RKris

I completely agree about the 6-10 standard treatments not being the rule. I was told underlying color may have something to do with it. For example, my tattoos were supposedly "black" but really the ink has a bit of a bluish tint and thus they used lasers to deal with that. I have really only had an average of 4 treatments each on my tattoos over the past 2 or so yrs ($ is an issue as I have 2 small children). Anyway I noticed that even though it's been months since my last treatment, the artwork continued to fade some. I'm skeptical of everything, but they really don't look bad for only having few treatments. I plan to complete the removal process when I can financially. 2 of my tattoos were actually cover ups so there was a lot of ink to deal with and again, given my low # of treatments, relative success. Maybe try several opinions - different lasers perhaps? I also have no hyperpigmentation, but I do have one little scar...I picked t a scab once during treatment and had since learned to leave blisters alone. Over the summer, I wore tank tops etc and I'm a little self concious about my arm tattoo because it looks old and faded...like cheap artwork or something! But my end goal is to fade it even more so I will deal with this stage - much like growing out a bad haircut!

Hi! I'm actually on day 4 of one of my treatments right now and it usually takes time for fading to occur. (Right now, I've got some blistering, but no real soreness, itching, etc..) I guess it really depends on our own bodies and how efficiently they eliminate the ink. How far appart are your treatments? Mine are about 7 weeks apart and I probably notice some improvement after a few weeks. It really depends. My arm tattoo is fading much more quickly than my ankle, but I don't think the ink took very well from the original tattoo. My arm tattoo was already a bit faded even before I began the laser process. This was odd too, because the same guy tattooed both so who knows!

Hi Maureen, I definitely think my nose looks wide, especially near where the graft was placed. However, yours might still be pretty swollen given that you're only 7 weeks post-opp. I know mine was!! However, I'm 5 months out now and beginning to think I might need a revision to thin it out.

Milo - during the week post-surgery, I'm quite sure my breathing wasn't so good with the splints. However, my nose was completely collapsed on my left side prior and I could barely breathe through my nose for several years. It's all relative, I suppose. Also, I was probably more concerned with the painful ear, nose and my jaw popped out of joint. (I have TMJ and that's another story). About my ear - if it's closer to my head now, it's neither obvious or concerning. In fact, the only thing that impresses me about this surgery is that a doctor can cut out cartilage from the ear that appears so similar to the nose. I will tell you that for a week post-surgery, my ear really stuck out "cauliflower style" - guess it was just so swollen? I don't know, but I was worried it would stay that way. It didn't.

Hi Milo, The graft was taken from the inner rim of my ear and frankly isn't even noticeable anymore post-surgery (almost 5 months). I will say that I found the ear wound to be much more painful than my nose during the first week of recovery. I wasn't expecting that. Of course it was swollen for a week or so but very little trouble afterwards. I had my splints removed from my nose 1 week after surgery. As far as I know there was no piece of plastic placed in my nose. I have healed quite well, though as I've said there is still swelling in the tip area.