3rd Revision and Hope This One Allows Me to Focus on Other Things! - Atlanta, GA

So, a little over two years ago I had a revision rhino with Dr. G in Los Angeles. My primary rhino had taken place in Orlando, Florida with a Dr. Scott Greenberg, who was not a facial plastic surgeon. Dr. Greenberg had been very aggressive in removing all or most of my nose base cartilage and placed a silicone graft in my nose as a bridge. Of course, once he had removed that lower nose supportive base cartilage the weight from the graft began to collapse and the result was a visible obtrusion of graft and a beaking effect toward base and tip.

So, Dr. G did much good work to revise and reinforce what had been taken away in the primary.

But, with time things change. Swelling no longer obscures the picture and my nose was still experiencing the effect of the primaries cartilage loss. My nose shape, especially profile wise was fantastic! I still believe Dr. G is extremely skilled, but my tip was over projected and my nostrils showed very apparently. Also, asymmetry started to appear in one nostril being larger and the other dropping a bit. I would place a q-tip at the base of my nose above my lip and hold it straight across, but only one nostril would touch it- the other was millimeters higher.

Also, my nose height was still rather flat or closer to my face- which is what you would expect being I had no support beneath it.

While still in LA, I had consults with two doctors. One, is rather famous and has done some amazing things with a celebrity recently- I can’t say names because it would be obvious, but I am certain he was very skilled. His price quote was upwards of $20k and I wondered how I was going to make it happen?

During that time an opportunity came about and we moved to Atlanta, GA. Once, I was a little settled in- I was determined to return to my quest of a revision.

I found three doctors, that I felt had really good representations in their galleries and were well credentialed in the facial reconstruction area of plastic surgery.

My first consult was almost my last. The doctor’s office was posh and located within a beautiful hospital complex! An office like this in Los Angeles would have been reserved for the stars and rich folks! The doctor and his staff were so incredibly nice- I mean, I thought wow- why should I look any further?

They proceeded to examine me, take my pictures and do the video image to show what my results might look like.

The doctor did a quick photoshop type edit, but to be honest I wasn’t sure I liked it. He really only manipulated one or two little aspects and the result made my nose look long, de-rotated and bit older!

Now, I’m logically and I understand that these images are not likely to be exponentially accurate to the outcome, just a potential example. But that image stayed in my mind.

The doctor then discussed with me how he would achieve his results, he mentioned a cadaver rib graft would be used to reinforce my tip and lengthen my nose and then maybe some nostril work. His price quote was surprisingly affordable- maybe because he was already in a hospital or the fact that this was Georgia now, compared to Los Angeles…I couldn’t get over how the price had reduced to less than half what I’d been quoted in LA.

I started the process to commit to surgery- sat with his office staff and arranged the nearest surgery date with plans to be post recovery well before Christmas.

I knew I had made other consultation appts., one was that following Monday and there was a fee involved. I was contemplating cancelling it, as I was already moving forward with this doctor in my head.

But, something woke me in the middle of the night. A bit of terror coursed through me, as I lay thinking about the cadaver rib graft- what if my body rejects it? Is it safe? Is it moral? Would I feel weird after having a foreign body part incorporated into mine? I had so many questions, I know it’s done every day and is common, but I personally knew little about this option.

I decided to keep my other appt. just for the sake of comparison and it’s a good thing.

Dr. Marc Yune, very calm, very thorough and genuinely engaging with the person he is talking to. These are the things that struck me right off the bat.

We also did a video imaging and he so impressed me by taking the time during his edit to even point of things I hadn’t brought up, like my bridge being slightly deviated and him using cartilage to fix. He said we don’t want a long nose, but to slightly deproject that tip and reduce the nostril appearance.

He went a step further to talk about other aspects of my health, such as weight loss in order to achieve what I additionally wanted which had been lipo under my chin.

He could have said yes to all and lined his pockets, but instead he told me to lose the weight first and then we could explore options for reducing under my chin- if needed.

The quote for just my rhino was a little more expensive and I was only getting the one procedure now instead of two, but I liked his focus. He seemed to be a doctor that would take his time and I really wanted that! Also, he said he would harvest my own cartilage…not a cadaver.

So, for me it became an overwhelming absolute that Dr. Yune was my man! We had to schedule surgery for a week later than the other doctor and my recovery would be smack in the middle of Christmas, but I felt good about my decision, despite all else.

Surgery happened on the 18th…..today is December 25th- Christmas, I am day 7 of my recovery.

I will update with pictures, but I am feeling emotional right now. I have been unhappy with my nose for a long time and revisions are difficult, because now you go in knowing what to expect as far the recovery- which is not the most fun of all processes...you just want things to be done in a way that results in the best possible outcome! This was so worth the struggle and process.....I'm glad I pursued this and especially or most importantly with Dr. Yune...I will provide a more detailed update as soon as possible, but I'm just still adjusting to life without the cast and all I need to catch up on. Until then!

My nose is still swollen- it may be hard to see the definition on camera, but I see it and know that over time the shape will come through. But, my nostrils are definitely less noticeable, my tip is no longer over projected and the nose is a bit longer and more proportionate for my face.

Really happy for these results- will take more pics as swelling continues to go down.