Rhinoplasty: Stories

I had always been insecure of my face, feeling as thought my nose was always just a little to big for my small face and stature. After getting back from training in the Air Force last November, I just knew it was "now or never" with getting a nose job.
more pics to come, as well as a more in depth review

Yup that my nose would look to refined or lol I call it " Cali Fake" was a fear of mine too. That's why I did a lot of research and after looking at Dr. C's portfolio noticed he had the most realistic after photos of the doctors I looked at. I think it's all going to be a gamble at some point but the best advice I can give is go with a doctor whose specialty is Rhino if that's the operation you would like done. And your gut. If you like the doctor after meeting him it's probably a good sign. My nose was always a thought in the back of my mind eating away at my brain. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a bad nose it just really bothered me. I knew if I ever wanted to get rid of that thought for good I just had to go for it. JUMP! lol didn't mean to scare you but yeah just go for it :)

Rawr. Finally a chance to answer all the questions for you lovely dolls and gents :) . A nose job is something I have wanted desperately since I was 13 when my nose just started looking so out of place. I had even joined the air force when my old job wasn’t cutting it to earn enough money to get rhinoplasty and go to school. A nose job isn’t right for everyone, but a lot of people could benefit from getting it done. For me, I didn’t just buy a nose job, but the self-esteem I felt my face road blocked me from.
When I first met Dr. C I was very nervous, this was the first time I had ever decided to meet with a plastic surgeon. I had done my homework and he had the best reviews and most natural before after pictures of the many surgeons I had looked at. He was a very nice man and serious about his craft. He gave me the price of $5,000 to do the rhinoplasty. This was after looking at my nose and discussing my desires with his artistic input. I was very happy with the price as I had sent some pictures out and received higher prices from other places. So all together he told me I would spend $6,000: $5,000 for the surgery, $700 for the anesthesiologist, and I found a place near me that was $300 for blood work. (They needed to receive blood work two weeks before surgery to make sure I was good to go.)
The process for getting a nose job is one: Getting a consultation with a doctor (use your gut, if you don’t feel right after meeting a doctor don’t use them). Two: they will probably schedule a date to pay and take before pictures. Three: They schedule a pre op where you further discuss the operation at hand. Four: Day of Surgery, you will need a friend or family who waits for you to get the procedure done and drive you home. Five: You get the cast off ? usually a week later. Six: Post op checkups and eventually pictures of the final result. While immediate results are defiantly seen, it usually takes a whole year for the nose to completely refine itself.

///First Initial Surgery>>
This was my rhinoplasty surgery on 11/29/2012.
I had original met with Dr. C about my nose for pictures and a pre op. This is where we talked about the options for surgery that would sculpt my nose and my preferences for how my nose should look. Dr. C had suggested that I get a nostril tuck (where he cuts and sews the nostrils to a smaller size). This was because, he said, after he makes the frame and tip smaller and once the nose swells down after surgery, my nostrils might look much bigger or “flared out”. They fit my original nose but might not fit my new one. This being my first surgery I was very cautious about my nose (feeling as though if I got too much done to it and didn’t like it I couldn’t take it back) so I declined the prospect of getting a nostril tuck during the original surgery. Dr. C being the professional he is; about his work over money, offered for free to do the nostril tuck after the surgery if I started growing into my new nose and felt I needed it.
>>Day of Surgery
I got Dr. C’s office around 11a.m. and I’m not going to lie I was pretty hungry/ thirsty because I had about a three hour commute from Mass (I wasn’t allowed to eat/drink after 12 because the anesthesia). The nurses were very helpful and nice. They gave me scrubs and these awesome fluffy hospital socks (idk why but I love those things). They sat me up in the surgery room shortly and talked to me about the air force calming me until the anesthesia took me under.
Then I woke up. I didn’t remember a thing, I just remember walking up and feeling loopy and well, like I got my face messed up but I couldn’t really feel it. I was just out of it and stuffy. They had me wait 30 minutes in the recovery room till they knew it was ok for my boyfriend at the time to drive me home.
>> Recovery
First few days I was completely out of it taking my anti-biotics and vicodin regularly. The rest of the week I was feeling better and already obsessed with looking in the mirror just curious about what lied under the cast. I could already see a difference with the cast on that I had no more protruding nose bridge or downward tip. Above I posted a video I took with the cast on to show others what it will be like post-surgery. I was still stuffy but in a few days I was breathing just fine! The only really annoying thing was the clumped up dried blood I kept blowing out ?
>>Cast off
A week after my surgery I went back to Dr. C to get my cast off. I had to hold really still as he had to take shears to the cast to get it off. Even though it only took a few minutes, the baby fresh skin next to the shears irked me out. However, when he showed me my nose in the mirror there was no mark from the shears just a few tiny scars from the incisions he had made during the rhino (which have now disappeared). I was in disbelief looking at my nose. It totally looked different. I couldn’t like it or not like it. I was just in awe with how it didn’t took the same. When I got home, I took a shower, got out and just looked in the mirror smiling. It hit me just then, I finally did it. I changed my nose and it looked amazing. For a few months after that I just felt in la-la land so good about my nose.

///Second Surgery>>
Just like the good doctor said, as the swelling in the front of my nose went down I started to notice my nostrils looked bigger and bigger. I called the doctor’s office and had no problems setting up a nostril tuck. This was my nostril tuck surgery on 04/17/2012.
>>Day of Surgery
Since this surgery is much smaller than rhinoplasty, I had a choice between getting local or going under again. I decided to go with the local because there was like no time in the recovery room (don’t have to wait to wake up). This for anyone faint at heart I would seriously suggest going under. For me, I like this kind of stuff. Basically with the local they stuck a bunch of needles in my nose and upper lip area to make it numb. I couldn’t feel a thing as he cut my left nostril and sewed it back together. The cool thing about being awake during the operation is he showed me in a mirror before he did the right nostril what my nose looked like. It was cool seeing how much smaller the left nostril looked then the right.
>>Recovery
After he finished up sewing my nostrils, I had to ask for a pain medication. This was only because as the local was wearing off it was going to my top teeth and they were becoming sensitive. The pain wasn’t too bad but I would suggest to anyone going the path of local to ask for a pain prescription in advance just in case they have sensitive teeth as well.
There was hardly any recovery time with the nostril tuck. The stiches came out in a few days and that’s about it. There are two faint scars inconspicuously when he cut at the nostril that after a month you can hardly notice at all.

//Reactions>>
Some friends and family could tell right away and liked it. They said it still looked like me but my nose was “cuter”. Others who don’t see me all that much didn’t even notice I’ve gotten a nose job. I really started feeling good about my nose the more attention I started getting from people whom I hadn’t previously met. I’ve been getting complements from people I’ve never met like “you have a great facial profile” and “your facial structure is beautiful”. Complements like that and the way I smile in pictures is something I’ve never experienced before. You know you feel more confident when you go shopping with no makeup on, you stop and catch yourself looking at a store mirror and you think damn I’m beautiful. < And for that feeling alone, joining the military, the money, the surgery times a thousand worth it. :)


This is a little side story about the second time I met Dr. C, but it gave me the confidence to really trust this man with my face. When I went in for my before pictures, I went to the little checkup doctor room behind his office. This is where out of one of the cabinets Dr. C whips out this old school nice looking film camera. I being the trendy- wanabe hipster I am was like kudos Dr. C, loving the film camera. He chuckled and told me that there was a reason why he never went digital with his cameras. A while back a newspaper reporter had gone to Dr. C on an article he was writing about plastic surgery before after pictures being fraud. He claimed that a liposuction Dr. C performed had to be Photoshoped in the after picture because the results were “too good to be true”. Dr. C insisted that if he showed him the negative the reporter would have to take back what he said. Sure enough Dr. C got a good review from the reporter and had the negatives to back it up. Now I would like a real-self editor to leave this in my original review because I think this story stands as an example of any plastic surgeon, that doesn’t airbrush their results. I believe that has a lot to say about the surgeon and I would suggest to everyone wanting to get some type of plastic surgery to really look at the results of these surgeons. Also maybe ask them “would you consider yourself an artist?” If they answer yes you know they want to make you into a piece of art, not just another customer.