Revision rhinoplasty - reversed over aggressive alar base reduction - changed my life

After an initial, rash decision rhinoplasty in 2014 that ended disastrously due to an incompetent and nasty surgeon who completed disregarded my request for a very minor change and left me looking like somebody completely different, I began researching revision rhinoplasty almost straight away even though I knew it would be at least a year before I could do anything. Being from London (my initial surgery took place elsewhere in Europe) my initial plan was to stay local but it soon became very apparent that London surgeons, although I'm sure some of them are fantastic, were not at all equipped to deal with my revision. Therefore, I started to research surgeons in Beverly Hills. Originally, for my first surgery, I wanted the lower third of my nose slightly slimmed, and that was literally it. However, the surgeon went into the surgery all guns blazing, giving me a very over aggressive alar base reduction that I DID NOT agree to. Being of mixed ethnicities, this looked especially bad because it did not fit my features. I was told by nearly all surgeons in the UK and the US that I consulted with that it is virtually impossible to re-widen nostrils; once the skin is cut away to make them more narrow, nothing can be done to put this skin back. Whilst that is true, Dr Stephen Pincus is the only surgeon I came across who had a legitimate method for re-widening the alar base (rather than the actual nostril rim) if you will, with proven results and pictures to prove it. His method works by opening flaps of skin in the nostril that allow him to push the nostrils out, widening the alar base (maybe I'm not explaining this very well, I don't know all the correct terms!) From the moment I contacted Dr Pincus via his patient consultant Wendi LeSassier (who btw, is one of the most lovely, helpful and warm people I have ever met!), I was treated extremely well, always kept informed and my emails were always responded to swiftly. Wendi went above and beyond when it came to helping me make this revision a possibility, from arranging the initial skype consultation and consequent in person consultations and the actual surgery itself. She was even helpful with suggesting places to stay and was completely fine with rescheduling my surgery date when last minute circumstances meant I couldn't make the original date. Basically, Wendi was like my travel agent as well as patient consultant for the surgery. Flying all the way from London to an area you are not super familiar with to have your face cut into to, to put it bluntly, is not the most calming prospect, yet Wendi was amazing with helping me to stay calm and reassuring me every step of the way. The tests and questions they ask you beforehand are very thorough, they leave such little room for error. After what seemed like thousands of back and forth emails, a great skype consultation where Dr Pincus cut straight to the point with telling me what was and wasn't possible and a long flight, it was finally time for my in person consultation. From the moment you walk into their offices, you are greeted with a huge smile and welcome by everyone, instantly putting you at ease. Their offices are also beautiful and minimalistic, not that that is the entire point, but it would instantly put me off if the offices where shabby, because if a surgeon can't take care of his offices/consultation rooms, how much care can they really put into their patients and surgeries? Dr Pincus spent what felt like hours with me and my mum, answering every single one of our questions, explaining everything in detail, not getting impatient at all or rushing us along. After spending a year and three months waking up every day and seeing a face in the mirror that wasn't my own and being told by every surgeon under the sun that there was nothing that could be done about it, Dr Pincus was a breath of fresh air. Even just at the in person consultation stage, I felt reinvigorated and ridiculously happy and positive, as if everything was about to change for the better, sometimes you just know when something great is about to happen. Although of course I was still super nervous. After agreeing to go ahead with the surgery and because I live in London and couldn't spend months in Beverly Hills, the surgery took place a few days later. I was in 0 pain afterwards and had 0 bruising, just some minor swelling. The only thing that was bothersome was the stuffy, blocked feeling of not being able to breathe whilst the packing is in your nose (it was only in for a night or so) and having to sleep sitting up right which I find kills my back. Nevertheless I was equipped with pain pills just in case. Seeing as all they did was widen the alars on both sides of my nose using the flap technique I talked about further up this post and raised my columella (as it was slightly hanging as a result of my first surgery) , they had only operated on soft tissue and not touched any bone, which usually would result in little to no bruising. However, seeing that I bruise easily, I do attribute the fact that I had absolutely no bruising and little swelling to Dr Pincus' delicate and laser focused way of working during surgery.
My swelling literally went down in the space of a few weeks, and I know it will continue to go down for a year or more, but it hardly changes at all from week to week and I absolutely love it. I look like my originally self again but better! I am now at the four month mark and can't believe how quickly I went from not wanting to leave the house due to the train wreck that was my first surgery and feeling completely hopeless due to every surgeon I spoke to telling me nothing could be done to fix it, to loving life and waking up every day and seeing myself in the mirror again rather than a stranger. I hate the operated look and Dr Pincus made me look so natural, nobody suspects I have had anything done unless I tell them. The after care was also spectacular, Dr Pincus took all my stitches and sutures out with care, taking his time, being mindful of the fact that I have brown skin and therefore scar super easily. He even provided silicone scar cream to use so that my scars would not darken due to hyper pigmentation even though I didn't need it because the way he sewed my nose up was so masterful, there is virtually no scars anyway. He performed the surgery closed, I just thought I should add that.
I am probably forgetting to include so many aspects to this process that would add to how great Dr Pincus and his team are, all I can say is that I can't fault them for anything. Going through Real Self, I know many people are victims of over aggressive alar base reductions and all of them have been told that they have to live with it because there is nothing that can be done. NO, Dr Pincus can fix it! This is also for all my ethnic girls and guys out there who have been burnt because surgeons don't understand their features and the way their facial features harmonise together, Dr Pincus is very mindful of this, completely understanding my trauma and disappointment with my first surgery for this very reason. This is so important, very few surgeons are actually experienced with ethnic faces! Sure, they'll still operate on you, but it will look awful and you will be left utterly disappointed!
I just can't explain in words how much of a difference this has made to my happiness and overall life. Image is not everything nor is it important in the grand scheme of things, but having been partially robbed of my sense of self by my first surgeon, having to get used to looking like an entirely different person even though this was not what I asked for, was horrifically awful to put it mildly and I had a very hard time dealing with it. Dr Pincus changed all of this for me and gave me my face back, in harmony with my mixed ethnicities.
Obviously, re-widening the alar base can't be done to a really drastic extent, but millimetres make a massive difference, you'd be surprised! I probably won't ever get any more surgery due to being burnt so badly the first time, not that I even want any more, but if I did, I would fly all the way from London to LA again in a heartbeat because Dr Pincus is the only person I would trust with my face.
To end, I'd just like to stress the importance of doing your research and choosing the right surgeon. If I had approached my nose surgery this way in the first place, perhaps all of this stress and upset could have been avoided. If at any point you feel uncomfortable with a surgeon during the pre surgery stages, find someone else! I can't stress this enough, trust your instincts because rhinoplasty mistakes are not easy to correct. If it wasn't for the last wonderful London surgeon I consulted with very humbly saying to me "I am not saying that re widening the alar base cannot be done, I am just saying that I don't personally have the expertise to carry this out. I would definitely recommend exploring options in the LA area because the surgeons over there do have a lot more experience with these sorts of cases," I may have never had the confidence to go ahead, fly to LA and have my surgery with Dr Pincus. This is because many surgeons like to say something "cannot be done at all" just because they can't personally do it. Initially, every surgeon told me the re-widening nostrils is scientifically impossible, leading me to question Dr Pincus, however I now know that he is the real deal and that those other surgeons were just trying to protect their own egos and mask the areas in which they did not have expertise. I really do admire the London surgeon who was confident enough in his areas of expertise and had enough care for me as a patient consulting with him, that he encouraged me to go to LA and admitted that he did not have the expertise to operate on me. Many surgeons will not admit this, they will go ahead with a surgery they know they cannot carry out to a high standard and they will ruin your face.
A big thank you to Dr Pincus and his team, I'm eternally grateful! I am not really a photograph person so don't have many pictures of my nose now or before but I have uploaded two of the result after my revision and two from before (after my first rhinoplasty but before my revision). The pictures don't even do Dr Pincus' work justice at all to be completely honest.