My Septoplasty / Rhinoplasty Experience with the Best in the Field. - Skokie, IL

Everything feels normal again, to the point that I almost forgot I had it done in the first place. For anyone getting this done, trust in the process. You won't regret it!

It's 2 months post op and now all the sensation under my nose is back.. Meaning all the numbness under the nose is gone. Breathing is good and no complaints.

I originally wanted to get just a septoplasty done for help breathing at night and for overall cardiovascular health but over the years realized my nose changed in appearance too due to damage from roughing around (sports/fighting/ just being a kid really). I had damaged my nose a few times that I can remember, and though the damage was never too serious on impact, it only slowly over developed into a bumpy over the years, where the slope was more curved and the tip was slightly droopy.. This kind of bothered me more and more throughout the years gradually as everyone in my family has a nice nose, and the nice nose I had in my early teens started looking different in pictures and became a bit of a secret insecurity, that only I knew about. As well as the appearance of my nose gradually changing from the fractures, my breathing really changed. This is something that can happen so gradually that most people don't even know that they have a deviated septum until they visit a physician. It's also something that people can be born with. My breathing got to a point that I would have developed sleep apnea had I not gotten this done in time.

I originally visited Dr Turowski and loved his office, the staff and how friendly and informative he was. What lead me to him was the fact that his impressive educational background (yale/harvard/northwestern) and vast experience is the best you can possibly get. But of course, being someone who had never had an operation before, I had to visit other doctors as well to evaluate my options. After visiting 2 other doctors, I confirmed that Dr Turowski would be the best option for me just because of his experience and the large amount of pictures (more than any of the other doctors and better looking results) he had to make me feel comforted that getting the rhinoplasty done would look completely natural.

Getting it done: I chose to pay with cash (cashiers check) as I no longer had health insurance as I left my previous employer which provided it. The payment process was easy and the price was very fair. Cece, who is the secretary/assistant at the office is really friendly and helpful. She also told me the experience someone close to her also had with this same operation done by Dr Turowski! That made me feel confident in getting it done and the results. Once the payment was done, I was able to schedule the operation really quick and got the exact date I wanted to get it done.

The day of the operation: I had not eaten within 12 hours prior of this operation as instructed. I was allowed to brush my teeth the morning of though. I arrived there that morning.. and there was no long wait or anything. Just straight to a room where I got to speak to the anesthesiologists and nurse and fill out some forms just for basic medical information. Dr Turowski came in and spoke to me and let me know some info on post operation care and things to avoid, etc.

In the operating room: So I got into the operating room and layed down on the stretcher and some blankets were placed on my legs, an IV and some heart monitors and htings were being attached. A minute after being in the operating room, the lead anasthesiologist tells me "I'm just going to give you something now to relax you" or something.. and....

What felt like 2 seconds later.. I'm waking up in the recovery room as If i just had an amazing night of sleep. It's really that quick how it felt. You don't remember anything else but that initial 1st minute in the operating room and boom, you're done before you know it!

In the recovery room: In the recovery room, the helpful anesthesiologist lady gave me some juice and crackers to ease my appetite and also prevent nausea, which I had none. After relaxing in the recovery room about 30 mins I went home :). Upon waking up, you don't feel the splint placed over your nose much.

The painkillers they give you in your IV has a lingering affect and I felt no pain whatsoever the day of the operation, until the night time where I felt a slight pressure around my face (of course) and numbness and very slight pain.

-*POST OP DAY 1-3:-
When I got home, I drank some juice and ate some food. I didn't really have to do only liquids or just completely soft food, considering I had a bit of meat and rice as I was pretty hungry. But besides that, I did just to be safe, eat alot of yogurt, soup, and noodles for the first few days. As I mentioned above, the first day pain is very minimal. By night time I started noticing the congested feeling and the pressure of the external splint. I had to change out the gause under my nose maybe 4 -5 times though the bleeding was not that bad. Only a small nickle and then dime sized portion of the gause was gettin soaked in blood each time but I kept replacing the gause just to keep things clean. Sleeping is difficult the first night because of having to be in an upright position (I highly recommend following through with this as my swelling was very minimal due to this). I also did not have raccoon eyes the day of the surgery and my bruising was barely there. just a very slight redness. Breathing out my mouth felt difficult the first few days but I had to do it. The painkillers also help with calming the mind and sleeping. If you were prescribed Xanax as well, that will definitely help you sleep as well, though I did not take the xanax much as it is not needed. It helps to ask for extra gause and tape for the bleeding but the bleeding for me subsided after 2 days.

Day 2 and 3 is when the swelling and slight bruising really started kicking in. My cheeks and around my eyes were swollen and puffy, but not too swollen (Don't worry, you won't look like a pumpkin). Day 2 is when the majority of the bleeding stopped. I might have had to change the gause 5-6 times that day in total only mostly apply it when I fell asleep or rested there-after. The rest of the post OP days bleeding is almost gone besides coagulated blood caked in your nostrils. Remember not to pick at it though, as it can cause bleeding and irritation! Day 2 and 3 are probably the hardest days as you really start to notice the pressure of the stint, mixed with the swelling and pain and difficulty in sleeping upright while having to breath out your mouth, but hang in there, it's not that bad really . Just keep yourself busy and relax and lounge out, watch some tv, read a book, talk with people and keep alot of fluids on hand. By day 3 the bleeding completely stopped (cept for maybe once or twice more here and there in the course of whole recovery)

*-POST OP DAY 4-8:-

By day 4 I had developed the perfect stacking of various sized cushions and pillows in order to keep my head elevated without having to sleep sitting completley upright. (I realized around day 3 or 4 that you don't have to be completely upright, though it probably helps alot the first few days, the main thing to remember is to keep your head elevated above your heart level and back on an incline to prevent swelling and congestion). I had also by this time got used to breathing out my mouth to sleep. But one thing that I noticed is your mouth and lips will get drier than a desert every few minutes, so keep some liquid at arms reach. My whole setup for the post op recovery was on a big comfortable sofa with a coffee table with all the stuff I needed right on hand and a stack of pillows arranged by the arm of the sofa, but if you have a recliner, that would work great.

Around this time the urge to pick at scabs and shove things up your nose to clear the congestion gets pretty strong, but you must resist. I'll admit, I did pick off some of the scabs that were begging o be picked and poking out and around my nostrils, but resisted the urges for the most part. I also tried not to bend over or lower my head as instructed. Days 4-8 there was no bleeding cept for once or twice and very minimal. I was cycling the hydrocodone every 4-6 hours at this point as it's the only way to really prevent the pain (which did get irritating for me, but for others is not always the case). The pressure around the nose is what really the only thing that bothered me at this point and the congestion. By Day 5-6 the swelling around the eyes and cheeks was gone and by day 7 the bruising under my eyes that had developed completely faded to a very slight redness.

What really helped my swelling and bruising was a frozen bag of peas. Ice packs, ice chips, cubes, etc are no match to a bag of peas. They stay cold, yet not too directly cold on the skin, and can be molded or held different ways to give you more control in how and where you apply it. Also, unlike some others, I had no pain in my mouth or anything. My lips were a bit sore when they were swollen but thats about it. THe majority of the pain was just in the nose and slight discomfort from the pressure of the splint.

*POST OP DAY 8 - APPOINTMENT *
On this day I felt like 'FINALLY! I can get this thing off!'. So I go in, and after a minute or two in the lobby I'm taking into a room and Dr Turowski is there. I was happy to see him and we shared a few words and sentiments before he proceeded and gently pulled off the splint. Pulling off the splint did not hurt at all, but was a huge relief after all that pressure was alleviated, especially around my eyes and mouth. After handing me a mirror and letting me look at my nose, I was happy and it seemed like my recovery was amazing. Dr Turowski then began to snip off some stitches. The small scissors going up my nose did cause some tears to drop from my eyes but overall it doesnt hurt. Just imagine a slight sting for a few seconds in each nostril. After that, Dr Turwoski cleaned the greasy skin cells around the nose meticulously and pressed the nose to help reduce some of the swelling (which was barely noticeable to me) before taping the nose with thin strips of tape. This tape is simply to just hold the skin and prevent swelling. The tape is very comfortable and you can even shower with this tape on. My nose right afte r the splint was off looked perfect in shape and swelling was very minimal but there was bruising in the form of redness under the skin around the bridge ( mostly from the pressure of the splint being on for a week). This went away a few days later :P I included that so that some of you don't get alarmed when your splint is pulled off and you see some bruising or redness on your nose. It's perfectly natural and goes away quickly.


-*POST OP DAY 8-14:-
Day 8 - 14 the pressure and pain from the splint is completly gone. There is virtually no pain remaining. The only thing left is just congestion in the nose from the internal splints/boogers/drymucuous/clogged up coagulated blood. Day 8 - 14 are real easy. The tape on the nose is very thin and Dr Turowski let me know I could take it off if it's coming off by itself. A few days after the appointment the ends of the tape were coming off themselves as the minimal swelling subsided. I still tried to keep them off but really jus took them off and re-applied them to my nose a few times throughout the days. and on Day 14 I just took it off completely and was happy to see my nose looks great. I can send pics to people but I prefer not to post them on here.

*POST OP DAY 15- FINAL APPOINTMENT, INTERNAL SPLINTS COME OUT!*
This was today.. I was greeted by Tiffany who is probably the best nurse of all time. She was the one who made me feel comforted when I was super nervous 2 weeks before the surgery. She answered all my questions, provided alot of helpful information and made me feel at ease. So Tiffany took me into a room and gently and carefully took out the splints for me in a painless manner. I was able to breath right away after that throguh both of my nostrils pretty clearly. It felt great, but TIfanny assured me it would get better as there is still some internal swelling and will fully heal up over time. She answered all my questions and provided some good info on how to keep the inside of nose lubricated with a saline spray /saline gel and skin around the nostrils lubricated. Right after she took out the splints I was able to gently blow my nose for the first time in two weeks . She also showed me what the splitns looked like after she pulled them out. The ends of them were clogged with boogers and dried up blood and gunk which explained the congestion I had prior to the splint removal. (IF you are wondering what they look like, you can google 'breeze airway splints') There was no bleeding during or after the internal splint removal and it was pretty simple.

Now I am able to breath clearly and take in the fresh air! Walking outside after the appointment, I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air on this beautiful spring day and now I'm sitting at home writing this. Nurse Tiffany assured me that now I can pretty much do whatever I want, but will have to wait about one more week before doing any heavy lifting. Aside from that, I'm all set and can continue with life!

I would like to thank Dr Turowski, Cece, Tiffanny and the other nurse whom I never caught her name for helping me throughout this whole process. The New Horizons Center is an amazing establishment. Everyone there is so helpful, friendly and experienced to answer any of your questions and make you feel comfortable. Also would like to mention that the receptionists are also very friendly and helpful, especially when it comes to choosing the perfect time and day for your post op appointments :)

Final Note: I'm more than glad that I have finally gotten this operation done. The results are amazing and I feel like Dr Turowski is a true master of his craft. What he is able to do with your nose is almost as if he has a magic wand that can fix anything that happened to your nose or that you are unhappy with, both functionally and aesthetically. I fee like my nose is exactly what it would have been had I never fractured or damaged it at all in the first place, and that's the results I was aiming for. :)

Most importantly, If you plan on getting this done or are in the process of recovery, just TRUST in your recovery and trust in the results because you are in the best of hands with Dr Turowski and everyone at New Horizons.