The results are in & I'm completely satisfied!

I got these pictures from the office a few months back and I've been meaning to upload them. To be honest, I really didn't notice how much my nose had changed until I saw these photos. Overall, I'm completely satisfied with both the results and the office I had my surgery in. The positive emotional impact this experience has had on my life is priceless.

The tip is still pretty swollen - I can't even get my pinky in there to clear out the occasional "blockage," shall we say (yeah, I know..), but the shape is coming along splendidly! I rarely ever think about my nose anymore, and it's such a relief.

I feel a bit vulnerable putting these photos on the internet, as some of them are a bit.. unsightly, but I think it's important to show them to people who are contemplating rhinoplasty. I thought I had done my homework, as I spent years researching rhinoplasty on the internet, but there were things I experienced in my recovery process that I hadn't prepared for (nor heard about), and it certainly was more difficult than I imagined. I saw so many photos with nearly instantaneous results that didn't look like mine (I'll explain further), and many stories that made recovery seem like a breeze. Mine wasn't. It's important to understand that pain, discomfort, emotions, healing, swelling, physical attributes, and other intricacies vary widely by person.

The biggest issue I faced was that I didn't realize just how much my tip would drop - when I first removed the drip pad, my nose looked incredibly over-rotated, short, and pig-like (as you can see in the photos). I SHOULD have called my doctor, but instead the days before my cast removal an emotional wreck (I'm understating this a bit) contemplating revision rhinoplasty and spending entire days on the internet trying to find out what went wrong. I felt much better about the appearance after the cast was removed, but my nostrils were still high until the end of my third post-op week. Additionally, my nostrils appeared to be asymmetrical (refer to the third photo) and I thought perhaps too much cartilage had been removed from one side and I might have alar retraction, but one month post-op, that issue is nearly completely resolved. Mostly likely, I just had uneven swelling.

As far as non-aesthetic issues are concerned, I had a moderate amount of pain for a few days, but more than anything, I was very uncomfortable. I barely slept, as I had to prop myself up to reduce swelling. I didn't really contemplate the fact that I wouldn't be able to taste ANYTHING, and I didn't for 3 weeks. I also became a complete mouth breather for 3+ weeks, and even with a humidifier, I woke up every morning with cracked lips (hence the sugar scrub on my lips in the photos) and a sore throat. I had acne before the surgery, but it was definitely exacerbated by the stress and the fact that I couldn't really wash my face the way I need to, so I developed a few cysts and a copious amount of blackheads on my nose where the cast was.

Three weeks out was the point where I finally started to feel relief (and those three weeks seemed like an eternity). Currently, I'm 5 weeks post-op, and the only physical issue I have is the swelling/hardness of my tip, which is normal. Aesthetically, the incision on my right nostril from the turbinate reduction hasn't healed as well as the other nostril - yet. I can't describe it in any other way except a "crack" like appearance, but I'm going to remain patient. If it doesn't heal as the other incision did, I will discuss this with my doctor at one of my follow-up appointments.