Guray Yesiladali, MD, FEBOPRAS

It’s great that you are active and committed to your fitness, but after a lower eyelid surgery, healing time is essential to avoid complications and protect your results.

Here is a general timeline to guide you:
• First 7 to 10 days
Only light walking. Avoid any activity that increases facial pressure or heart rate significantly. This is the critical healing period.
• 2 weeks after surgery
You may begin gentle, low-impact movements or bodyweight exercises if approved by your surgeon. Avoid bending, straining, or lifting heavy weights.
• 3 to 4 weeks after surgery
Most patients can resume moderate exercise. You can reintroduce light weight training, but avoid very heavy lifting or anything that causes you to hold your breath.
• 5 to 6 weeks after surgery
If healing is smooth and your surgeon approves, a full return to high-intensity training is generally possible.

Since you train intensely, be cautious and follow your surgeon’s instructions closely. Patience in the short term protects your long-term results.

— Güray Yeşiladalı, MD

Thank you for sharing your story — your commitment to fitness, healthy living, and self-care is inspiring. After everything you’ve managed over the years, it's completely understandable to want your abdominal area to reflect the level of effort and discipline you’ve put in.

Here’s how your situation breaks down:

- You’re athletic, at a healthy weight, and maintain a consistent workout routine.
- You’ve had previous liposuction, but the results were unsatisfying, with some residual lower abdominal fullness and mild fibrosis.
- You’re not interested in ab etching — just a flat, lean, naturally contoured midsection.

So, what might help?
If your skin is tight, and the remaining issue is mainly fat and fibrotic tissue, a high-definition VASER Lipo 360 could be a great option. It can break down fibrosis, sculpt the waistline, and address residual pockets more precisely than traditional lipo.

However, if there is any skin laxity, especially in the lower abdomen (common after lipo and time), a mini tummy tuck combined with lipo might give a cleaner, flatter result. This would remove excess skin and potentially reinforce the lower abdominal wall.

Important considerations:
A mini tummy tuck addresses loose skin below the belly button, but won’t significantly affect skin or muscle above it.

VASER Lipo works well when skin quality is good and underlying muscles are intact — which, in your case, may be true given your fitness level and pregnancy history (just one, over two decades ago).

For mild fibrosis, VASER can help soften and remodel tissue, especially when paired with lymphatic massage post-op.

What’s next?
A detailed, in-person consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in revision body contouring will help clarify which route will give you the lean, defined result you're after — and finally put that stubborn pooch behind you.

— Güray Yeşiladalı, MD

Your frustration is completely valid — especially after undergoing two surgeries, investing significant time and money, and still not achieving your goal of a smaller, more refined nose.

Based on your description:

The use of ear cartilage in your revision likely added structural support, but may have also contributed to bulkiness, especially if thick skin or scarring is present.

The palpable lump on the right side could represent residual cartilage, graft shifting, or scar tissue.

While filler can camouflage irregularities or asymmetry temporarily, it cannot shrink or refine — and using it to “slim” the nose is a visual trick, not an actual solution.

If your goal is a nose that is truly smaller and more refined, not just masked:

Another surgical revision may be necessary — but this time with careful reduction of previous grafts, potential soft tissue thinning (if appropriate), and strategic reshaping of the nasal framework.

This kind of case requires very advanced revision rhinoplasty expertise, particularly with thick-skinned patients or post-graft irregularities.

You’ve already invested a lot — financially and emotionally — so the next step should be a consultation with a surgeon who has extensive experience in complex, structure-heavy revision rhinoplasty, not just cosmetic touch-ups.

I hope this helps you feel less stuck and more empowered about your options moving forward.

— Güray Yeşiladalı, MD

Yes, the radix (nasal root) can be lowered surgically to create a clearer separation between the forehead and nose, especially when the radix is naturally high or blends too smoothly into the glabella.

Here’s what to know:

Radix reduction involves shaving or reshaping the upper nasal bone and adjacent cartilage to create a more defined starting point for the nasal bridge. This can enhance facial balance and improve the overall nasal profile.

However, lowering the radix does influence how much slope or curvature can be created in the bridge:

A lower radix leaves less room for a deep concave slope without risking an unnatural or over-resected appearance.

Surgeons often find a balance — lowering the radix just enough to create separation from the forehead, but not so much that it restricts a harmonious dorsal aesthetic line.

In expert hands, the radix can be carefully lowered while still allowing for an elegant, natural-looking bridge contour. It’s a matter of proportion, anatomy, and planning.

A thorough consultation with a rhinoplasty specialist — ideally with digital simulation — can help clarify how your radix position affects your ideal profile.

— Güray Yeşiladalı, MD

It’s completely understandable to feel anxious before a third revision — especially after two unsatisfying outcomes. But please know that you are not alone, and your situation is far from hopeless.

A skilled aesthetic and reconstructive rhinoplasty surgeon can achieve excellent results even in far more complex cases — including trauma patients with severe cartilage and tissue loss.

Surgical techniques, grafting materials, and technology have advanced significantly in recent years. With the right planning and hands, the visibility of cartilage, over-projection, or collapse can often be successfully corrected.

That said, in complex revision cases:

Your mental well-being is just as important as the surgery itself. Feeling emotionally supported and trusting your surgeon will make a big difference in how you experience the recovery process.

Be very selective in choosing your surgeon. Make sure they have extensive experience in revision rhinoplasty, not just primary cases.

Don’t hesitate to ask to see before–after photos of similar cases or to request clear explanations of what will be done differently this time.

You absolutely deserve to feel confident in your appearance again — and with the right approach, this is very much within reach.

— Güray Yeşiladalı, MD