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I have been meaning to write this review since...
I have been meaning to write this review since April 2015....finally getting round to it! This is a complete review / detailed experience from consultation to 10 months post op. It's very lengthy but I hope it provides useful to those considering / those awaiting rhinoplasty surgery.
1st consultation + booking surgery
I had my first consultation with Mr. Ion on the 12th Feb 2015, he was very welcoming and made me feel at ease. We discussed what I liked / didn't like about my nose, the different ways of performing rhinoplasty (open / closed) and the risks surrounding rhinoplasty and general anaesthetic. We agreed that open rhinoplasty would be the best procedure for myself.
Mr. Ion then took photos of my face from all angles and uploaded them to his computer. I told him I would like my nose shortened, the bump removed and slight curve in the nose. He began to morph the images of my nose from both the side and front profile and it was amazing! I had wanted a nose job since I was around 12 and had always wondered how my side profile would look without a hooked shape nose but could never visualise it, and there my face was on his computer screen with a cute, smaller, slightly curved nose - the nose I had always wanted. I knew at this point that Mr. Ion was the surgeon for me.
I went home that evening staring at the morphs for ages, I absolutely loved my potential new nose but started thinking to myself, hmmm, it could be a little bit smaller, a little bit shorter, if it was tweaked a little bit more it could be the perfect nose.
Despite my nitpicking I booked my surgery the next day, the date was roughly 6 weeks later on the 31st March. The price of the surgery made my jaw drop a little bit, all in all it was around £8,000 but after all of the horror stories I had read on forums of people going with cheaper surgeons for the sake of £3,000 and ending up with all sorts of problems and having to have revisions I knew the high price was more than worth it. If you cannot afford to go with the surgeon you want, please wait and save your money until you can, don't rush into surgery just because of the cheaper price! - The price with Mr.Ion also depends on whether you choose to stay as an overnight patient in the hospital, this cost an extra £400 at the time of my surgery (prices may be higher now), but an extra £400 to give you peace of mind that if anything went wrong after surgery care was there, was not a big price to pay.
2nd consultation
Around 2 weeks later I booked my 2nd consultation with Mr.Ion. From reviews I have read on other forums, most people at their second consultation go over the details of what they discussed in the first consultation and reaffirm the changes they would like made. I however asked Mr.Ion to make nitpicky changes to the original morphs, he told me that the nose would look too small if these changes were made but produced the new morphs for me anyway. He also reminded me that the morphs were not an exact picture of what my new nose would look like, but that the new nose would look similar to the morphs. I went home that evening comparing the new morphs and realised that Mr.Ion was right, my nose in the new morphs looked far too small for my face and didn't suit. It was at this point that I realised that the quest for a 'perfect nose' will always be a disappointing one as there is no such thing, rhinoplasty should be seen as an improvement and an improvement only. I can see why people can become easily addicted to surgery and end up having revision after revision, in search of the perfect nose. If you are considering rhinoplasty in search of the perfect nose I would advise that it is not for you as you will never be satisfied. I also realised that Mr. Ion really understands facial symmetry and appreciated that he managed my expectations and told me what I thought was the 'perfect nose', would not suit me, I think this is one of the marks of a good surgeon. The next day I rang up Mr.Ions office and advised his secretary I would like to scrap the second lot of morphs produced and stick with what we originally planned.
In the lead up to the surgery
I was provided with packs by Mr.Ion's secretary. These included a checklist for the hospital, a post operative checklist and details on post operative recovery, all were very useful. There was also a pack detailing all costs and how payments are made. These were made separately, to Mr.Ion, the hospital and the anaesthetist. I was so excited in the lead up to the surgery I was wishing the next few weeks away, I couldn't wait to have a new nose I had wanted one for almost 10 years!
Surgery day (finally!)
On the day of the surgery I arrived at the Weymouth Street Hospital in London around 12pm. I waited in reception for around half an hour filling out forms and had to provide payment details for post operative medicines which I would receive when leaving the hospital. I was taken to my room which was very nice, super comfy bed, flat screen, en-suite. After changing into my surgery gown the nurse provided me with a menu for dinner / breakfast - by this point I hadn't eaten anything for around 18 hours and was starving, I ticked whatever took my fancy on the menu, much to the nurses amusement when she returned and told me I was supposed to tick 1 item from each section, she told me that it was fine and I could have everything I ticked, get in! The anaesthetist came to see me shortly after, he asked my weight so he could work out the quantities of anaesthetic (I had taken it the day before at boots on some accurate scales) but he weighed me there and then which was reassuring. Around 30 minutes before surgery Mr.Ion came to see me in my room, we went over everything we had previously discussed and looked over the morphs together, he discussed the procedure with me again and then went down to get ready for surgery. I was taken downstairs by a nurse where I met the anaesthetist, he was accompanied by another nurse. He was asking me how I felt, I said nervous and he said you'll feel very sleep soon as he injected me with anaesthetic. He asked me how I felt, I said sleepy and that was it I was out of it within about 10 seconds.
Straight after surgery
I woke up to a voice telling me "don't touch your nose, don't touch your nose" I was also crying at the same time, it was very strange. I couldn't see as there was some sort of ointment from the surgery in my eyes, everything was blurry and I was in so much pain, my face was throbbing and I could barely swallow / speak (I think a tube is put down your throat during surgery). I was asking for painkillers and a throat lozenger. A nurse said to me "I can't give you pain killers yet, if I give you morphine your heart could stop" at the time I was too out of it to think anything of that comment but on reflection it's not a very encouraging thing to hear! Mr Ion came to see me soon after, I don't remember anything we spoke about but remember that we had a conversation. It took quite a long time to bring me round and I was in the recovery room for around 45 minutes, I am quite small, only 5 ft 2 and weigh 55kg so I think that may have been why it took so long, other people seem to be taken out a lot sooner. All in all the surgery took around 3 hours.
Once the nurses had brought me round I was wheeled back to my room, I was in and out of sleep for the rest of the evening, they came to check my blood pressure every 2 hours / provide painkillers, I was really impressed with the level of care. My food arrived and I definitely ordered too much, I attempted to eat a mountain of food including crisps (bad bad choice), I would advise anyone else to just stick to liquids at this point, it definitely made bleeding from my nose worse which I think contributed to an uncomfortable week post op. I was so glad I had stayed overnight as was in no fit state to have gone home that evening.
The next morning Mr.Ion came to see me, he told me that my nose looked cute, natural and suited my face, I couldn't wait to see what it looked like with the cast off! I left the hospital late morning and was provided with a pack of post op medicine, this included strong painkillers and syringes pre filled with a medicine to stop blood clots.
1st week post op
A lot of people describe having a nose job as just uncomfortable, unfortunately for me I was uncomfortable, in pain and felt awful. The pain killers provided did not seem to agree with my body (I think they were called Co-Dydramol) they were making my heart race, making me sweat and feel sick. At first I thought this was just due to having an operation but soon realised it was the painkillers, I stopped taking them and felt a lot better. I decided to just take paracetamol instead. Aside from the pain, my nose was completely blocked and so congested that I could barely swallow for around 3 days, this was due to the amount my nose had bled (which was my fault for being so greedy at the hospital). As part of the post care pack you are also provided with syringes, as mentioned previously, to prevent blood clots. this injection has to be administered daily, I had to do this myself as my boyfriend has a fear of needles (who doesn't!). On the first day I spent about 5 minutes with the needle in my hand before I plucked up the courage to inject myself (the easiest place to do this is in your stomach), it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and by day 3/4 of administering them I wasn't bothered. Sleeping is also very uncomfortable, I slept sitting pretty much upright for 3 weeks and also with a pillow in between both legs and either side of me, this was to stop me from rolling over in my sleep and squishing my nose on my pillow! Anyway all in all the first week wasn't a pleasant experience, I tried to sleep the week away to make time go faster, I couldn't wait to get my cast off and splints taken out.
1 week post op
I went back to Mr. Ion's office on Harley St to have the cast removed, he was not at his office that day but a nurse was there to remove it. I had read a review previously saying that having the splints taken out feels like giving birth to alien babies through your nose, I thought what rubbish, but that it exactly what it feels like! it's a very strange and unpleasant sensation! When the nurse took my splints out she said "my gosh you were congested" (avoid solid foods). She then took the stitches out my nose, this was extremely painful and brought tears to my eyes! After a few minutes she was finished, she told me my nose wasn't too swollen and looked lovely, I looked in the mirror and cried, I looked like a pig! She told me not to worry, that she sees noses all the time a week post op and can tell what they will look like in a few weeks time. I knew she was right, of course my nose was going to be swollen but I couldn't get past the pig look! I cried a few times that evening at home but read a few reviews online that reassured me the swelling would subside in a week or two - thank god I had 2 weeks off work. I taped my nose every night whilst sleeping with micro tape, this is advised to help with swelling, I found it did help whilst sleeping but as soon as I took the tape off, my nose would swell up again. Sleeping was still uncomfortable, I was now sleeping half upright, I did this for a month all in all, I was too scared of rolling over in my sleep and squishing my nose!
2 weeks post op
My nose was still very swollen and I had so much pressure building up in my sinuses / head. I felt like my head was going to explode. I rang Mr.Ion's office and he saw me that afternoon, he said there were some stitches which hadn't yet dissolved, he removed them and this seemed to relieve a lot of the pressure.
1 month post op
This was a routine check up with Mr. ion, I think all patients see him at 1 month. He said my nose was healing very nicely but that one side was more swollen than the other, he said to the untrained eye this wasn't really noticeable but to him and myself it was. He asked me if I would like a steroid injection in the swollen side of my nose to help reduce swelling, which I did. We discussed potential complications surrounding steroid injections. He said the injection may hurt but as my nose was still completely numb surrounding the tip area I didn't feel a thing. He said in the next few days my nose would swell up a little bit from the injection and then the swelling would subside, which it did.
Post op months 2 until now
Over the next few months the swelling continued to subside, you don't really realise how swollen your nose is until you look back at photos. At 4 months post op I didn't think my nose was swollen but when I compare to recent photos there's quite a big difference. I have heard it can take around 18 months to 2 years to know exactly how the nose will finally look, of course there isn't going to be a dramatic change between 1 year and 18 months but perhaps subtle differences. I haven't seen Mr. Ion since 1 month post op, I was due to have a check up with him before Christmas but couldn't make it, I am however seeing him this weekend, I am excited for him to take photos and compare my nose to what it was the last time I saw him. The tip of my nose is still very stiff and quite hard and my nose still swells up occasionally, these are things I will ask him about this weekend. - One thing to also mention is that all aftercare with Mr. Ion is included in the original
price.
I have added photos of my nose pre op, my morphs, photos from different stages post op and the hospital. I couldn't recommend Mr. ion enough and I think what he has managed to achieve with my nose is amazing, I think it looks like the nose I was always supposed to have, he really is a very skilled man. I hope that this review provides useful to anyone considering surgery with Mr. Ion or anyone awaiting surgery with him, if you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them!
X
1st consultation + booking surgery
I had my first consultation with Mr. Ion on the 12th Feb 2015, he was very welcoming and made me feel at ease. We discussed what I liked / didn't like about my nose, the different ways of performing rhinoplasty (open / closed) and the risks surrounding rhinoplasty and general anaesthetic. We agreed that open rhinoplasty would be the best procedure for myself.
Mr. Ion then took photos of my face from all angles and uploaded them to his computer. I told him I would like my nose shortened, the bump removed and slight curve in the nose. He began to morph the images of my nose from both the side and front profile and it was amazing! I had wanted a nose job since I was around 12 and had always wondered how my side profile would look without a hooked shape nose but could never visualise it, and there my face was on his computer screen with a cute, smaller, slightly curved nose - the nose I had always wanted. I knew at this point that Mr. Ion was the surgeon for me.
I went home that evening staring at the morphs for ages, I absolutely loved my potential new nose but started thinking to myself, hmmm, it could be a little bit smaller, a little bit shorter, if it was tweaked a little bit more it could be the perfect nose.
Despite my nitpicking I booked my surgery the next day, the date was roughly 6 weeks later on the 31st March. The price of the surgery made my jaw drop a little bit, all in all it was around £8,000 but after all of the horror stories I had read on forums of people going with cheaper surgeons for the sake of £3,000 and ending up with all sorts of problems and having to have revisions I knew the high price was more than worth it. If you cannot afford to go with the surgeon you want, please wait and save your money until you can, don't rush into surgery just because of the cheaper price! - The price with Mr.Ion also depends on whether you choose to stay as an overnight patient in the hospital, this cost an extra £400 at the time of my surgery (prices may be higher now), but an extra £400 to give you peace of mind that if anything went wrong after surgery care was there, was not a big price to pay.
2nd consultation
Around 2 weeks later I booked my 2nd consultation with Mr.Ion. From reviews I have read on other forums, most people at their second consultation go over the details of what they discussed in the first consultation and reaffirm the changes they would like made. I however asked Mr.Ion to make nitpicky changes to the original morphs, he told me that the nose would look too small if these changes were made but produced the new morphs for me anyway. He also reminded me that the morphs were not an exact picture of what my new nose would look like, but that the new nose would look similar to the morphs. I went home that evening comparing the new morphs and realised that Mr.Ion was right, my nose in the new morphs looked far too small for my face and didn't suit. It was at this point that I realised that the quest for a 'perfect nose' will always be a disappointing one as there is no such thing, rhinoplasty should be seen as an improvement and an improvement only. I can see why people can become easily addicted to surgery and end up having revision after revision, in search of the perfect nose. If you are considering rhinoplasty in search of the perfect nose I would advise that it is not for you as you will never be satisfied. I also realised that Mr. Ion really understands facial symmetry and appreciated that he managed my expectations and told me what I thought was the 'perfect nose', would not suit me, I think this is one of the marks of a good surgeon. The next day I rang up Mr.Ions office and advised his secretary I would like to scrap the second lot of morphs produced and stick with what we originally planned.
In the lead up to the surgery
I was provided with packs by Mr.Ion's secretary. These included a checklist for the hospital, a post operative checklist and details on post operative recovery, all were very useful. There was also a pack detailing all costs and how payments are made. These were made separately, to Mr.Ion, the hospital and the anaesthetist. I was so excited in the lead up to the surgery I was wishing the next few weeks away, I couldn't wait to have a new nose I had wanted one for almost 10 years!
Surgery day (finally!)
On the day of the surgery I arrived at the Weymouth Street Hospital in London around 12pm. I waited in reception for around half an hour filling out forms and had to provide payment details for post operative medicines which I would receive when leaving the hospital. I was taken to my room which was very nice, super comfy bed, flat screen, en-suite. After changing into my surgery gown the nurse provided me with a menu for dinner / breakfast - by this point I hadn't eaten anything for around 18 hours and was starving, I ticked whatever took my fancy on the menu, much to the nurses amusement when she returned and told me I was supposed to tick 1 item from each section, she told me that it was fine and I could have everything I ticked, get in! The anaesthetist came to see me shortly after, he asked my weight so he could work out the quantities of anaesthetic (I had taken it the day before at boots on some accurate scales) but he weighed me there and then which was reassuring. Around 30 minutes before surgery Mr.Ion came to see me in my room, we went over everything we had previously discussed and looked over the morphs together, he discussed the procedure with me again and then went down to get ready for surgery. I was taken downstairs by a nurse where I met the anaesthetist, he was accompanied by another nurse. He was asking me how I felt, I said nervous and he said you'll feel very sleep soon as he injected me with anaesthetic. He asked me how I felt, I said sleepy and that was it I was out of it within about 10 seconds.
Straight after surgery
I woke up to a voice telling me "don't touch your nose, don't touch your nose" I was also crying at the same time, it was very strange. I couldn't see as there was some sort of ointment from the surgery in my eyes, everything was blurry and I was in so much pain, my face was throbbing and I could barely swallow / speak (I think a tube is put down your throat during surgery). I was asking for painkillers and a throat lozenger. A nurse said to me "I can't give you pain killers yet, if I give you morphine your heart could stop" at the time I was too out of it to think anything of that comment but on reflection it's not a very encouraging thing to hear! Mr Ion came to see me soon after, I don't remember anything we spoke about but remember that we had a conversation. It took quite a long time to bring me round and I was in the recovery room for around 45 minutes, I am quite small, only 5 ft 2 and weigh 55kg so I think that may have been why it took so long, other people seem to be taken out a lot sooner. All in all the surgery took around 3 hours.
Once the nurses had brought me round I was wheeled back to my room, I was in and out of sleep for the rest of the evening, they came to check my blood pressure every 2 hours / provide painkillers, I was really impressed with the level of care. My food arrived and I definitely ordered too much, I attempted to eat a mountain of food including crisps (bad bad choice), I would advise anyone else to just stick to liquids at this point, it definitely made bleeding from my nose worse which I think contributed to an uncomfortable week post op. I was so glad I had stayed overnight as was in no fit state to have gone home that evening.
The next morning Mr.Ion came to see me, he told me that my nose looked cute, natural and suited my face, I couldn't wait to see what it looked like with the cast off! I left the hospital late morning and was provided with a pack of post op medicine, this included strong painkillers and syringes pre filled with a medicine to stop blood clots.
1st week post op
A lot of people describe having a nose job as just uncomfortable, unfortunately for me I was uncomfortable, in pain and felt awful. The pain killers provided did not seem to agree with my body (I think they were called Co-Dydramol) they were making my heart race, making me sweat and feel sick. At first I thought this was just due to having an operation but soon realised it was the painkillers, I stopped taking them and felt a lot better. I decided to just take paracetamol instead. Aside from the pain, my nose was completely blocked and so congested that I could barely swallow for around 3 days, this was due to the amount my nose had bled (which was my fault for being so greedy at the hospital). As part of the post care pack you are also provided with syringes, as mentioned previously, to prevent blood clots. this injection has to be administered daily, I had to do this myself as my boyfriend has a fear of needles (who doesn't!). On the first day I spent about 5 minutes with the needle in my hand before I plucked up the courage to inject myself (the easiest place to do this is in your stomach), it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and by day 3/4 of administering them I wasn't bothered. Sleeping is also very uncomfortable, I slept sitting pretty much upright for 3 weeks and also with a pillow in between both legs and either side of me, this was to stop me from rolling over in my sleep and squishing my nose on my pillow! Anyway all in all the first week wasn't a pleasant experience, I tried to sleep the week away to make time go faster, I couldn't wait to get my cast off and splints taken out.
1 week post op
I went back to Mr. Ion's office on Harley St to have the cast removed, he was not at his office that day but a nurse was there to remove it. I had read a review previously saying that having the splints taken out feels like giving birth to alien babies through your nose, I thought what rubbish, but that it exactly what it feels like! it's a very strange and unpleasant sensation! When the nurse took my splints out she said "my gosh you were congested" (avoid solid foods). She then took the stitches out my nose, this was extremely painful and brought tears to my eyes! After a few minutes she was finished, she told me my nose wasn't too swollen and looked lovely, I looked in the mirror and cried, I looked like a pig! She told me not to worry, that she sees noses all the time a week post op and can tell what they will look like in a few weeks time. I knew she was right, of course my nose was going to be swollen but I couldn't get past the pig look! I cried a few times that evening at home but read a few reviews online that reassured me the swelling would subside in a week or two - thank god I had 2 weeks off work. I taped my nose every night whilst sleeping with micro tape, this is advised to help with swelling, I found it did help whilst sleeping but as soon as I took the tape off, my nose would swell up again. Sleeping was still uncomfortable, I was now sleeping half upright, I did this for a month all in all, I was too scared of rolling over in my sleep and squishing my nose!
2 weeks post op
My nose was still very swollen and I had so much pressure building up in my sinuses / head. I felt like my head was going to explode. I rang Mr.Ion's office and he saw me that afternoon, he said there were some stitches which hadn't yet dissolved, he removed them and this seemed to relieve a lot of the pressure.
1 month post op
This was a routine check up with Mr. ion, I think all patients see him at 1 month. He said my nose was healing very nicely but that one side was more swollen than the other, he said to the untrained eye this wasn't really noticeable but to him and myself it was. He asked me if I would like a steroid injection in the swollen side of my nose to help reduce swelling, which I did. We discussed potential complications surrounding steroid injections. He said the injection may hurt but as my nose was still completely numb surrounding the tip area I didn't feel a thing. He said in the next few days my nose would swell up a little bit from the injection and then the swelling would subside, which it did.
Post op months 2 until now
Over the next few months the swelling continued to subside, you don't really realise how swollen your nose is until you look back at photos. At 4 months post op I didn't think my nose was swollen but when I compare to recent photos there's quite a big difference. I have heard it can take around 18 months to 2 years to know exactly how the nose will finally look, of course there isn't going to be a dramatic change between 1 year and 18 months but perhaps subtle differences. I haven't seen Mr. Ion since 1 month post op, I was due to have a check up with him before Christmas but couldn't make it, I am however seeing him this weekend, I am excited for him to take photos and compare my nose to what it was the last time I saw him. The tip of my nose is still very stiff and quite hard and my nose still swells up occasionally, these are things I will ask him about this weekend. - One thing to also mention is that all aftercare with Mr. Ion is included in the original
price.
I have added photos of my nose pre op, my morphs, photos from different stages post op and the hospital. I couldn't recommend Mr. ion enough and I think what he has managed to achieve with my nose is amazing, I think it looks like the nose I was always supposed to have, he really is a very skilled man. I hope that this review provides useful to anyone considering surgery with Mr. Ion or anyone awaiting surgery with him, if you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them!
X
Provider Review
Specialist Registered Plastic Surgeon
Aveling House, 1B Upper Wimpole St., London,