“Rhinoplasty: mentally and physically draining experience”
Rhinoplasty: NOT worth it
Pain: Severe
When I was about 15, I was punched in the face by a 20 year old girl. Traumatic experience. Not only did I have blood gushing down from my face, but it was coming up like a water fountain. I guess my nose never healed properly after that because I had a deviated septum. I always talked through my nose, I would breath through my mouth or just one nostril, and I felt that my nose looked broader and broader as I aged.
Anyhow, my insurance paid for me to get anything medical fixed as well as the hospital stay and the anesthesiologist. I was going to just get the septoplasty to fix my medical problem, but I have never really been happy with my nose. I always felt that it was too strong. I did not have a hump or anything though. Either way, I was only charged $4,000 extra for the rhinoplasty. I figured that it would be a good time to get it because if I were to have decided later on that I wanted it, I would have had to pay alot more that $4,000. My surgeon was an ENT with over 30 years experience. He does facial plastic surgery too.
After the surgery, I was in more pain than I had ever been in my entire life. I barfed up blood in the recovery room. It took them forever to get me to a normal room. However,my overnight hospital stay was pleasant. The nurses were very caring and attentive. As for my appearance, raccoon eyes is too light of a word to describe how much eyes looked the day after surgery. I looked like I had been hit by a train.Wearing that stuff up my nose for 24 hours was pure hell too. I could not wait until it was taken out right before I was discharged. Now, I am almost five days post-op. If I could go back, I would have never done it. I have seen how my nose looks without the cast. It popped off while I was in the hot tub, so I popped it back on. My nose is not bad and I only had a slight change, but I feel like I am not myself anymore. I am going through a deep depression. I thought this was going to be a happy time in my life, but instead I feel like the scum of the Earth. I am spending my spring break in recovery, just left to wonder how much I will change everyday. My eyes are still really black and I am so worried about how things will be when I go back to school.
To everybody that is considering doing this, I would not suggest it unless you have a really big or obvious problem like a hump. It is a traumatic experience. I feel like I am part of a stigmatized, marginalized part of society. I never imagined I would have all these mixed emotions and a subtle change is still a big change to me. I do not think anything was wrong with me before besides for my medical problem and now I am out 4k that I could have spent on other stuff. The funny thing is that I had wanted rhinoplasty for years and I hated my nose.... Now, I just feel so alone. My family does not know how to support me and they can not understand how I feel. In all honesty, neither can I.
Updated on May 18, 2009:
Now that I am 2 months post-op, my nose is crooked and more deviated than before. Prior to my surgery, the deviation was only evident in xrays and if you actually looked up my nose. Everything seems hopeless now. I am going to need a revision. How exciting... to waste more time recovering and to have to walk around like this for a year.
Updated on May 20, 2009:
Things can change in a matter of days. Be patient. My nose went from looking terrible and swollen when the cast came off; to unnatural, tight, and swollen; to surprisingly good. Like one doctor said, rhinoplasty is like fine wine.... Also, seriously wait a year to assess it and before considering a revision.
Updated on Sep 18, 2009:
Mar 24, 2009Comments and replies (49)
unregistered guest
30 Mar 2009
Seriously dude, i know how you feel! I underwent a rhinoplasty early February '09 and i personally think the overall look of my nose has been worsened. I went through a very deep depression and am still currently going through somthing of a depression due to the look of my nose at present. The surgeon says that there is no problem putting me through another surgery to remove the hump etc. There is a little light at the end of the tunnel i suppose, however i am very annoyed at the fact that i not only am going to have to miss ANOTHER 2 weeks off school and 3 weeks off work, but i will also have to go through all the pain and discomfort of recovery. Best wishes! I hope everything works out well for you!
unregistered guest
30 Mar 2009
Hang in there! Depression after any surgery is common. You surgically changed your body, so there will be some emotional changes that have to be made, too. Try to remember why you wanted the procedure(s) in the first place.
6 posts
30 Mar 2009
Who was your doctor and what was the breakdown of all your costs including OR and anesthesia. Are you happy now? Thanks.
34 posts
31 Mar 2009
Hi everybody and thanks for the comments. I still feel very emotional because I am coming down off of almost three weeks of taking pain medication, as I had my wisdom teeth removed then rhinoplasty. I feel much better about the operation now almost two weeks post-op. I feel like it improved my profile and nobody at school even noticed a change in me except for the bruising still under my eyes. I was looking for a subtle change and I have that. When I look in a three way mirror, I am not all nose. The front and the tip is a different story though. It is still very swollen and I hope the swelling goes down because I feel like Rudolph. The money still bothers me because I am a college student and I do not work, so I think of all the clothes I could have bought. However, my nose is mine forever unlike a handbag that will go out of style and I hope if and when the swelling goes down that I will feel like this nose job was the best thing I could have down for myself. I just hope the swelling goes down a bit more before my trip abroad late this May.... Anyhow, if you are a young person contemplating this, be very informed of the procedure prior to deciding. If you have a medical problem like I did and the insurance will pay for part of the procedure, go for it too. However, unless you have a really big nose or a hump, I would not recommend spending thousands of dollars to make a slight change in your appearance. Remember that my insurance covered most of it and the hospital stay. I am unsure as to how much it would have all cost, had I paid for everything out of pocket. My mom still has me covered under her insurance. I have read horror stories of people who did not even get to stay in a hospital after their procedure. Trust me, you need the hospital stay... Do not just look at before and after pictures of other people, but do serious research and pick somebody who specializes in facial plastic surgery not just any cosmetic surgeon. For rhinoplasty, it is way better to get somebody who is an ENT too.
34 posts
31 Mar 2009
By the way, is there a way to send private emails on here to other users????
1417 posts
1 Apr 2009
Hi MissIllinois2009, Yes, there is. Click on the person's username and, if they have agreed to receive private messages, you'll see a "Contact" link.
6 posts
1 Apr 2009
I am considering 3 surgeons here in Chicago. I have consultations set up for two but the third I am debating on because the consultation is an additional fee that I do not want.
31 posts
6 Apr 2009
Depression is definately normal. I have been depressed at times since my rhino in Jan but now I am better except I am still depressed about the permanent scar on one of my nostrils. They did not tell me how noticeable that was going to be before hand. But besides that I have adjusted to my new look pretty well.
34 posts
6 Apr 2009
I am amazed at how such a slight change can affect your entire face. When I look at my pictures from before, I get especially depressed because I start to see that there was nothing truly wrong with me to begin with. Now, I have been reading all over about polly beak and in since I do have some swelling in my supra tip and tip, I am concerned that I might develop this. It is a frightening thought. At the same time, I still feel like I needed to have the surgery for my self-esteem. The recovery and getting used to looking a bit different is just a bit*h! Everybody tells me I look the same and they can not tell, but I think I look totally different!!! It seems like in pictures, it is even more noticeable. I slept so much last night and today because I just felt so lost. I must have slept from 11 p.m. to 11:00 am. To top it off, it is so hard to get any school work done when I panic about my appearance. Then again, I am still only 2 weeks and 3 days post op. I guess it is still too early to judge. On the 31st, I am going to see my surgeon. Maybe asking him exactly what he did during the operation will make me feel a bit better. By the way, I still notice some slight swelling by the sides of my bridge close to my eyes and on the bridge itself. Anybody else have this???
34 posts
6 Apr 2009
oh and the swelling in my tip makes it look even less refined then before. i have to go overseas in less than 2 months, seeing people whom i have not seen in years. i just hope i can look somewhat normal by mid-may! this experience has been such a roller coaster ride. one minute, i feel like it was the best thing i could have done... the next minute, i feel miserable again and filled with regret.