Rhinoplasty/Septoplasty - The Nose I've Always Dreamed of at 44... So Worth It!! Albany, NY

I've never had a very feminine or pretty nose and fantasized about surgery since my late teens, but during the last several years (during my early 40's) it really started getting out of hand. The tip width and bulbousness increased and became much more asymmetrical, the bump on my bridge was getting more prominent, and I started despising it more and more. I have many food and environmental allergies, so the swelling would increase depending on the weather or what I ate. Looking up at it from below, it was large, square and piggish. Makeup no longer helped. I hated taking selfies, but when I did, I had to position my face in a certain way so the bulbousness wouldn't be accentuated by the shadows. :( Not fun. I also caught people often staring at my nose when I talked to them. I realized surgery was my only option to tame my out-of-control, ever-growing nose, and I was more than ready.

I started researching rhinoplasty and plastic surgeons near me (viewing RealSelf stories and photos helped A LOT), and finally made an appointment with Dr. David Tauber of DeLuca Plastic Surgery in Albany after seeing excellent reviews and before/after pics. I felt really comfortable with my decision after my consultation with him, he was very confident he could achieve the realistic results I expected - I didn't want a tiny or pointy nose which would be totally incongruous with the rest of my face, I would be totally satisfied with a refined tip eliminating the bulbousness and the hump smoothed down. It turned out I had a deviated septum too, which I kind of suspected because of my longtime breathing issues, so half of the cost was covered by insurance (yay!).

On the day of surgery my last words to Dr. Tauber in the fuzzy pre-surgery moments were, "I'm trusting you to give me a pretty nose." And he truly did! :) I could not be happier. My husband didn't mind my "before" nose at all, but even he had to admit it really made a huge difference and improvement to my appearance.

The post-op pain was not at all as severe as I anticipated. The worst part of recovery was having to sleep sitting up the first few nights - I developed bad neck pain/stiffness, and migraines from the strong painkillers I was prescribed. It took a couple days for the side effects of the anesthesia to wear off too (nausea, dizziness and vomited once). I stopped the prescription meds after 2 days and ended up taking plain old Tylenol and it was enough. Hubby lovingly brought me soups, pineapple smoothies to keep the swelling down (pineapple has anti-inflammatory properties), and ice cream. :) Although honestly, everything tasted like cardboard for the first 5 days or so. Got a fever and mild infection during recovery around post-op day 4 but antibiotics wiped it out. The pressure the first week was awful, like I had the worst sinus infection of my life but it subsided after my cast was removed and the plastic stents came out. Didn't bruise too much at all, just some mild yellowing under my eyes.

I'm at 3 months post-op now, and feeling great. Wish I would have done this years ago! Some scar tissue on the left side of my nose (inside) but nothing major. The tip swelling has diminished a lot. Very happy with the results and it just keeps getting better. I still tape my nose at night. I'll find out at the end of March whether I should still continue taping or not.