Rhinoplasty: Stories

I have never been happy with the appearance of my nose. I had always felt it was a bit too big for my face, and I broke it when I was younger, leave a slight bump. When I smiled, the tip went further down than I liked, and at certain angles my nose just looked big. I have spent years being self-conscious in front of the camera; always deleting photos of myself where my nose looked bad and always smiling a certain way. Looking at my front profile, most people can't see why I would want to have it fixed. It's only when looking at it from the side that you can really tell where my issues were. I'm happy with my appearance overall, but my nose has always been something that I have been wanting to change. I wanted a "cute" nose; something smaller, sloped, and natural-looking. Where I'm originally from (Upstate NY), plastic surgery is a very taboo subject. Every time I brought it up, I was called vain and shallow. It was then that I decided to wait until I graduated college to get my nose done, no matter where I went.

After graduation, I moved here, to Westchester, where views of plastic surgery are completely different. I immediately felt accepted and supported by my decision, and went on the hunt for the perfect surgeon. After several consultations, I spoke with a friend who had her nose done (which was similar to the look I wanted), and referred me to her surgeon, who had met the proper credentials I was looking for as well. We met for a consultation- he showed me before and after pictures of what I would look like and explained the procedure to me in a very thorough manner. Seeing the pictures was an indescribable feeling. I almost wanted to cry when I saw the "After" picture because that was what I had always wanted to look like. I knew then that this was the surgeon for me.

Two months later (August 2011), I went into surgery extremely giddy, anxious, and nervous. I had never had surgery before so I didn't know what to expect. All I remember was laying down on the operating table, laughing and joking with the anesthesiologist and doctor, and waking up in recovery very "out of it." I felt nauseous but was in no pain. Recovery at home was probably the worst part of the procedure. I am a very active person; I do cardio and strength training every day, have a full-time job, and am always all over the place. Sitting at home with nothing to do, an uncomfortable cast on my nose, unable to wear makeup or really leave the house on top of the medication made me almost depressed and very sad. I was going stir-crazy just sitting around and didn't really want to go out in public. 5 days after the surgery, I finally went back to work and got the bandage (cast) off.

I have to say the results were absolutely worth those 5 days of depression- my nose is exactly what I want it to look like! I no longer feel self-conscious when I smile and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's extremely swollen still, but most of it will be gone it 2 weeks. The final results won't be visible for about a year. That is one thing to remember with rhinoplasties- patience is key! Now, I'm back to work, wearing makeup, going out, etc. (6 days after surgery). I still have slight bruises under my eyes that are covered with makeup, and my nose is a bit painful and numb. I'll continue to post my progress, but it was overall well worth it!