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Planning and scheduling: Where to start.. I've...
Planning and scheduling:
Where to start..
I've always been self conscious about how receded by chin was to the rest of my face. I did a lot of research on chin implants, including other people's reviews, review of local doctors, and anything else I could find on the internet from planning the operation, completing the operation, and the recovery.
It didn't cross my mind to write a review until after I had done my chin implant and rinoplasty yesterday. Reading other people's experiences really helped me to better understand similar things I would experience, however, everyone is different and I wanted to share my story.
The beginning of March I had visited a local high rated plastic surgeon for a consult. He was easy to open up to, a very personable person, and I explained to him what my areas of concern were. My main thing that I wanted to get done was my chin implant. While talking with him, I had also asked him about removing the bump on my nose. I liked everything about my nose from the length, projection, tip, etc except for the small pump that I had. I wanted to have a straight nose. He said that the two procedures done together were very common to be completed together and I though might as well take care of two things at once rather than regretting it later and not getting it done. Plus, this way I could recover from the both operations at the same time.
The office was full of very nice and welcoming people. I sat with the patient care coordinator after the consult to schedule the operation. They were able to fit me in early (I wanted to have it done while my daughter had spring break so I could stay home with her while school was out and recover at the same time. I didn't want to miss too much time off of work). They were able to accommodate me with the date and after it was scheduled, she went over what I had to do coming up to the procedure. What medicine to take, what not to take, etc. I was given a folder with prescriptions for Tramadol for the pain, Ambien to help me sleep, antibiotics, and nausea medication.
A few days went by and I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. The pharmacist double checked with me to see if I wanted to fill out the nausea medication because it was pricey, over $140! I said, "No thanks, I'd rather feel nauseous for a little bit then to pay that amount". I know that I could have called the plastic surgeons office to ask for an alternative but I thought that I would be fine without it. Later that day I got home I purchased things on amazon that I would need such as a bed wedge, great gel eye mask from Elasto-Gel -- highly recommend, and a gel ice pack for my chin. I was all set.
Day before the operation:
I was told the night before the operation to have a high protein meal. I went to the store to get some steak but on the way out of Target I was so hungry then so I got one of those already made cheese pizzas and ate that on the way home. By the time I got home at 7 I wasn't hungry so didn't end up eating the steak. I drank Gatorade up until midnight when I was told to have nothing else after. I wok e up in the morning both excited and very nervous. I was scheduled to come in at 2:00pm and I spent the morning cleaning, washing my bed sheets, clothes, grocery shopping, etc. The things I knew I wouldn't want to do after the procedure.
My boyfriend dropped me off at 2:10pm (I was too anxious to let him come in with me) and they took my blood pressure and temperature. I was asked to go into an exam room and change in to a slip and put on a robe to keep warm until it was time. The doctor came in to check on my and a nurse followed him for me to sign some additional paperwork. After that, the anesthesiologist came into the room and hooked me up to an IV. During that time he asked me questions about my health, allergies, etc... he was a nice and made me feel more at ease. After being in the exam room for another 25 minutes (waiting on the required pee test to make sure I wasn't pregnant) they said they were ready for me. I had to take out my contacts and forgot my glasses so I walked back to the operating room blindly.
The other doctors in the room with the nurse and the anesthesiologist and anesthesiologist intern were waiting. I laid down on the bed and they put pillow under my legs with a leg massager assuming to keep your circulation going good. The intern told me he was putting something in the IV to make me relaxed and that I might get sleepy. I didn't think that it was time for the anesthesia and was just something else but that was the last thing I remember.
I woke up dressed in my jeans, bra, and button up shirt (now I understand why exactly they asked me to bring a button up shirt, must be difficult to put my shirt on if I hadn't). I slowly got up and into the wheelchair. I didn't feel any immediate pain and I couldn't really get words out.. I was trying to ask for my contacts s that I could see and I finally spit the words out after about a minute. My nose was completely numb and my chin felt uncomfortable. As I started to wake up more I got up to go to the bathroom and walking was difficult, I felt really out of it. I sat back on the wheelchair and the nurse called my brother for me to come pick me up. I had called my boyfriend a minute later to tell him my brother was coming but it turns out he waited outside in the car the entire 3 hours, what a great boyfriend. He pulled the car around to the side where the nurse wheeled me out and I remember quickly and carefully trying to get in. The total time there was about 2:00pm until about 5:00pm.
The pain got worse on my 30 minute car ride home. I forgot my pain meds at home so my boyfriend stopped by the gas station and got me advil which did help. When I got home I was still kind of out of it. I was helped into bed and drank some more Gatorade and the prescription pain pill. A few hours later I felt much better. My nose was still number and the pain in my chin significantly subsided from how it was during the car ride home. when I looked in the mirror for the first time there was some bruising on my nose in between my eyes but it didn't look too bad. I felt good enough to talk just fine, there was no real numbness in my lower lip/jaw but I couldn't open my mouth big enough to start eating.
Now because I had felt fine and was taking, the incision on my chin started to bleed and my nose as well since I was walking around and increased my blood flow. It bled not too much, but consistently for about an hour and stopped when I laid down on my bed wedge pillow to get ready for bed. I stayed up late so by the time I went to sleep I passed out, no need for the ambien.
1st day post-op:
I woke up to some more bruising and the pain returning. Somehow at night I was laying more on my side slumped over so my boyfriend woke me up to lay me back upright. Later in the day I got one of those airline neck pillows to help prevent that from happening again. I took Tramadol and two advils and within 30 - 45 minutes I felt much better. I was told that I didn't have to return to the follow up appointment the next day if I was feeling ok and everything was good.. but.. because I had been bleeding the night before, my bandages had too much blood on it to last me the week until they were removed. I got the the doctor's office and he was very nice about it and changed my bandage and told me to let him know if it happens again. Overall, more bruising around the top of my nose but with the pain killers I feel good. Some soreness but it definitely looks worse than it feels. I tried to eat some food this afternoon but still can't really chew. I don't feel hungry yet though but I'll try again later in the day. I am drinking strawberry/fruit smoothies that I got at the store and they are keeping my energy up.
I left the office and now I'm home again. I'll post again every 1 - 2 days with photos so check back.
Where to start..
I've always been self conscious about how receded by chin was to the rest of my face. I did a lot of research on chin implants, including other people's reviews, review of local doctors, and anything else I could find on the internet from planning the operation, completing the operation, and the recovery.
It didn't cross my mind to write a review until after I had done my chin implant and rinoplasty yesterday. Reading other people's experiences really helped me to better understand similar things I would experience, however, everyone is different and I wanted to share my story.
The beginning of March I had visited a local high rated plastic surgeon for a consult. He was easy to open up to, a very personable person, and I explained to him what my areas of concern were. My main thing that I wanted to get done was my chin implant. While talking with him, I had also asked him about removing the bump on my nose. I liked everything about my nose from the length, projection, tip, etc except for the small pump that I had. I wanted to have a straight nose. He said that the two procedures done together were very common to be completed together and I though might as well take care of two things at once rather than regretting it later and not getting it done. Plus, this way I could recover from the both operations at the same time.
The office was full of very nice and welcoming people. I sat with the patient care coordinator after the consult to schedule the operation. They were able to fit me in early (I wanted to have it done while my daughter had spring break so I could stay home with her while school was out and recover at the same time. I didn't want to miss too much time off of work). They were able to accommodate me with the date and after it was scheduled, she went over what I had to do coming up to the procedure. What medicine to take, what not to take, etc. I was given a folder with prescriptions for Tramadol for the pain, Ambien to help me sleep, antibiotics, and nausea medication.
A few days went by and I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. The pharmacist double checked with me to see if I wanted to fill out the nausea medication because it was pricey, over $140! I said, "No thanks, I'd rather feel nauseous for a little bit then to pay that amount". I know that I could have called the plastic surgeons office to ask for an alternative but I thought that I would be fine without it. Later that day I got home I purchased things on amazon that I would need such as a bed wedge, great gel eye mask from Elasto-Gel -- highly recommend, and a gel ice pack for my chin. I was all set.
Day before the operation:
I was told the night before the operation to have a high protein meal. I went to the store to get some steak but on the way out of Target I was so hungry then so I got one of those already made cheese pizzas and ate that on the way home. By the time I got home at 7 I wasn't hungry so didn't end up eating the steak. I drank Gatorade up until midnight when I was told to have nothing else after. I wok e up in the morning both excited and very nervous. I was scheduled to come in at 2:00pm and I spent the morning cleaning, washing my bed sheets, clothes, grocery shopping, etc. The things I knew I wouldn't want to do after the procedure.
My boyfriend dropped me off at 2:10pm (I was too anxious to let him come in with me) and they took my blood pressure and temperature. I was asked to go into an exam room and change in to a slip and put on a robe to keep warm until it was time. The doctor came in to check on my and a nurse followed him for me to sign some additional paperwork. After that, the anesthesiologist came into the room and hooked me up to an IV. During that time he asked me questions about my health, allergies, etc... he was a nice and made me feel more at ease. After being in the exam room for another 25 minutes (waiting on the required pee test to make sure I wasn't pregnant) they said they were ready for me. I had to take out my contacts and forgot my glasses so I walked back to the operating room blindly.
The other doctors in the room with the nurse and the anesthesiologist and anesthesiologist intern were waiting. I laid down on the bed and they put pillow under my legs with a leg massager assuming to keep your circulation going good. The intern told me he was putting something in the IV to make me relaxed and that I might get sleepy. I didn't think that it was time for the anesthesia and was just something else but that was the last thing I remember.
I woke up dressed in my jeans, bra, and button up shirt (now I understand why exactly they asked me to bring a button up shirt, must be difficult to put my shirt on if I hadn't). I slowly got up and into the wheelchair. I didn't feel any immediate pain and I couldn't really get words out.. I was trying to ask for my contacts s that I could see and I finally spit the words out after about a minute. My nose was completely numb and my chin felt uncomfortable. As I started to wake up more I got up to go to the bathroom and walking was difficult, I felt really out of it. I sat back on the wheelchair and the nurse called my brother for me to come pick me up. I had called my boyfriend a minute later to tell him my brother was coming but it turns out he waited outside in the car the entire 3 hours, what a great boyfriend. He pulled the car around to the side where the nurse wheeled me out and I remember quickly and carefully trying to get in. The total time there was about 2:00pm until about 5:00pm.
The pain got worse on my 30 minute car ride home. I forgot my pain meds at home so my boyfriend stopped by the gas station and got me advil which did help. When I got home I was still kind of out of it. I was helped into bed and drank some more Gatorade and the prescription pain pill. A few hours later I felt much better. My nose was still number and the pain in my chin significantly subsided from how it was during the car ride home. when I looked in the mirror for the first time there was some bruising on my nose in between my eyes but it didn't look too bad. I felt good enough to talk just fine, there was no real numbness in my lower lip/jaw but I couldn't open my mouth big enough to start eating.
Now because I had felt fine and was taking, the incision on my chin started to bleed and my nose as well since I was walking around and increased my blood flow. It bled not too much, but consistently for about an hour and stopped when I laid down on my bed wedge pillow to get ready for bed. I stayed up late so by the time I went to sleep I passed out, no need for the ambien.
1st day post-op:
I woke up to some more bruising and the pain returning. Somehow at night I was laying more on my side slumped over so my boyfriend woke me up to lay me back upright. Later in the day I got one of those airline neck pillows to help prevent that from happening again. I took Tramadol and two advils and within 30 - 45 minutes I felt much better. I was told that I didn't have to return to the follow up appointment the next day if I was feeling ok and everything was good.. but.. because I had been bleeding the night before, my bandages had too much blood on it to last me the week until they were removed. I got the the doctor's office and he was very nice about it and changed my bandage and told me to let him know if it happens again. Overall, more bruising around the top of my nose but with the pain killers I feel good. Some soreness but it definitely looks worse than it feels. I tried to eat some food this afternoon but still can't really chew. I don't feel hungry yet though but I'll try again later in the day. I am drinking strawberry/fruit smoothies that I got at the store and they are keeping my energy up.
I left the office and now I'm home again. I'll post again every 1 - 2 days with photos so check back.
Provider Review
Dr. Garcia