Gerard Bayley

I am 20 years old and have always struggled with how my nose looked. It looked huge from the front and huge from the side, not to mention I was severely bullied almost all of my high schooling life over it. At the beginning of 2015 I began looking into getting a Rhinoplasty, being a university student I knew that I would have to be patient and slowly save my way. My mum is in the nursing profession so has a lot of ties to the hospitals in Brisbane. She quietly asked around for a Plastic Surgeon with a great history in Rhinoplasty procedures and only several separate occasions various people replied with Dr Gerard Bayley. I really struggled to find reviews about him and his work but I trusted the opinions I had received and called his office to make an appointment and called my GP to ask for a referral. Fast forward several months and I finally met with him. I was extremely happy and felt very comfortable with him; he thoroughly explained the whole process and answered every single question I had. I felt that he was extremely professional and didn't boast about his qualifications or push me to go with him (like I have heard some other surgeons do). His nurse took some photos of me and I quickly booked in for my second appointment. Come my second appointment, this was a lot more specific to me and what my procedure would be, not just a Rhinoplasty in general. He showed me some 3D imaging of what my nose would look like and we talked everything through from pre op to post op, cost, hospitals, surgery dates etc. Fast forward to February 3rd 2016 and I was ready for my big day. I was extremely nervous- having a mum as a nurse and a sister as a paramedic I was well aware of all medical issues and problems that could arise. However, my registration nurse was beyond amazing, she really talked me through my procedure and I felt as if she really understood how I was feeling. She was a real crack up and I felt so so relaxed and comfortable after I saw her. Once I was dressed and waiting in my room, my anaesthetist Dr Andrew Hogan came to see me. He was really awesome, he talked me through everything and made sure I was ready. After a long wait I was wheeled in and the anaesthetic process began. The theatre nurses came and introduced themselves and calmed me down however once I saw Dr Bayley walk in I freaked out and started crying. He held my hand and assured me I had nothing to worry about, we spoke one last time about what I wanted done to my nose and then I remember waking up.
Once I was awake Dr Bayley and Dr Hogan came and saw me, they said my procedure went extremely well and they think I will be very happy. My nurse was really cool and very chatty, I think she was new but I still felt very safe in her hands until when she was dressing me, and she hit my nose. I was on a lot of pain meds and I felt no pain however my nose did start bleeding and I was so so worried that she had knocked it out of place. Turns out I had nothing to worry about and that’s what the cast is there for. When I woke my nose was numb but besides that I had no pain and felt fine, I could open my eyes and my hair was still in my braids. After maybe 3 hours of waiting and sitting in discharge I was finally discharged where my parents helped me to the car and drove me home. The first night I sleep sitting straight up with pillows and bean bags in my bed to keep me upright. As uncomfortable as that might sound, it was actually super comfortable and I think it really helped with my bruising and swelling. The next day, I had chubby checks and slight dark eyes but I definitely did not have any black eyes. I iced from the moment I got home, 20 minutes each hour. I found that frozen peas in a zip lock bag and water mixed with a small amount of alcohol frozen in a zip lock bag worked really well because it was able to be moulded to your face. I found the first and second day you kind of just sit there feeling sorry for yourself, day 3 I felt much better pain wise but was really emotional all day. Each day I took it really easy, sitting on the lounge with my head up watching movies. I took only baths and I cleaned and moisturised my face using cotton pads to ensure I didn’t get any water near my nose. I ate only soft cold foods and having my parents look after my antibiotics and pain medication made it a lot easier. I would definitely recommend, if possible, having someone stay with you the entire time looking after you. With the frequent icing, I felt as if my swelling and bruising subsided rather quickly. Finally on day six (Tuesday the week after) I was able to get my cast off, I was very on edge as I was worried I wouldn't like my new nose. I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit of a shock because I still felt like it was really large and that's what I hated, but Dr Bayley assured me that I still had a significant amount of swelling and bruising and it would continue to get smaller. Dr Bayley then left after a small talk and the nurse took my stiches out (which wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling). I did then feel extremely faint and felt like I was going to vomit so keep that in mind. My skin under my cast was also pretty gross and I had a few small pimples from the adhesive from the tape blocking my pores. I think it is super beneficial to take before photos from every single angle you can. I was a little upset when I got home because I thought my nose hadn't changed at all but I soon realised that I had forgotten what my old nose even looked like. Even with all my swelling I created a before and after collage and realised how much work Dr Bayley had really done. I am soooo happy with my new nose, I really love it and am so looking forward to all my swelling going down. I think it’s also important to remember that the surgeons can only work with the nose you already have, if you have a rather large nose and tell them you want a very tiny ski jump nose then you might have some troubles. I feel my nose still looks rather large but I know that if I dramatically changed my nose my whole face would have changed and I didn't want that. Anyway, I will keep you updated with my progress. I hope this helped and if anyone is going to see Dr Bayley please feel free to contact me if you like. I only found one other review on him which was extremely positive but I still feel as if he is an amazing surgeon and I would definitely 100% recommend him to everyone.