Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty before & after photos
78%
875 reviews
Worth It Rating Our index shows the percentage of community members saying this was "Worth it". See cosmetic treatment rankings
Rhinoplasty Cost ≈ $6,300 average cost
Write a review | Ask a Question

“Rhinoplasty: Mentally and Physically Draining Experience”

33 posts
Comments (60)
Updated 21 Sep 2009
Posted 24 Mar 2009
Not Worth It
Spent: $4,000 in Chicago, Illinois

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:

I am about six months post op. I had a closed procedure. Now, that all the swelling is gone, I am unsatisfied. PRE-OP- My nose was big, but never crooked. Now, it is crooked and I can feel two bones in my bridge instead of one. It also feels sharp on the sides and flat on certain areas across the bridge. I really regret my decision. What should I do now? The doctor offered to give me the 4k back, but he wants me to sign all these legal papers. I am only 21 and really depressed.

This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.

Vote: 11 members found this review helpful

Comments (60)

Post a Comment
Sort:
Craig Mitchell (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!
LexieM (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.
chiquitabaanana (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.
MissIllinois2009 (33 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.
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 31 Mar 2009
By the way, is there a way to send private emails on here to other users????
Sharon at RealSelf (Community Manager - 4,028 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.
samxt21 (1 post) 20 Jul 2009
what does ENT mean?
Sharon at RealSelf (Community Manager - 4,028 posts) 20 Jul 2009

Ear, Nose and Throat

chiquitabaanana (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.
Tigerfan7777 (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.
MissIllinois2009 (33 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???
almanac (25 posts) 20 Feb 2010
I have the same feelings 3 months post-op. Sleeping all the time, and dreaming, escaping from reality.
MissIllinois2009 (33 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.
Tigerfan7777 (31 posts) 7 Apr 2009
It can take up to a year for the tip to finish swelling so don't freak out. No one can notice me being different either unless I show them and I had a chin implant also. We are our own worst critics you know!
smacklebee (unregistered guest) 8 Apr 2009
It appears to me that everyone is not happy at all with this nosejob thing. is it that bad to have a crooked nose? who are we comparing ourselves to? is it that we have become so spiritually deficient as a culture and then we torture our bodies and that is the depression you feel. that happiness you wanted from your nose is still not in your nose
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 9 Apr 2009
First off, my spirituality and/or my relationship with God has nothing to do with my decision to undergo surgery. I have strong faith and a good relationship with God. I also pride myself on many other things in life besides my appearance. Yes, the cosmetic part of the surgery was my decision. However, I had to have surgery anyway to correct the deviated septum and I do not think I am wrong for wanting to come out of surgery looking a little better too. Life is miserable when you can not breath, you always get infections, and your eyes are puffy as a result of it. I was torturing my body by not getting surgery. Onto comparing, yes, I am guilty of comparing myself to other people as most individuals do. The bottom line is that after any surgery, you are going to feel worse for the following few weeks afterward, before you feel better-cosmetic or not. Surgery is a rough thing to go through. With cosmetic surgery, you also end up with less money in the bank, so that is another factor of depression. I am sure the majority of people go through somewhat of a depression or downtime after surgery, whether they are happy with their end results or not. Finally, culture has ZERO to do with it. Cosmetic surgery is also common in other countries, not just in Western countries, might I add. What are their reasons??? Then, even with tribal cultures, there are body modification rituals. Sorry for the long message and not that I need to justify what I did, but I feel that it is necessary for me to kind of stand up for all people, particularly women, who decide to do this. It is not all about vanity or looking like a certain Hollywood standard, but a very personal decision that is case by case.
Tigerfan7777 (31 posts) 10 Apr 2009
I wouldn't worry too much about the comments of the guest user. If that person doesn't believe in cosmetic surgery then why are they on a cosmetic surgery site to begin with?
clynnkramer (3 posts) 13 Apr 2009
I too had projectile vomiting after my surgery, but not until later that night. I was throwing up with blood gushing down my face. I had no packing in my nose, which from everything I have heard, is a GOOD thing! My doctor was great and didn't charge me for my rhinoplasty over and above my sinus/septum surgery. He included it all with my insurance. I believe most really good surgeons will. anyway, my doctor had a light hand for sure...I didn't have severe bruising around my eyes or nose. In fact, my nose doesn't bother me that much. I think your situation is dependent on your surgeon. As for your depression, I think you need to wait 6 months to know if you like your new nose. If you had such a low self-esteem before the surgery, your surgeon should have referred you to speak to a counselor before he performed surgery on you. Mine was careful to examine my reasons and my expectations for the surgery before he agreed to do it. I was in a very good place about it and had wanted it done my whole life. Sounds like you need to talk to a psychologist immediately to help you with your self-image issues.
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 14 Apr 2009
In all honesty, you do not even know me to tell me to seek help from a psychologist or to determine that I have self-image issues. I think you are the one that needs help. Either way, I am going to ignore the rest of your comment. People such as yourself seriously need to get lives before you pass judgment on others in these lengthy comments.
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 14 Apr 2009
By the way, from your picture, you look a bit older. I am only 20, going to be 21 in about a month. Shouldn't you pick on somebody your own age?? Oh and just because my doctor was not willing to be fraudulent with the insurance does not mean he is not a good doctor. He is a very reputable man and world renowned. Oh and if you want to talk about self-image issues... you are the one that is getting numerous procedures done. Not that there is a problem with that, but before you go around judging-LOOK IN THE MIRROR!!! The only thing I ever wanted done was my nose and it was because of an injury.
clynnkramer (3 posts) 15 Apr 2009
I wasn't judging you and based on your responses, your age is most certainly revealed. You are very immature. If you don't want advice either way, perhaps you shouldn't be posting on a site asking for it. In my professional opinion, I believe you have severe depression and need to seek help. Medication is the road to your recovery. My nose had been broken 4 times before, hence why I got it fixed. You are right, I am older and much more mature than what you have exhibited here. I have no self-esteem issues and I know exactly who I am and love the surgery my doctor did. It doesn't sound like you even know who you are yet, as a person, but that will come with age. Good luck
chiquitabaanana (6 posts) 15 Apr 2009
about to get my procedure done this Friday. Just hoping someone could show me their picture and tell me the doctor if it is in Chicago. Thanks.
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 17 Apr 2009
What doctor are you going to, chiquitabaanana?? Hope everything works out for you!
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 17 Apr 2009
@ clynnkramer I would say you are judging.. Diagnosing a practically anonymous person online with clinical depression...Well before you decide to diagnose people with body image issues and/or depression based on a few posts they wrote after surgery, you should look at yourself. I am happy with what I did and I do not have any desire to change anything else. You are the one seeking a bunch of other surgery.. Not that there is anything wrong with getting multiple procedure, but after having one, I would wait it out before going under the knife again... I do not need to defend myself or bring down somebody else in a desperate attempt to feel better about myself, but this is different. FYI-I came on here to share my story with other people, to hear other experiences as well, and just to communicate with other people who have gone through what I went through. Surgery is a rough thing to have to go through especially if you are a younger person. I am only open to supportive messages... I did not really come here seeking advice, as you seem to assume I did... So many assumptions.... By the way?? Are you a doctor?? Unless you are, you have ZERO business telling people to take anti-depressants or trying to promote the use of. The answer to recovery is different for everybody...Not that there is anything wrong with taking medication, but who are you to determine who is depressed and who is not? If you are going to diagnose somebody you have never even met and know ZERO about their past based on a few posts they wrote specifically related to one topic, you have issues and are the one that needs to GROW UP! I seriously hate to respond to you and any other negativity such as that from a guest user, but I feel it is necessary because this is a public site and girls should not be made to believe that have mental illness or body image issues just because they are thinking about surgery, have had it, or are feeling down afterwards... It is perfectly normal and common to feel bad after surgery, as you have to take some time out. It does not mean you have clinical depression. Before surgery, one was active, not bruised, and able to do anything... Whatever though, I am sick of dealing with internet bullies and/or trolls, such as clynnkramer... By the way, is there anyway to block a user??? Will they still be able to comment by my rhinoplasty review??
MissIllinois2009 (33 posts) 17 Apr 2009
One more thing, there is a big difference between going through a depression after surgery versus suffering from depression everyday without a reason. Either way, this site should be used to support each other NOT to hate, judge, or be catty.

Post a Comment

Read more Rhinoplasty reviews

“Unsuccessful Rhinoplasty Experience” 25 comments
“Rhinoplasty Success =)” 2 comments
“Worse Than Before” 18 comments
“Rhinoplasty is Not Worth It”

Related Rhinoplasty Q&A

Q: Possible Deviated Septum?
Q: What Can Be Done for Septum Pain and Deviation, and Enlarged Turbinates?
Q: Lowering Cost for Combined Septoplasty and Rhinoplasty Possible?
Q: Is Having Rhinoplasty Safe if You're Pregnant?
Q: Can Rhinoplasty Repair Crookedness?
Q: How is a Broken Nose with Deviated Septum Fixed?
Q: Rhinoplasty Procedure to Address Multiple Issues?
Q: Insurance Coverage for Correcting Deviated Septum and Crooked Nose?
Q: Options for Progressively Crooked Nose?
Q: How Soon Can I Get Pregnant After Rhinoplasty Surgery?
View all
Ask a question
Use of this website and the posting of any reviews or other content on this website constitutes acceptance of the RealSelf® Terms of Service. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. © 2011 RealSelf, Inc. All rights reserved.