POSTED UNDER Revision Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
Extensive Revision Rhinoplasty - Beverly Hills, CA
ORIGINAL POST
After a disappointing primary rhinoplasty, I was...
WORTH IT$19,296
After a disappointing primary rhinoplasty, I was seeking to revise my unsatisfactory result. My first op was a closed procedure. I sought to reduce a dorsal hump, refine my tip, take care of a hanging columella and resolve some asymmetries. I was left with retracted alars, a wide bridge, and an inexplicable "lump" that protruded from the right side of my nose.
I underwent a pretty extensive revision rhinoplasty with Dr. Ghavami on Oct. 6, 2014. Not only was he able to correct the cosmetic issues that were my chief complaints, he was also able to identify the fact that although my previous surgeons (a father-some team of doctors) had said they'd given me a septoplasty, they had never touched my septum. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise since Dr. Ghavami was able to use 100% septum cartilage for my revision surgery without needing to harvest from my ears.
I'm about 2 months out from surgery now. The results are dramatic, and quite an improvement, but there is still a great deal of swelling (as is to be expected with a complex secondary surgery).
I have "good" nose days and "bad" nose days. The swelling in my case is asymmetrical (but corresponds to the areas which the Dr. indicated he worked on the most) so I'm fairly certain this is swelling and no a complication of healing.
Compliance and patience are important, with this type of surgery. It's really intense, and it's a smart thing to observe dietary changes (cutting out processed foods, sugar and sodium, taking supplements, drinking lots of water) and to follow your doc's instructions re: taping and massage (these things are more beneficial in some cases than in others. Pay close attention to your medical teams advice).
In all I'm very glad I chose to finally take the plunge. My trust was damaged severely in 2004 after my previous surgery, and my doctors' dismissal of my concerns as "the best I could hope for." It took me 10 years to build up the courage to search for surgeons to correct this, and Honestly my only regret is not doing this sooner!
Im going to post some photos of my "before," my "after," and my healing progress. Since I'm 2 months out, the only new pics you see going forward will be monthly updates, as not much happens at this point besides swelling resolution. If there's a specific view, angle, enlargement or type of pic you'd like to see, message me. Also, if you want to ask me any questions about my surgeon, or my procedure but don't want to ADRESS it on a thread, go ahead and message me for that too.
Thanks for reading! I sincerely hope that this helps you out if you're considering a revision rhinoplasty.
I underwent a pretty extensive revision rhinoplasty with Dr. Ghavami on Oct. 6, 2014. Not only was he able to correct the cosmetic issues that were my chief complaints, he was also able to identify the fact that although my previous surgeons (a father-some team of doctors) had said they'd given me a septoplasty, they had never touched my septum. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise since Dr. Ghavami was able to use 100% septum cartilage for my revision surgery without needing to harvest from my ears.
I'm about 2 months out from surgery now. The results are dramatic, and quite an improvement, but there is still a great deal of swelling (as is to be expected with a complex secondary surgery).
I have "good" nose days and "bad" nose days. The swelling in my case is asymmetrical (but corresponds to the areas which the Dr. indicated he worked on the most) so I'm fairly certain this is swelling and no a complication of healing.
Compliance and patience are important, with this type of surgery. It's really intense, and it's a smart thing to observe dietary changes (cutting out processed foods, sugar and sodium, taking supplements, drinking lots of water) and to follow your doc's instructions re: taping and massage (these things are more beneficial in some cases than in others. Pay close attention to your medical teams advice).
In all I'm very glad I chose to finally take the plunge. My trust was damaged severely in 2004 after my previous surgery, and my doctors' dismissal of my concerns as "the best I could hope for." It took me 10 years to build up the courage to search for surgeons to correct this, and Honestly my only regret is not doing this sooner!
Im going to post some photos of my "before," my "after," and my healing progress. Since I'm 2 months out, the only new pics you see going forward will be monthly updates, as not much happens at this point besides swelling resolution. If there's a specific view, angle, enlargement or type of pic you'd like to see, message me. Also, if you want to ask me any questions about my surgeon, or my procedure but don't want to ADRESS it on a thread, go ahead and message me for that too.
Thanks for reading! I sincerely hope that this helps you out if you're considering a revision rhinoplasty.
SmartCookieInCA's provider
UPDATED FROM SmartCookieInCA
2 months post
Some additional Pics
A few more photos from some different angles, before/after
Replies (17)
December 4, 2014
I also noticed that you didnt need ear graphs haha me neither! my doctor actually said to me right before I went in for surgery "well the one thing you can thank your previous doctor for is leaving so much extra useless cartilage in your tip.." and he laughed. So they were able to use my own septum cartilage to build my bridge back up.
December 5, 2014
Yeah that was the one silver lining in the black cloud of that bad first surgery! I know you're concerned about swelling. I think you'll heal much faster than Im healing. You have youth on your side. I am in my 40's, so my metabolism and my healing DOESNT move quite as fast anymore...
December 5, 2014
wow omg you look amazing! i would have never guessed you were in your 40s! my swelling is random .. it comes and goes .. patience is key i guess lol
UPDATED FROM SmartCookieInCA
2 months post
And Two More
Oblique (3/4) View of my left side
Nostril Healing (swelling from the grafts used to fix my alars still evident, small incision scar still evident. Taken at 7weeks post)
Nostril Healing (swelling from the grafts used to fix my alars still evident, small incision scar still evident. Taken at 7weeks post)
Replies (9)
December 3, 2014
Your revision looks really good after 2 months of healing!
December 3, 2014
Thank you very much! Looking forward to the swelling going down, I have no patience! Ha!
December 3, 2014
Beautiful results. Ten years is a long but understandable amount of time to approach revision. I'd likely be the same way. I'm glad to see a positive review pop up for Dr. Ghavami as well, some of those recent negative ones don't seem too credible. I consulted with him & he was fantastic, but logistically it wasn't feasible with my current job. I was fortunate enough to come across a fab surgeon in my own area just when I was ready to give up & "accept" daddy's nose. Lol. Again... You're results are gorgeous, but you're inherently gorgeous anyways. Happy continued healing!
December 3, 2014
Thank you so much! I also saw the negative reviews for Dr. G. and some of them have classic red-flags for a fake negative, others could be born of the fact that...let's be honest, your face is your identity as a person. And your nose is smack dab in the center of your face. Some people, when they're used to seeing a certain face looking back at them for most of their lives, have an unexpected reaction to something that's so suddenly different, and so they react by blaming.
As sad as it sounds, my poor results had been with me long enough for me to incorporate them into my "idea" of myself, making it tough to self-motivate to make the change. On the bright side it gave me a loooong time to save up, LOL
Replies (86)
Wow!!! Your revision results are spectacular. Thank you so much for sharing your experience here on RealSelf. I'm happy for you!