I came to Dr. Pingree to get his opinion on my nose that had been broken for almost a decade. He knew right away the condition of my nose and put no pressure on me to make a decision. I followed through and the surgery (1st surgery ever) went very successfully. He is personable, professional and calmed all of my anxities. I would highly recommend him!
After reading a years worth of plastic surgery stories that have helped and motivated me, I finally have gotten the courage to share my story in hopes that it will help others. To begin, I will say that I've hate my nose ever since I was probably 8 years old or since I could remember. It was large, bumpy, bulbous and always reminded me of a bumpy ski slope instead of a nice, smooth slope. A year ago in May I decided to visit an Ent to discuss my breathing issues. When the doc said my septum was deviated about 90%, I thought awesome! Can he give me a nose job too?! And with that, it was scheduled. That easy! I was thrilled, nervous and excited all at the same time but after hating my nose for 30 years- I was ready! This is my story.... Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: my surgery was 4 1/2 hours long. I.v. Was in and I was ready to go!! I came home not feeling very well and just tried to take a selfie to capture the moment. I apologize for the poor quality. Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: My swelling was quite excessive as you can see in these photos. It did seem to go down gradually but it was clear to me very early on that it would be a long time before I saw the final result. Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: Updated on 6 May 2015: Finally starting to see some improvement!!
I have always disliked the "bump" in my nose but I still wanted to look like me. I didn't want to look like I had plastic surgery either. Doctor recommended a chin implant as well to "balance out the face." The procedure itself was easy, and recovery was not painful but I did have quite a bit of swelling on my chin. One of my nerves around my mouth must've been agitated too because my mouth was somewhat "droopy" for a couple weeks. Now it is completely back to normal though. I am very happy with the results! People keep asking me if I've lost weight- I think it is because I look different in a good way but they can't quite put their finger on what it is. Which is good- I didn't want people to look at me and say "WOW she got her nose done." As a side note, I can also breathe much better and sleep better because I had a septoplasty done at the same time. Updated on 1 May 2015: Updated on 2 May 2015: Updated on 4 May 2015: Looking at photos and I feel like my nose is not as smooth as it was right after surgery. Like the bump is sneaking back... Does anyone else see this? I feel crazy! But why did it change?!? It was so nice and smooth when I got the cast off... Now I'm freaking out its not as smooth anymore. Updated on 4 May 2015: Updated on 28 May 2015: Updated on 18 Aug 2015: I'm happy with everything... I still don't think my nose is move star perfect or a cute button nose but I think it fits me and I'm happy with it. I also breathe better and sleep better. It still sometimes feels sort of numb at the tip if I touch it but no big deal. The scar from the chin implant is almost unnoticeable now. Very happy I did this. It has given me more confidence. Updated on 18 Aug 2015: And bonus of my cute baby :) :) Updated on 7 Oct 2015: My nose is not as smooth as I would like it in an ideal world (still curved) but I did ask for a more "natural" look, and the bump is certainly gone which was my biggest complaint ;) Totally love how the chin balances out my face. Updated on 7 Oct 2015:
Let me clarify why I only spent $2800.00 on my facial surgery. My doctor did my rhinoplasty after he did medical surgery on reducing my sinuses and fixing my deviated septum, so my insurance covered my nose. I only had to pay for my chin implant/liposuction. Even then, because I had shopped around for surgeon's, I worked a 'cash deal' with him :-) Definitely 7 days out of surgery and I am still in a lot of pain. Mostly because of my chin/neck, not my nose. I really thought my nose would hurt worse, but that was not the case. The chin implant surgery did give me a lot of numbness in my chin/neck, but as I understand it, it's temporary and will go away. At this point, I will not worry too much about it. What I didn't expect was the amount of soreness in my teeth/jaw! I love to eat and was disappointed that even soft stuff was very hard to eat. Needless to say, I have lost weight by accident. :-) I am still concerned with the size of the implant, because we discussed pre-op that he would put both a medium and a large implant in to see how they looked, but ended up going with the large. I am not convinced yet that he made the right choice, but I will wait 6 months to see! I also have a hard 'lump' under my chin implant that I am going to ask the doctor about tomorrow. I get my stitches and nose cast off, whoopee! Another issue is that I have developed a lot of chest congestion, and I am not sure if it's from the 'drainage' or I just coincidentally got sick after my surgery. Again, I am going to speak to my doctor about it tomorrow. I LOVE how my rhinoplasty turned out!! I can't even explain the amount of pleasure my new, smaller nose gives me to see it in the mirror! I definitely would recommend anyone thinking of the surgery to go ahead. I am very happy with my results. My doctor is a fantastic surgeon that specializes in surgery from the neck up, so I felt confident going in. I don't think I would have felt as good about it with a less experienced surgeon. I have to add that the liposuction that was done under my neck caused FAR more bruising than either of the other procedures and is by FAR the most painful part. BUT, the result is amazing and I no longer have a double chin. I don't know that I would put myself through facial surgery again, but I am definitely considering breast implants next!
