Rhinoplasty: Stories

The more things I do, the more I realize that having the right people makes all the difference.  Even something simple could turn into a nightmare with someone incompetent.  To me, this is my FACE, I did a lot of research, and even last minute cancelled a procedure because that doctor didn't feel right.

I found a good, even local doctor (I was in Oklahoma and considered either Dallas or even NYC or LA if necessary) and everything fell into place.  For one, he was double board certified in ear nose and throat surgery along with plastic surgery, if I remember correctly-- so he focused on faces only.  I was very happy with the result, healed perfectly, and have never looked back.  I almost would say, in retrospect, I wish I had done it earlier, but I think that time in my life I was more stable to be fully ready to make the change (I had wanted it after high school and before college but ended up doing it post-college)  I think it helps if you are truely happy and comfortable with who you are before changing something as important as your face-- if you are generally unhappy without it, you will not be happy with it either.  As it was, I was ready, and it wasn't really traumatic at all-- I felt as if it was the face I should have had, and it was more as if there was something that I was self-conscious about, just removed, so I could be more confident and happy, it wasn't something i ever thought about again.

So, best advice: get a good doctor, period.  It's hard to know, but be choosy, look at before and afters, and follow your gut.  Also, I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but surgery and anesthesia put me completely out of commission for several days, like, I didn't even get up.  By a week I could get up but was still a little unsightly (bruised) and fatigued.  Give yourself time to heal, say a week and a half.