POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
Awful experience, botched, please be careful.
ORIGINAL POST
Day 1: Going into surgery I was terrified to say...
NatFer123November 5, 2015
$7,000
Day 1: Going into surgery I was terrified to say the least. I had never had surgery before. Just getting my blood drawn for testing pre-surgery was terrifying to me. (I'm a wuss, I know.) However, the nurses were very kind and helped me feel as comfortable as possible. After my surgery, I felt a million times better than I thought I would. Aside from feeling shame for some things I said to the nurse while incoherent, that is... My throat was a bit sore/hoarse due to the tube that was in my throat and my chin was sore. My nose didn't hurt at all. When I got home, I had way more energy than I thought. However, I am chalking that up to nerves. I don't know where that energy came from. I had a cramp in my left leg and they told me to watch it for inflammation and heat as that could se a sign of a blood clot, which run in my family. When I got home, I didn't take any of the Norco that I was prescribed. (I am weird about taking medications when I don't have to) I stuck to extra strength Tylenol and felt okay. It was difficult to eat because I couldn't open my mouth very wide. While they told me I could resume a normal diet, I stuck to smoothies and protein shakes. I slept better than I thought that night. Sleeping on my back and propped up by two pillows was uncomfortable but I think my body was so drained by the end of the night that it didn't pose a problem.
Day 2: The morning after surgery, my body was in awful pain. My nose didn't hurt all and my chin was a little sore. I still had blood and nasal discharge but no real pain. However, I was concerned about my body. It felt like I had done an intense upper body workout and was extremely. Naturally, I researched and found out it was a side effect the the anesthesia and would go away by the next day. I stuck to smoothies and protein shakes all day as it was difficult to open my mouth comfortably. I took the Tylenol for the discomfort which only helped my chin, not my body which progressively got worse through the day. Aside from the body pain, my bottom lip was numb and so was my chin. Looking at my chin all taped up, it looks a little like it is off to the left a little by that could be thicker tape in that area, swelling, etc.
Day 3: Body pain miraculously subsided almost completely. Still had some blood/nasal discharge. Aside from that, no complaints of pain. Typically, I am an active person. I think with all the laying around, my body wasn't used to such a quick motion so when I woke up, I got up pretty fast to get to the bathroom to change my dressing/clean my stitches and got extremely lightheaded. Could have been a mixture of the quick get up, as well as the cleaning of the stitches. (Remember, I'm a wuss when it comes to any of this stuff.) My lip/chin we're still numb and my body slowly got less and less sore throughout the day. I also lead a very busy lifestyle so boredom set in hardcore this day.
Day 4: No more blood in my nasal dressing. Just a yellowish discharge and snot. (Gross) My nose is totally clogged and my lips are very dry. Sleeping is not horrible just uncomfortable and my mouth gets dry quickly which is uncomfortable. I have had no real pain in my nose/chin really. Randomly, I would get a shooting pain in my chin although they weren't very strong. My leg however, still has that cramp but only when I flex my foot. I'm assuming at this point (considering there is no heat or inflammation) that it is due to the leg massagers they had on during surgery. The anesthesiologist himself told me that could be a possibility. Since I haven't moved a whole lot, I haven't really been able to stretch it out.
Days 5 & 6 (today): These last days have been super easy. I've been very bored but I have no pain whatsoever. I haven't taken any Tylenol. Just the antibiotics they prescribed me from the beginning. Leg cramp still there. Tonight I took the top layer of tape off my chin as it was saturated from being spilled in from my lip being numb. My chin looks crooked. It is off to the left and doesn't look symmetrical. I had a minor freak out session and was reminded by many that I am only 5 days post op and could still have swelling. I'm praying that this is the case because I would hate for this to have to be redone. It makes me nervous to get to cast off my nose! Which, by the way, is so itchy underneath. I can't wait to get this thing off in two days. Friday cannot come soon enough. I am very nervous however, that I see that the chin implant looks crooked/jutted out a little more on the left. My lip is still numb and today I was eating normal, solid food since I can open my mouth a little wider, and I bit my lip without realizing to the point where it bled a little. Oops! Good thing I can't feel it. I can't smile normally and I am hoping this will go away. It feels very tight and can't stretch all the way.
Will continue to update and post pictures!
Day 2: The morning after surgery, my body was in awful pain. My nose didn't hurt all and my chin was a little sore. I still had blood and nasal discharge but no real pain. However, I was concerned about my body. It felt like I had done an intense upper body workout and was extremely. Naturally, I researched and found out it was a side effect the the anesthesia and would go away by the next day. I stuck to smoothies and protein shakes all day as it was difficult to open my mouth comfortably. I took the Tylenol for the discomfort which only helped my chin, not my body which progressively got worse through the day. Aside from the body pain, my bottom lip was numb and so was my chin. Looking at my chin all taped up, it looks a little like it is off to the left a little by that could be thicker tape in that area, swelling, etc.
Day 3: Body pain miraculously subsided almost completely. Still had some blood/nasal discharge. Aside from that, no complaints of pain. Typically, I am an active person. I think with all the laying around, my body wasn't used to such a quick motion so when I woke up, I got up pretty fast to get to the bathroom to change my dressing/clean my stitches and got extremely lightheaded. Could have been a mixture of the quick get up, as well as the cleaning of the stitches. (Remember, I'm a wuss when it comes to any of this stuff.) My lip/chin we're still numb and my body slowly got less and less sore throughout the day. I also lead a very busy lifestyle so boredom set in hardcore this day.
Day 4: No more blood in my nasal dressing. Just a yellowish discharge and snot. (Gross) My nose is totally clogged and my lips are very dry. Sleeping is not horrible just uncomfortable and my mouth gets dry quickly which is uncomfortable. I have had no real pain in my nose/chin really. Randomly, I would get a shooting pain in my chin although they weren't very strong. My leg however, still has that cramp but only when I flex my foot. I'm assuming at this point (considering there is no heat or inflammation) that it is due to the leg massagers they had on during surgery. The anesthesiologist himself told me that could be a possibility. Since I haven't moved a whole lot, I haven't really been able to stretch it out.
Days 5 & 6 (today): These last days have been super easy. I've been very bored but I have no pain whatsoever. I haven't taken any Tylenol. Just the antibiotics they prescribed me from the beginning. Leg cramp still there. Tonight I took the top layer of tape off my chin as it was saturated from being spilled in from my lip being numb. My chin looks crooked. It is off to the left and doesn't look symmetrical. I had a minor freak out session and was reminded by many that I am only 5 days post op and could still have swelling. I'm praying that this is the case because I would hate for this to have to be redone. It makes me nervous to get to cast off my nose! Which, by the way, is so itchy underneath. I can't wait to get this thing off in two days. Friday cannot come soon enough. I am very nervous however, that I see that the chin implant looks crooked/jutted out a little more on the left. My lip is still numb and today I was eating normal, solid food since I can open my mouth a little wider, and I bit my lip without realizing to the point where it bled a little. Oops! Good thing I can't feel it. I can't smile normally and I am hoping this will go away. It feels very tight and can't stretch all the way.
Will continue to update and post pictures!
UPDATED FROM NatFer123
8 days post
Update! Cast off!
NatFer123November 7, 2015
Yesterday I had my cast and stitches removed! Yay!!
Taking the cast off did not hurt at all. It was just pressure and the slightest bit of discomfort. The stitches on my chin didn't hurt whatsoever. (Probably because my chin is numb.) The stitches on my nose felt like tiny little pinches and were very easy to deal with.
After all was removed, you could see that everything was pretty swollen but even in its swollen nature it was still such an improvement. My skin normally is very oily so once the cast was removed my skin could finally breath and started producing so much oil! It was pretty gross but I expected that. I have some flakiness on and around my nose but I used my Clarisonic last night for the first time in a week so I'm hoping that helped.
My nose is still very congested but gets better each day. I use a saline solution a few times a day to help get everything out of there. I have to tape my nose at night until I see Dr Shah again in 6 weeks.
The picture I'm posting was taken right after the removal but I was so excited I couldn't wait! I will post better ones today probably. It's a profile shot as well so you can't see the crookedness of my chin like you can when viewed from straight on.
My chin is still crooked. But Dr. Shah said that it was all lined up when he was in there and that if it was crooked it's still too early to tell. He told me it's more than likely just swelling so fingers crossed that's the case! Bottom lip and chin are still numb as well. When I asked the nurse about that she said its normal and should come back BUT it could possibly take up to 6-9 months! Yikes! Oh well, drinking from straws isn't that bad and as long as someone tells you right away that you have food on your numb face, you're good...
Taking the cast off did not hurt at all. It was just pressure and the slightest bit of discomfort. The stitches on my chin didn't hurt whatsoever. (Probably because my chin is numb.) The stitches on my nose felt like tiny little pinches and were very easy to deal with.
After all was removed, you could see that everything was pretty swollen but even in its swollen nature it was still such an improvement. My skin normally is very oily so once the cast was removed my skin could finally breath and started producing so much oil! It was pretty gross but I expected that. I have some flakiness on and around my nose but I used my Clarisonic last night for the first time in a week so I'm hoping that helped.
My nose is still very congested but gets better each day. I use a saline solution a few times a day to help get everything out of there. I have to tape my nose at night until I see Dr Shah again in 6 weeks.
The picture I'm posting was taken right after the removal but I was so excited I couldn't wait! I will post better ones today probably. It's a profile shot as well so you can't see the crookedness of my chin like you can when viewed from straight on.
My chin is still crooked. But Dr. Shah said that it was all lined up when he was in there and that if it was crooked it's still too early to tell. He told me it's more than likely just swelling so fingers crossed that's the case! Bottom lip and chin are still numb as well. When I asked the nurse about that she said its normal and should come back BUT it could possibly take up to 6-9 months! Yikes! Oh well, drinking from straws isn't that bad and as long as someone tells you right away that you have food on your numb face, you're good...
Replies (3)

November 27, 2015
Congrats! Your new nose looks amazing, has the swelling decreased by a lot recently? I'm booked for getting my rhinoplasty in December, so excited yet so nervous!! Do you have any suggestions before/after the surgery?
UPDATED FROM NatFer123
10 days post
Update 10 Days Post Op
NatFer123November 9, 2015
The healing of nose nose is going well I think. It's very swollen and looks very much like a Squidward nose because of that. Hoping that that will go away in due time. I am still very congested which is pretty annoying.
My chin is concerning me however. It is very tight and still numb. My bottom lip is numb on the right side as well. I am unable to smile normally right now and that scares the hell out of me. I cannot clench my jaw and smile exposing my bottom teeth like I used to. I am really hoping that I will be able to smile like normal again. I am also still talking with a slight lisp sometimes. It is difficult for me to make the mouth position to make the "s" sound without feeling like I am jutting out my lower lip. It feels very tight. Occasionally, I feel some tingling in my bottom lip/which I am hoping is the nerves trying to regenerate. It is difficult to talk for a long time because my bottom lip/chin feel stiff after a while. When I went to my 7 day post op I asked Dr. Shah about this and my asymmetry and he quickly cut me off and said "too early to tell." I just really want to be able to speak and smile normally! Will post pics later today!
My chin is concerning me however. It is very tight and still numb. My bottom lip is numb on the right side as well. I am unable to smile normally right now and that scares the hell out of me. I cannot clench my jaw and smile exposing my bottom teeth like I used to. I am really hoping that I will be able to smile like normal again. I am also still talking with a slight lisp sometimes. It is difficult for me to make the mouth position to make the "s" sound without feeling like I am jutting out my lower lip. It feels very tight. Occasionally, I feel some tingling in my bottom lip/which I am hoping is the nerves trying to regenerate. It is difficult to talk for a long time because my bottom lip/chin feel stiff after a while. When I went to my 7 day post op I asked Dr. Shah about this and my asymmetry and he quickly cut me off and said "too early to tell." I just really want to be able to speak and smile normally! Will post pics later today!
Replies (4)

November 9, 2015
Look up those symptoms and see if that's normal, or ask a question to an expert on this website.
November 9, 2015
Tingling is a great sign!! It means the nerves are healing. You will regain all feeling within a few months hopefully. When I did my nose I lost feeling in my upper lip and it took 9 months for the feeling to come back. Tingling this early in the healing stage is a good sign. I did lots of research into chin implants as I'm getting one soon and the smile will come back. It takes a few months as the muscles have changed and they need time to readjust. Have curouge and happy heeling!!
Replies (6)