I have always hated my nose since I was about 12 years old and have always dreamed of having Rhinoplasty. Now is finally my time! I have had extremely bad allergies since I was little and have been on allergy shots for about 7 years now and nothing has helped. I've tried every allergy pill, nose spray, and they have remixed my serum in my shots several times. My allergist finally decided to give me a referral to an ENT to see if there was something else going on. Sure enough there was! I have a severe Deviated Septum and an Enlarged Turbinates. These things are severely blocking my breathing through my right nostril and also blocks some of the left nostril. The ENT told me this was exactly why my breathing and allergies are so bad. He said that it could only be corrected by surgery and referred me to the wonderful Dr. Walter Schroeder. I then spoke with Dr. Schroeder's nurse and booked a consultation. I also found out that Dr. Schroeder does Rhinoplasty surgeries as well and knew that I could have everything done at once. My consultation was today and I loved Dr. Schroeder from the minute I met him. We booked a surgery date for August 20th, 2015 and I couldn't be more excited! He told me that he will correct the Deviated Septum, shrink the Enlarged Turbinates, and can correct the large bump on the bridge of my nose all at once! My insurance is covering the Septoplasty and the Turbinectomy. I am thankfully only paying for the Rhinoplasty part out of pocket. I will upload some pictures soon! :) Updated on 14 May 2015: Sorry for the bad quality but these are copies of the before photos the doctor took of me. Updated on 14 May 2015: Updated on 14 May 2015: Here is an inside look of how bad my deviated septum is. The second picture is my normal side and that is what the first picture is suppose to look like! Crazy how blocked and bad the deviation is and this shows exactly why I can't breathe! Lol. Updated on 14 May 2015: Inside look of my enlarge turbinates that need to be shrunk down. The ENT told me that it is about 5 times the size it should be and is also causing my breathing problems. He said it is caused by bad allergies and swells up like a balloon in some cases. Updated on 1 Jun 2015: Finally uploading some better quality pics of my nose. As you can see, I have a large bump and it curves downward. The shape of my nose also looks worse and hangs down when I smile. I am extremely excited for my surgery and can't wait to have a new nose and finally be able to breathe! :) Updated on 10 Jun 2015: So I met with Dr. Schroeder yesterday and he gave me all of the information and paper work about my surgery scheduled for August 20th. We already booked the appointment to get my split/cast off for August 24th! I am getting so scared and excited! He did inform me that after looking at my X-Rays from my CT Scan that I do also need a minor sinus surgery done at the same time as well. It sucks but at least I will be able to breathe and will have the beautiful nose I have always dreamed of! Does anyone have any advice or any tips for what to expect with my sinus surgery, rhino, septo, and turbinectomy? I would appreciate it! Thanks guys :) Updated on 28 Jul 2015: I am getting so excited but so nervous at the same time! It's so hard to believe that in a few weeks I'll have a new nose. I am literally counting down the days. Can't wait for this surgery to be over with! Updated on 3 Aug 2015: This is why I absolutely hate side photos taken of me. Can't wait to have this bump fixed! Updated on 3 Aug 2015: Updated on 3 Aug 2015: Totally forgot to post some front shots of my nose. Heres more pics the doctors office took. I hate the weird shape of my nose when smiling and hate how my nostrils flare out so wide! Sorry for the b&w and low quality (doc made me copies of the original photos) Updated on 10 Aug 2015: Only 10 days left until surgery! So excited to just get in there and get it over with. I have waited years to finally get this done. Praying for a fast recovery and a good outcome. Will update more soon. Hope you all continue to follow me on this journey :) Updated on 19 Aug 2015: Only ONE DAY left with this huge nose and terrible breathing problems. I saw all of my family tonight and it was crazy talking to them about how this was the last time they'd see me with this huge thing. I am overly excited and anxious. I have a massage booked for early evening tonight and hopefully it'll help me calm down and relax a bit. I can not wait to start this new chapter in my life! Updated on 19 Aug 2015: These are the items I bought to help my recovery go smoothly this week: -Gauze Pads -Frozen Sponges -Neck Pillow -Puffy Eye Pads -Blackhead strips for nose -Jolly Ranchers for sore throat -EOS Chapstick -Vaseline -Concealer for under eye bruising -Mederma for scaring Updated on 20 Aug 2015: I am on my way to the hospital now. I will be in surgery in about 2.5 hours! I am so excited! I will update later if I am feeling okay. Can't believe I am doing this and that the day is finally here :D Updated on 20 Aug 2015: Got my IV in, which hurt horrible, signed all my paper work and now I'm just waiting for my turn to go back. There is one more surgery before mine- my doctor is running behind. I'm feeling pretty relaxed and calm right now. My nurse is super sweet which is helping me relax more. I just hope time goes by fast! Updated on 20 Aug 2015: My surgery went pretty well today! I ended up not getting into the operating room until 4 hours past my scheduled time. My doctor is the best in town and he's a busy man so I didn't mind waiting for him. Dr. Schroeder was so kind and sweet to me today and so was the anesthesiologist. They both made me feel at home and comfortable. Dr. Schroeder then discussed with me what we were doing today and then the anesthesiologist put something in my IV to relax me. Next thing I know I'm being wheeled back to the surgery room to begin! All I remember is moving from my bed to the table and them putting an oxygen mask over my mouth. I then woke up in recovery and I'm not going to lie, I was in A LOT of pain. I immediately woke up crying saying my nose hurt and that I had to use the bathroom. I was in severe pain for about 20-30 mins after waking up. The nurse gave me some medicine in my IV. They also gave me a Popsicle and some water and the pain got a bit better. Dr. Schroeder told my parents that once he opened me up, things were a lot worse then he thought they were going to be. The surgery ended up being very complex he said, but I did fine. I had tons of polyps growing in my nose that he needed to remove also. He said I have a beautiful nose now and that I'm going to love it. I can't wait to see it on Monday! Right now I am home and ate some soup and grapes. I began swelling and bruising badly and started icing my face. I have no pain now because of the pain meds. I will update more soon. :) Updated on 21 Aug 2015: Let me just start off by saying day 2 is hell. Yes I feel as bad as I look! No one ever prepared me for the amount of pain and discomfort I am in. My eyes are SO swollen and bruised I can't even open them. I can only barely see out of them a bit which is hard enough on its own. My nose hurts horrible and so does my teeth, gums, chin, cheeks, throat, forehead, and of course eyes! Basically every part of my face is killing me and throbbing. My nose pain is bad but right now what's really annoying is my sinuses. It feels like I have a giant bubble of snot or something stuck up my nose. I can feel it in my throat as well which sucks. I feel like I need to sooooo badly blow my nose but I know I can't for 2 weeks! I got zero sleep last night- for some reason the pain meds aren't making me sleepy enough. I have a lot of drainage from my nose and have to change the drip pad often. It feels like I got beaten with a baseball bat to the face. I am just praying that the swelling will go down and that the pain will ease up. :( Updated on 22 Aug 2015: Today is better than yesterday, but not by much. I was up ALL last night puking my guts out which was terrible. My mom and dad think it's from me taking my pain pills on an empty stomach. Or else it could have been from me eating McDonalds chicken nuggets last night for dinner lol. I was able to sleep a bit last night and a bit today thankfully. I still haven't gotten a good nights sleep in 3 days though :( I threw up tons and tons of thick mucus and blood and other things and it was very hard on my nose. My nose was in severe pain after throwing up which also sucked. I am too scared to take the pain pills again now so I am just taking regular over the counter Tylenol and my pain is bearable right now. My swelling went down a bit which I'm glad for. My eyes are no longer completely swollen shut but are still very tender, heavy, and sore. My teeth also have been hurting bad these past few days, don't know why. The biggest thing bothering me right now is swollen eyes and my nose dripping. I've had to change the drip pad like every hour because the wetness bothers me so much. My cheeks are also very swollen and so is my forehead. I'll update more later Updated on 23 Aug 2015: Last night was a bit better than the other nights. I got more sleep which was good. I did wake up around 4am though with throbbing pain in my teeth and forehead. I was in so much pain that I ended up taking the prescription pain meds again instead of just Tylenol. They helped and I went back to sleep for awhile. My face is just super puffy and fat right now. My teeth still hurt sooooo bad. My cheeks are also super sore. I am SO glad that I get my cast off tomorrow and get the tubes out of my nose. They have been driving me crazy! The cast is so heavy and itchy and the tubes are so annoying that are up my nose. I'll be SO happy to be able to breathe out of my nose and taste/smell again. Oh and also I'm so excited to see what my new nose looks like too! Haha. The discomfort has really been getting to me. Glad this is finally almost over and I'll never have to go through this pain again. It's been a long and terrible 4 days for sure. Updated on 24 Aug 2015: Just got my cast off and I am SO happy! I can breathe and my new nose looks awesome! I am still extremely swollen and my doctor said my nose is going to continue to change over the next few months to a year. Getting the tubes out of my nose felt amazing but hurt soooo bad coming out. They were SO big and long and wide. It was just nasty. I am so glad the hard part is OVER! Updated on 25 Aug 2015: Late update but day 5 rocked! I got my cast off, tubes out, and stitches removed. I also got to see my new nose and put my contacts back in my eyes for the first time in days! I woke up feeling crappy again but as soon as I got to the doctor and got those tubes out, MAN did everything change! For some reason those dang tubes were just terrible for me. SO so so extremely uncomfortable and painful. Anyways, my new nose is so swollen but I love it already! I know it's going to look better and better every day as the swelling reduces. I can't wait for the bruises to disappear so I can start to feel pretty again and go out into public. I've been in hiding for days and it's getting old fast lol. The tip of my nose feels doughy and squishy which the doctor said is totally normal. My nostrils and under my nose by the incisions are extremely numb. My smell and taste are coming back slowly but surely. I have very little pain now. Most of the pain is in my teeth which I can handle after having braces twice. I feel so much better and I can already breathe 50x better. I am still a bit congested but hopefully this will go away soon. I feel like a new person already! I'm so glad I went through with this operation and I really believe this will be life changing for me. I cried a bit of happy tears because I've always dreamed of a cute little nose and now I finally have one of my own! This is going to be a huge confidence boost for me because my nose was always my #1 insecurity. No more ugly hump- yay! I'll update more soon! Updated on 25 Aug 2015: Day 6 has been good so far. I am still experiencing bad tooth/gum pain and throbbing. Hopefully this goes away soon. My entire nose is extremely swollen and puffy now. My entire nose is also numb and tight feeling. It is super sore and sensitive as well. Any little touch hurts terrible. Most of the swelling is in the tip of my nose. My face also swelled up again near the jaw and cheeks after cast removal yesterday. My bruises are turning yellow and are still bad :( I attempted to cover them up a bit with concealer and makeup which I immediately regretted. There is literally NO possible way to cover these up so I guess I have to deal with it. I am coming out of hiding and going out in public today. Bet I'll get lots of stares lol. My upper lip is also extremely numb and weird feeling both inside and out of my mouth. I can barely smile and look weird when I try. I can't wait for my swelling and bruises to go down so I can feel like myself again. Updated on 25 Aug 2015: I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new nose already! Like I said before, it is still extremely swollen through out the tip and bridge but I already love it! I can't wait to see how much better it'll look once the swelling goes down. I wish the bruises were gone :( Updated on 26 Aug 2015: So I have pretty good sized popped blood vessels in the same spot in both of my eyes! This is something I never ever knew could happen due to Rhino and the other procedures so I thought I'd share about it. It's creepy looking and I was scared to put my contacts in but finally did. I heard they can take months to go away which sucks. I just want to look normal again! Lol P.S. My bruising is still bad and I'm too embarrassed to go out in public still :( Updated on 27 Aug 2015: Before and After pic! Wow what a HUGE difference. I love how my new nose looks! Updated on 27 Aug 2015: So I forgot to mention something that my doctor told me to buy after cast removal that has really been helping me. It's this crazy little thing you can get at the drug stores called a 'Squeeze Bottle Kit Sinus Wash'. It was only like $9 and it helps SO much since I can't blow my nose! It has helped me get out lots of blood, snot, and helps you breathe better. You just mix distilled water, 1/4 tsp of baking soda, and pour a saline packet in that it comes with. These things are great to have after any nose surgeries and I highly recommend them! Updated on 27 Aug 2015: So I experimented with makeup today and was able to cover up most of my bruises. I'm finally feeling better and so glad I can start wearing makeup again! :) Updated on 28 Aug 2015: I feel 99% better! My nose is still very swollen inside and out. It's hard to breathe out of still and I still feel a bit congested. Other than that, I feel great! I love my new nose and I am finally able to cover the bruises with makeup. I just hate how noticeable the popped blood vessels are in my eyes :( Updated on 6 Sep 2015: I'm finally feeling 100% better! The popped blood vessels in my eyes are finally gone too. My nose just keeps looking better and better! The swelling is going down in my tip slowly but surely. I finally really like the way my nose is looking from the front now! I have now noticed my breathing has changed tremendously and I can finally stop breathing out of my mouth all the time, which is nice. It's been a long journey but I'm so glad I went through with the surgery! I'd do it all over again if I had to. Updated on 7 Sep 2015: I love how much smaller my nose is from the front! The bone no longer sticks out on the bridge and my nostrils are smaller. My tip also doesn't hang down anymore! :) Updated on 10 Sep 2015: Warning- this is a nasty story! So this morning I was doing my sinus wash as usual. The instructions say to always blow your nose gently after you are finished with the wash to make sure you get out all of the water. So I began to blow when all the sudden I felt a huge clump of stuff trying to come out of my right nostril. So I blew harder and harder and all of the sudden this huge, thick black snot/booger thing was hanging out of my nose. I couldn't get it out by blowing anymore since it began to hurt and was too thick. I had to literally grab this thing with a tissue and yank it out. It was terrible and gross and scary. It was about 6in long and 1in thick. I don't know if this is normal or not and I'm still quite worried. Has this happened to anyone else before?! I tried googling it and nothing came up. I am 3 weeks post op now. (Sorry for the detailed info hahah) Updated on 10 Sep 2015: Sorry- I'm just kinda obsessed with my new nose lol Updated on 10 Sep 2015: Looking at my results just amazes me every time. I couldn't be happier with the way my nose came out. Updated on 4 Oct 2015: So it's been over a month since surgery and I'm feeling pretty good! I love my new nose SO much- obviously lol. To be 100% honest though, I don't see a tremendous difference in my breathing after all the sinus, deviated septum, and turbinectomy work that was done. Most people I've spoken to that have had that work done have told me they felt no change, or felt little change. It's a bit disappointing because I was really hoping to breathe and feel a lot better along with having a beautiful nose. But I got my pretty little nose so I really can't complain at this point. I know Dr. Schroeder did everything in his power to help me and it's really a 50/50 chance if you feel a difference or not from those surgeries, and I did know that going in there. I don't regret anything though and I am SO SO SO happy I didn't chicken out and went through with it. I'll just be on allergy meds for the rest of my life- oh well. Hahah. ;) Updated on 13 Oct 2015: Believe it or not, no one has even really noticed a change in my nose! The only people that have made any comments or said anything are the people who knew I was having procedures done. (I just realized that I never mentioned to you guys that I kept the surgery a pretty big secret from everyone.) NO ONE besides family know I had a Rhino done along with the other procedures. My 3 closest friends think I just had a Septo, Turbinectomy, and sinus surgeries done. I never told them I had a Rhino too and none of them ever questioned it. My nose was always my BIGGEST insecurity and I got teased over it all the time. I put on a pretty good act that I had no problem with it and didn't care what people said about it so I didn't seem weak. I vowed to never let anybody know that I hated my nose because people will use those things against you. I am honestly SO shocked that none of my other friends/family who don't know I had surgery and haven't seen me since graduation in June until after the surgery haven't noticed a thing. I thought people would immediately be like "wow you look so different" or "what happened to your nose" or something but no ones noticed a thing. I am pretty happy about this because like I said before, I don't want people knowing. I guess it just goes to show that not all people view you the way that you see yourself. I'm glad my nose looks very natural and that I still look like ME! Trust me guys, it's true that most people won't even notice a difference in you after Rhinoplasty. I NEVER believed that and always thought there was no way anyone could forget the big ole thing I had on my face- but boy was I wrong! Updated on 1 Jan 2016: Haven't posted any updates in awhile but I'm just loving my new nose! :) My breathing has been getting much better and I definitely love the shape of it! My nose is still very sensitive towards the tip and nostril area. It hurts horrible if it's bumped or hit even slightly. I've been healing well and my scars are fading fast.
Hello everyone my name is Lindsey and I had surgery on 9/5/13. I pretty much disliked my nose ever since middle school, of course the teasing didn't help and I felt pretty bad about myself. I've been lurking on this site ever since November of last year and that's when I started looking into fixing my nose. I had an obvious bump on my bridge and that's pretty much all I was looking to fix. I also always had trouble breathing through my nose as well so I decided to go and have it checked out. In order to see a specialist I had to go to my primary doc before hand. I finally made and appointment and my doctor decides to prescribe me nose spray for allergies. I wasn't too happy about that because I obviously knew it was more serious than just allergies. I saw my doctor two weeks later and told her the spray did me no justice so she sent me to a ENT clinic. As soon as I stepped into the ENT office the doctor that was examining my nose and noticed the bump on my bridge right away. He asked if I wanted that fixed and of course I was quick to say yes. He took X rays and said that I had a severe deviated septum and since I also wanted my bump fixed he sent me off to Dr. Schroeder, One of the greatest ENT Doctors of Las Vegas. Now when I met Dr. Schroeder I was so happy. He made me feel so comfortable and as soon as he walked in the room he was already staring at my face and saying exactly what he wanted to do with my nose. He was very patient and listened to what I had to say. He took pictures of my profile and showed me images of what my new nose would look like. He also told me that when I smiled my nose drooped and that he would correct that issue and narrow the nose as well. I was excited and couldn't wait to have the surgery scheduled. Fast Forward and I had the surgery, everything went swell. I have to say that the first 2 days were horrible for me. I was in so much pain and surprisingly the pain killers were no help . I didn't bleed too bad and I didn't bruise too much. I was extremely swollen which sucks because my cheeks are already chubby to begin with so I looked pretty hefty lol. Four days later I had my cast removed. I literally cried when I looked in the mirror. I never thought I would see myself with a straight nose, it looked so natural and beautiful. I thanked him for everything that he did for me and he told me that seeing me smile made it well worth it. I didn't feel my normal self until about 2 weeks later. My nose definitely changed during the next couple of days. I didn't like it about 1 week after cast removal it looked so wide but I knew that was part of the healing process. Around 2 weeks I was starting to feel normal and put makeup on. Now I'm at 1 month and so far so good!!! My nose definitely changes during the day. Ill wake up and it will look narrow then when I come back from being out and about I notice it swells back up. Oh well! I'm fine being patient and I'm already loving it after 1 month! I'm happy I went through with it and i can finally live my life without being insecure about my nose. Updated on 15 Oct 2013: The swelling on my nose is definitely staying put. These past couple of days I've been accidentally hitting my nose, nothing too serious but it hurts:( I'm still using a saline solution to clean out my nose everyday and I'll tape it down once in a while. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow so I'll also update what my surgeon says :) thank you all for the wonderful comments! Talk to you soon!
At the very very beginning of my nose journey, I am 4 days post op and already got my cast, stints and stitches out. It’s been a rough recovery for me. Bruised and swollen to unrecognizable lengths. I felt sick all day yesterday after having everything removed. Because my face is so black and blue and swollen I don’t recognize myself even one bit when I look in mirror which has left me really disturbed and worried. I hope I made the right decision, my nostrils look uneven and my septum is quite swollen and pronounced and also looks uneven am hoping from what I have red it will even out in the next coming weeks, I’m worried there are sutures inside my nose causing the nostril difference so I wonder if I should speak up sooner, trying to be patient. Updated on 23 Aug 2022: I regret this surgery and wish I had not gone through with the rhinoplasty side with this doctor. He talked a big game about people from LA coming to see him, the only photo I ever saw in his office was of him and Paris Hilton and her mom which was suspicious. He acted like he could do what I needed no problem and in the end he did not fix the things I asked him to. At my 5 week post op he told me to push on my nose because the bone was migrating back to its original position, this caused a terrible bump on my nose to which his assistant texted me back (after I sent photos) that I’m pushing too hard. But he told me to push with pressure so honestly it’s so frustrating they are trying to put this on me when he did not secure my nose In the first place. My nose is crooked and awful and there is a loss of cartilage I had already which he said he could fix no problem and guess what it’s still there. My nose looks worse on camera which is tragic because my original nose I didn’t like actually looked better on camera so I really regret this. I know some swelling will still go down but it’s just gonna make the crooked bump and cartilage loss look even worse and my nose keeps getting smaller and no longer fits my face. I could go on but I really wish I could get a refund at least because I will have to get another surgery and I would never see this doctor again. He had a heart attack right after my surgery and now I can’t even get an appointment with him to show him how awful it’s healing. I did everything I could do to make this run smoothly but he just did a hack job and if you’re thinking of seeing him. Don’t. He made me look less attractive than I used to be which he insisted I was going to look amazing. I guess you get what you pay for. UGH. Also I have a hemosadin stain essentially a permanent black eye left over from this surgery, I have done a laser treatment in the last week as well as some under eye filler to try to camouflage it. FML
