8 Weeks Post Rhinoplasty, Upper & Lower Bleph, Lower Face and necklift

I felt like Real Self was a great resource for information going into my first ever cosmetic surgery so I wanted to share my experience. Initially I wanted to see a surgeon for consultation because my neck was starting to sag and my upper eyelids had become so droopy the skin was covering my eyelashes and interfering with my vision. At the first consultation I asked about fixing my nose as well. Once I saw the before and after pictures and realized what a huge difference a curved-in nose made - as opposed to the hump I had- the nose became my focus. I put this review under the "rhinoplasty" section because it seems like the most extensive work was done on my nose. I had Rhinoplasty, upper and lower blepharoplasty, lower face and neck done all at the same time. I'm now on day 9. I still have so much swelling that I can't see anywhere near the end result but I can tell that my nose hump is gone, my eyelashes are not covered at all and I have much more jawline definition and no sag under the chin.

I think the hardest thing about this whole process has been the fear of not finding a surgeon who I would feel comfortable enough with to make so many alterations to my face. So, first thing I want to say is that I love, love, love my surgeon! Dr. Louis DeJoseph in Atlanta. What I mean is that after my first meeting with him I didn't even consider consulting any other ps. This is extremely out of character for me. I'm an attorney with a decent amount of medical knowledge and I thoroughly research and analyze before making a big decision. My intention was to meet with 4 or 5 Atlanta surgeons and even go out of state if I wasn't satisfied with the interviews. My logic in selecting Dr. DeJoseph without looking any further was that, on paper, there wasn't any credentialing or experience that would lead me to believe that another surgeon could do a better job; and, at least as important, I couldn't imagine finding someone I would feel more comfortable with and confident that I would be happy with the results. But it's not like I don't have any points of reference either. I come from a medical family - both parents physicians - and I work in a medical setting. I accompanied my mother on consultations when she was trying to select a plastic surgeon. No comparison between Dr. DeJoseph and the others we interviewed. So my first piece of advice is: keep looking until you find a surgeon who makes you feel really confident. Of course you can't be 100% sure about the outcome but you can reduce or eliminate anxiety about how things will turn out. And, no, I was not asked to write a positive review and I am not affiliated in any way with Dr. DeJoseph or his practice (except being a patient) and, yes, I have been off the pain pills for a few days now.

Here are some before pics that show what needed work. Nose too wide from between the eyes all the way down. Upper eyelids fold over on lash line and lower eyelids puffy all the time. Can't see it well on these photos but from side view you could see that area under the chin starting to sag. I'll have to post after photos separately from my phone.

I'm now on day 12. Got all stitches and staples out 2 days ago. My eyes have definitely deflated a lot and are not solidly purple anymore. When I got the nose cast off, day 7, the doctor told me the swelling in my nose was a 9 out of 10 (10 being worst). It hasn't gone down much so the only improvement that can be seen is that I don't have the nose hump anymore. Under chin and neck area, whole face really, still very tight and hard so I can't turn to the side very well. But today plenty of energy and up and moving around.

Since I got so much done at one time I wasn't really able to post updates as I went along. I'll just note a few things that I found helpful or that maybe I wasn't expecting.

The morning of the surgery I was just slightly nervous but not really bad at all. I think the reason was because I felt like I could not have been in better hands than with Dr. D. I think I was in surgery about 7 hours - maybe that includes some of the recovery time. I think the timing was good because they told me that there wasn't anybody scheduled after me (I was the only one that day). Maybe that took away any time pressure he might have been under otherwise. Anyway, the time estimate had been 5 hours and I know he spent more time than that. So that might be something to think about when you're scheduling your surgery: How many procedures are being done that day. The surgery was like everyone else describes: last thing I remember was the anesthesiologist asking me if I had picked out a good dream. Seems like a few seconds later I was waking up and with the nurse telling me everything went well. The only discomfort I remember was stinging on my eyelids from the incision. The nurse put ice water gauze on my eyes and that helped a lot. During the first few days of recovery I found the best way to cool and ice my eyes was to put wet gauze over them and hold a very small gel ice pack over that. That way there was good contact with the cold gauze that conformed to the eye shape. Larger ice packs either didn't make close enough contact with my eyelids or they got other parts of my face colder than I could tolerate.

I would say the recovery item that I could not have done without was a recliner. I had a very cushy one with soft velour kind of covering. I think a leather covered recliner would have been too stiff and uncomfortable. I spent 24 hours in the recliner for just about all of the first 3 days and then most of the time for 4 days after that. I tried the bed but it allowed me to slouch over too much. The recliner kept me in an upright position the whole time and I slept great! I didn't have to worry about keeping my head elevated. Lortab definitely helped with the sleep also! It's true that you don't really experience "pain", just discomfort, really. Since I had my whole face operated on I may have been in more discomfort than someone who had just one procedure. I could have gone without the pain pills but they did take the edge off the stinging from the staples on my head and from the eyelids. I also got bored watching tv and I couldn't see well enough to read so I thought there was no reason not to be generous with the pain pills. I wouldn't recommend that, though, unless you have somebody there all the time to monitor how frequently you're taking them and to walk you to and from the bathroom. (My husband gave strict instructions to my housekeeper and my kids to call him before I took any, so he could monitor it).

I took over my son's bedroom for recovery - he gave me permission. The reasons are that he has a recliner with a mini fridge in front of a large tv. I thought my bedroom might be a problem because it is larger with high ceilings. I was afraid the humidifier would not be very effective in a large room. It was very helpful to have a remote control for the lights and fan. I ended up not really using the humidifier. My throat was irritated after the surgery but not terribly painful like a lot of other people describe. I kept water bottles with bendy straws next to me. I really wish I had a spray water bottle to moisten my mouth in the middle of the night. That would have been perfect. It's a lot of trouble to sit up from the recliner and take a sip of water in the middle of the night for the first 3 days or so. I kept Ensure, Yoplait whipped yogurt, liquid yogurt and juices in the mini fridge. I found the jello difficult to eat and not filling enough to be worthwhile. I couldn't open my mouth very well and it was a pain trying to get the jello in. It took some time to get used to swallowing without the liquid backing up into my nose. It's weird trying to swallow without breathing. Mouth breathing during the day isn't so bad but waking up in the morning is disgusting! Lips completely dry and mouth full of sticky, gross goop. I used my toothbrush to clean the roof of my mouth, my tongue, under my tongue, etc. Then I threw it away! Definitely get that spray water bottle! On day 3 I had some soup. I didn't have much appetite. I think starting on day 4 I had a couple of very soft scrambled eggs each day. That's all I would eat for the day other than maybe an Ensure or a liquid yogurt. Plenty of water though. On about day 4 I tried to eat a small piece of crumbled up hamburger meat but that made my nose bleed. I went back to normal food about day 9 or 10. I still don't have much appetite. I've been able to breathe through my nose just fine since the cast and packing stuff came out. I think it must be because I'm not smelling things as much. There should be a diet aide that inhibits the ability to smell. I'm going to look for that.

My daughter washed my hair for me in the sink on day 4 and then I washed it in the shower the morning I went to have the cast off since I knew it was ok to get it wet. For people who have staples in their head, it's pretty touchy trying to clean that. I just got my hair really wet, put loads of baby shampoo all over and just scrubbed the part without an incision. I let the incision part just soak for awhile with the shampoo on it and then just stood under the water for a long time to let it rinse. The doctor told me a few times that my incisions looked really clean and that it's important to not let them crust up. Otherwise more difficult and painful to get stitches and staples out. I kept the Aquaphor and vaseline right next to me and glopped it on to every incision frequently during the day.

For people getting rhinoplasty I would say to try to avoid it during the spring if you have allergies. I sneezed once and managed to make it a mouth sneeze instead of a nose sneeze, but I wouldn't want to have to fight that battle. Hmmm...what else? Did I mention my surgeon is awesome?? yes. I could go back to the office on Tuesday - that would be 2 weeks. I don't think they would notice the nose or facelift but the eye scars are still pretty visible because my eyes are still swollen. My face is a little yellow in some spots from bruising but my eyelids are the only places with darker bruising.
That can be covered with makeup, The one thing I can't hide is is that I apparently had bleeding under the conjuctiva of my left eye. Wherever the eye should be white, it's blood red and scary looking. The doctor said it could take weeks to clear up. :-<

So overall, my impression is that a saggy neck can add 10 years to a person's apparent age and a cute, curved-in nose is much more youthful looking than a humped nose. It's never too late to get a nose job and I think that was the easiest part of this whole surgery, by far. Had I known how easy I would have done it 35 years ago and I doubt anyone would have known I had it done. Good luck!!