAFEST way to go under. The only thing I do remember is looking up and seeing all of these bright lights and people running around the room? lol! Who knows maybe I was dreaming? Also, I kind of woke up when the PS was pounding at my nose. Kind of felt like he was using a chisel to break it...I mean i VAGUELY remember, but it wasn't even a big deal.

Everything is going great. The bruising started to come about yesterday and the swelling and bruising is pretty intense today but I honestly can say it's not bad, and I can tell it is going down a bit. I decided not to take Vitamin C tablets (it was reccomended to start taking them 30 days before surgery) and I also decided not to take the Arnica Montana pills either. I'm the kind of person that if i don't have to take the extra pills, then I try not to. Decided to let my body just do it's natural healing. I took ONE vicodin and that was last night around 1 in the morning when i couldn't sleep due to me tossing and turning and not being able to fall alseep being elevated. very uncomfortable. I am a little conjested, but not much. I can kind of breathe through my nose, but I am mostly doing the mouth breathing lol.

Yesterday I literally slept ALL DAY. Surgery was 830 and I was done leaving the office a little after 1. I don't remember the car ride home and I don't remember going to bed. The doctor called me last night around 730 to make sure i was "alive" lol cause I was SOO NERVOUS before the surgery LOL! Very nice of him to check up. Overall, the experience was great. Wish I would have went to Dr. Golden the first time around though...

Well tomorrow is the big day! Get my cast off and finally get to reveal the nose that I should have gotten the first time! What I really can say is that THIS time around has NOT been a "breeze" thats for sure :( These past few days I've really been miserable. I feel as if I'm suffering from the flu or something. I'm not sure if it is because of the antibiotics that I am on, but I've been very dizzy and nausea. I've had a pounding headache since yesterday and every day since I've came home from surgery i've suffered from the "chills", to the point where I had 5 blankets over me i could not stop shaking!! My eye lids are still SO SO SWOLLEN, and SOO black and purple OMGGG! It literally makes me sick to my stomach every time I look in the mirror :( I'm like going through a depression right now! I don't even have a brow bone, the skin is almost overlapping my eye lid. My eyelids look like I am wearing purple/black eye shadow and I literally have HUGE 2 black/purple bruises underneath my eyes that are SO INTENSE it looks like what the football players put underneath there eyes lol. I'm glad tomorrow is the big day, but how can I be excited to get my cast off when I still have SO MUCH bruising? I mean it's not even turning yellow/green..it's still black and purple! I thought maybe the bruising was getting better ..but I think today it reached it's "peak". I decided not to take the arnica pills (last time I wasn't too bruised, and i figured the same this time) But BOY! Was I WRONG! Maybe I should have started taking them? Anyone know how I can get this bruising to speed up the process?

I was staying at my future "inlaws" all week until last night I felt comfortable enough to drive home and my parents saw me for the first time this morning and my mom almost fainted she said i looked horrible. :( I've been icing the CRAP out of my face all day today, seems to be helping but i'm still so bruised. It's to the point its embarassing and I go back to work Monday.....

I wish I could delete every thing i wrote above and start over from scratch because I feel as if my experience the second time around was SO SO much better than the first! Cast came off today and I am BEYOND ecstatic! I am still SO SWOLLEN and SO BRUISED but my nose looks awesome already! The bump is LONG GONE! A little scooped out but not too much, it looks so cute! I have tape on it to hold down some of the swelling and I go back on Monday for Dr. Golden to take the tape off and see how I am healing. He says for 4 days, he says I am healing great! He was so confident in his work and made sure I was happy with everything. I swear I would reccomend Dr. Golden to ANYONE!!! Will update more later on.... :))

Today I am 10 days post-op since surgery and I am SO SO swollen!! I still have some VERY small bruising under neath my eyes still, but it has been going away VERY fast!!! I was taking arnica montana, Vitamin C, and Bromelain pills religiously 4 days after surgery (to help speed up the bruising and swelling process, I had to go back to work on Monday or 7 days after surgery) & I think they really helped alot!! Or at least I seem to think so lol! So I had surgery on Monday the 9th, went back Friday the 13th for the cast to come off. Dr. Golden removed the cast, cleaned out my nose (showed me my boogers lol...Ewww!!! Crazy guy he is!! :) ) & then put a few horizontal pieces of medical tape on my nose & taped them down REALLY GOOD to help with the swelling over the weekend. Had the tape on my nose over the weekend. Went back on Monday the 23rd. He took off the tape, cleaned out my nose, took out a few stitches (but not all) & revealed my nose. He said after 7 days, I'm looking really good. Between the time he took off my cast on friday and I went back on Monday for him to take off the tape, the swelling came down a lot, but I'm still very swollen. So far I am really loving the results, and I am SO GLAD that the bump is LONG GONE! He reassured me MULTIPLE times that it is GONE! haha I kept asking ARE YOU SURE ITS NOT THERE UNDERNEATH ALL OF THAT SWELLING?!!! lol!

Dr. Golden broke my nose, reset them into place to make my nose straight, took the bump down and did some very minor tip work. There were areas in my tip where I had more cartilage built up higher than in other places, so he took some of that out. The tip of my nose is numb, which I experienced with my first surgery, but it seems as if this time it is more numb this time around and it prob will be for a few more weeks/months.

Found out a few interesting things about my first surgery. Dr. Golden explained that I was SO swollen and bruised this time around because with my first surgery, the first doc didn't break my nose! He said when he was doing surgery, the bones were NEVER broken, and the bump was not shaved down completely. No wonder why my first surgery was less than an hour! & recovery was a breeze! Yes I was bruised, but the bruising was gone within 4 days.... whereas this time, it was almost 4 hrs & I was extremely bruised and swollen for almost a week! So pretty much I got NOTHING out of the first surgery..just a waste of $! So PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK and go to someone who specializes in rhinoplasty and not a GENERAL plastic surgeon who likes to take people's $ & RUN!!

Dr. Golden is seriously the shit I couldn't have asked for a better PS!!! I go in tomorrow for the 3rd time since surgery for him to clean out my nose, check the healing, take pictures, and take out more of the stitches!

So I am 22 days post-op and things are going great!! My tip is still very numb and it feels kind of hard. It is funny because when I feel like my nose has an itch on the tip/bridge, I will go and itch it and I can't feel myself trying to itch it lol :) Also, when I lightly scratch/rub my left nostril on the side of it, I feel a tickle in the very tip of my nose LOL! The little nerves that had be cut away during surgery are obviously still messed up haha. I have this slight burning/tingling sensation inside my nose where the bone was broken. Asked my doc about this the last time I saw him & he said it was normal. I still will not sneeze through my nose, I am afraid of the bones moving or something lol...so I sneeze through my mouth still. My nose is still a little stuffy but I can breathe through it pretty good. Would say the breathing is about 90% good. Obviously it';s because I am still really swollen. The front sorta looks the same, maybe a little more defined. The tip to me still looks pretty big/bulbous. I mean I am not yet at the 1 month mark so I have a long ways to go! I see my doc on friday for another post-op appointment. Last time he told me the WORST time to look at your nose is right when you wake up in the morning. His exact words were, "You ever wonder why you wake up in the mirror and you look like shit?" haha. I just love how honest this guy is! But he said it's because when you are sleeping, you are not moving, and the fluids in your body accumulate in certain areas..hence the reason for a "puffy" face/nose. He said the best time to look at your nose is at night...since you have been up and moving all day :)

Upoladed a pic from a wedding i stood up in on Saturday (april 28th). Kind of hard to see but it was the only "good" picture where you can kind of see the frontal. The other pics are me tilting my head to the side....

..Will update again after my post-op appointment on Friday!

I just saw dr. Golden on Friday. Since my surgery, I have probably had about 4 or 5 post-op appointments, which is reallllllly nice because it shows that he cares about how each of his patients are healing. Each time I visit, he takes a frontal picture of my nose as well as a left and right side view. So far everything is going real good! My tip is still numb. He looks in my nose every time to make sure things are healing well, as well as making sure my septum has not shifted. It was straight to begin with, and he said it looks straight as an arrow so that's good. When I run my finger down the side of my nose where the bridge is, I feel tiny bumps. You cannot see these bumps. He says it is just some bone callus or bone swelling and will go down. There is one part of my nose that he said he was off maybe 100th of a 1mm where it wasn't shaved off but I mean you can't even see it! 100th of a Millimeter? I mean thats pretty damn precise if you ask me LOL! I'd rather have me be able to feel those bumps than to see them. He said i am still VERY swollen, but healing awesome! I came into the room and before I could even say anything he said,"Ok..so this is the part where you say "Dr. Golden, I am NOT seeing any changes, my nose still looks the same!!" LOL...which I had to laugh. He showed me the last picture that he took of my nose last time I saw him in May(which would be 1 month post-op) and He showed me side by side in the mirror..to compare the last picture he took of me in the beginning of May until now. WOW! What a difference. The swelling has came down a lot! My nose is starting to become more defined, but there is still quite a lot of swelling.I still have swelling on the bridge. When I press down, I can feel a little bit of fluid. He said it will come down about a mm more. But NO MORE BUMP! :)) Overall, I am SO happy with my experience, and I can just tell that Dr. Golden is so pleased in his surgery that he did. The next time I see him will be in the first week of July.

**I have made a collage of pictures that shows my updates. Please NOTE that some of these are not some of my BEST poses lol!! ;)

Hello Everyone! Hope everyone is having a good summer! I am almost at my 3 month mark. I am exactly 2 months and like 3 weeks post-op. Things are going ok so far. Feel like my nose/tip is still really swollen. I try and take pictures every week to compare and I did not see any major changes going on with my nose until i came on my computer just now and stalked all of my pictures that I have taken since surgery lol! Obviously I am not seeing any MAJOR changes cause I inspect my nose 10 x's a day LOL but comparing pictures that I took last month and the ones that i JUST uploaded..i am starting to see some swelling come down and more refinement! :) I didn't have any tip work done in my nose... just a little bit of some extra cartilage was removed from one side that was built up a mm or 2 little higher on one side...

Saw my PS yest and said I am healing nicely but I am still swollen, but majority has came down already. Asked if he could put some steroid injections in my nose and he said he only does that if he HAS TO and that if he feels like someone is more swollen than they should be at that point, then he will do it. He said he doesn't like doing that cause there is a chance that if you do it too soon, some of the tissue can disinegrate? i think he called it tissue atrophy? Idk, ill have to look it up... other than that things are OK!! I tape my nose every night very tightly and massage it lightly when I was my face.

Hi everyone! Hope everyone had a good summer! :) Been busy wedding planning haven't really had time to update!!! I am 5 1/2 months Post-Op and well, so far i have a love/hate relationship with my nose. I have one good side and one bad side. My good side i absolutely love the profile. It is slightly scooped out, a little more feminine..which is what I kind of wanted. My other side that I don't like is straight with a tiny bump :( UGH!!!!! I am thinking that maybe I am just meant to be with some sort of bump on my nose lol. When I press it down, it goes away so maybe it is just some swelling still but it seems to be more noticeable now than before... I am hoping to get this fixed...maybe it just needs to be filed down a bit more?.... I am going to make an appt. w/ Dr. Golden and see what he says. I have not been to his office since June. The front is slightly defined, but i wish it was more defined. It seems to me that my tip is still swollen... I am prob just a slow healer.. I am still SO glad that i chose Dr. Golden though for my revision!!!! Updated some pics so you can see what I mean... TTYS! :)