Rhinoplasty: Stories

So...where to start... My name is Sonya and I'm 17 years old and living in Vancouver, BC. I've hated my nose since I could remember. My nose has a huge dorsal hump and droops down when I smile. I had 2 friends get a rhinoplasty from Dr. Buonassisi and their noses turned out amazing. Upon further research I found that he had some of the best reviews in my area so I booked a consultation with him and booked the surgery the same day. I'm so excited that the day I've been waiting years for is just a few weeks away. I saved all the money for the surgery on my own :) .

Today was the big day, my rhinoplasty! The surgery only took 1 hour and was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I was on twilight anesthesia meaning that I couldn't feel any pain but I was totally aware of everything that was going on and could talk to the surgeon/nurses. The nurses were so sweet and nice as well as the doctor. The weirdest part was when my lip was numb and it felt like a part of my lip was missing, it was so foreign to me. My teeth also felt odd and heavy. The surgery was totally pain-free and the worst part was sitting in recovery for an hour and a half because I felt totally fine and normal and was getting impatient because I wanted to go home already. Overall, I'm so happy. My bump/dorsal hump is completely gone.

When I got home around 11AM, I ate some crushed pineapple and took my antibiotics, gravol and pain medication and went straight to bed. I know I'm supposed to lay slightly upright on my back but i slept on my side as I usually do and didn't feel any discomfort. Is the way you sleep really that important? I just woke up from my nap an hour ago and had some mashed potatoes and I feel amazing! No pain at all, I totally feel like myself.

Oh and the best part- I can breath through my nose almost perfectly :D

Day 2: I'm feeling awesome! No pain at all and had no trouble sleeping. I used a huge piece of foam under two pillows to make it comfortable. I haven't taken any more pain medication, just the antibiotics. My eyes are pretty puffy and I have some bruising but not as bad as some other people that I've seen. I can breathe through my nose a bit but it is easier to breathe through my mouth and it hasn't bothered me.

Ok so today is day 4 post rhinoplasty and I feel great as last time. I started taking 1 or 2 pain pills a day to get rid of the constant pressure on my nose. I consider myself one of the luckier rhinoplasty patients when it comes to recovery because my bruising and swelling are really minimal. I'm so excited to get my cast off on Tuesday! :)

Before my surgery, I had a sneezing problem. For years, I would sneeze 3-15 times a day every single day (no exaggeration). I was really worried about this going into the surgery because I knew you weren't allowed to sneeze for a couple of weeks. However since the surgery, I haven't had to sneeze even though my airways have been pretty clear from day 1. This is a huge deal to me and I hope the change is permanent! I don't remember the last time I had such a long break from sneezing.

So today was the big reveal and I'm pretty happy. I was expecting more of a slope to my nose but I realize that it's still swollen so it will meet my expectations in a few months. I'll be honnest, I'm not as thrilled as I thought I would be. Thoughts?

Ok I wanted to take back the negativity I put forth on my last post and my profile view picture caption. I do love the way my nose turned out! It looks really natural :)

Overall, my rhinoplasty experiance has been excellent. I've had no pain and my results are exactly what I wanted. I definitely recomend Dr. Buonassisi! The swelling on my bridge went down quite a bit since the cast removal. I mentioned in a previous post how I didn't sneeze for 4 days after the surgery and I thought my sneezing issue might have been solved through the surgery...well I was wrong. I'm back to sneezing about 5 times a day, but I don't mind.

So its been over a month since my surgery and I am very happy with how my nose looks. The tip is still pretty swollen but other then that I am satisfied with the results. My nostrils are still pretty long but I knew going into the surgery that that couldn't be changed and I feel like my nose looks fine either way. I'm surprised that many people couldn't even notice that I had anything done, which could be a good thing because it shows that my nose looks natural.

So its been a little over 2 months since the surgery and I'm sooo happy with how my nose looks. I believe my face looks softer overall and I'm a lot more confident. My nose seems to look the same as it did a couple of weeks post op, but I guess its because I don't have a lot of swelling.