Operation: new nose!

I've been a member of this site for over a year now and I can't tell you how valuable it has been for me. My story starts like most rhinoplasty stories begin... awkward puberty years, nose started getting bigger & crooked, constant embarrassment, lack of self esteem, etc. etc. In my late teens I started modeling and I learned my angles and learned how to pose for photos in the most flattering ways. This has been a life saver and a curse at the same time... I know I am hyper-critical of myself and I am constantly aware of cameras and where I am at in relation to the picture-taker. I have un-tagged probably hundreds of photos on social media- lol. Most of you can probably relate ;)

My profile is awful. Straight on, there's a definite curve to my nose- it points off to the right. People only notice if I say something about it so I learned to stop doing that a long time ago. I have a big bump on my nose, and I feel that my nostrils are too long and my nose should be deprojected. I think that is my greatest fear about the surgery. I want to know that my Doctor can shorten the length of my nostrils while deprojecting my hose without ruining the tip. I actually like the narrowness of my nose and the way my tip looks.

I plan to consult with a few Doctors locally. One is a referral from a girl I went to H.S. with, and the other is a Doctor I have seen mentioned on here a few times but who keeps more of a low profile. I plan on scheduling my consultations in January and feeling it out from there.

This journal entry is my first big step... it is such a small one but it makes me feel like it's really going to happen. I am blessed with a supportive husband and as long as I feel comfortable with the surgeon, I know this is the right thing to do. I am SO TIRED of feeling self conscious about my face.

I'll update when I get my consultations scheduled, and I will add some photos as well.

It's been a year since my first entry and I'm finally taking a step towards my new nose: I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Clutter in Folsom for next Tuesday. I feel excited and nervous all at the same time!

The reason for the delay in scheduling is a happy one; a few weeks after I posted my first entry I found out I was pregnant! In September we had our little boy and he is wonderful. I am breastfeeding and plan to for at least a year- so I anticipate a realistic surgery date of sometime next October (maybe I can just be a mummy for Halloween? ;)

I've been reading articles about "what to ask your plastic surgeon" but I still feel overwhelmed. How many surgeons should I consult with? How will I know who's "the one"? How far out should I set a surgery date?

I will update after my appointment. So far he's the only one I have a consult scheduled with but there's one other surgeon I would like to talk to for sure (Dr. Kaniff)

Posting a couple of pics now so you can see what I'm working with (ugh)

I had my consultation with Dr. Clutter yesterday and it went really well! His office is beautiful and the members of his staff were very friendly. I didn't have to wait for my appointment which I appreciated since I had my 4 month old with me :)

We addressed the issues I have with my nose- overprojection, dorsal hump, how it veers off to one side... I also told him what I do like about my nose- the width and the tip. He basically told me "Don't you dare let ANYONE alter your tip, regardless of who you choose for your surgery!" I totally agree with him and I'm glad we had the same vision. Regarding my nostrils (which I think are too long), he explained that nostrils cannot be shortened without visible scars and deep creases where they meet the upper lip. I definitely don't want that! He told me that with some of the other things we would be doing, it would create an optical illusion of shorter/smaller nostrils.

So the plan would be:

shorten the nose a couple of millimeters
remove the dorsal hump/ create a slight slope
deproject the nose by a couple of millimeters
straighten out the nose to align with the rest of my face


Overall I really loved his approach- he doesn't want noses to look "done"- they should look natural and like the nose you could have been born with. I am a very tall girl (5'10) so I would look strange having one of those cute, sloped little button noses. On the same hand, my nose on a shorter girl would look completely ridiculous! ;) I feel extremely confident in Dr. Clutter's abilities and I have felt from the beginning like he would be the Dr. I choose. I do want to meet with at least one other surgeon though, just to be sure and to have something to compare to.

My husband is so encouraging and knows I have wanted this done for so long-- when I told him about how well the consultation went he told me to book it! All along I have been planning on a fall surgery, but he keeps saying "Why don't you get it done before summer!?" I just feel like getting it done in the fall would make healing easier... does it matter? The summers are soooo hot here and I think it would make swelling even worse if I got it done in the spring. Am I overthinking it? Part of me does want to just book it and have it done ASAP!