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I had a closed rhinoplasty/septoplasty 6 days ago...
I had a closed rhinoplasty/septoplasty 6 days ago (January 2nd). Today was my cast removal day. All in all I had a really great experience, and I want to share it here in case it is helpful for anyone considering surgery.
Background:
- I'm a 29 year old female and I live in Manhattan
- I broke my nose when I was a teenager and I did not have it fixed. This left a little bump. I did not have a tiny perfect nose to begin with, but I was otherwise happy with my appearance and I didn't think much about it.
- Late October of this year I slipped outside of my apartment and face planted, fracturing my nose in a couple places. I was black and blue for a few weeks, which subsided, but left my previous bump even more pronounced. I also had minor congestion and breathing issues on the side of the injury.
- I found Dr. Geoffrey Tobias through recommendations and also research. I liked that he only does closed rhinoplasty (less invasive, quicker healing time) and I liked that his work was subtle. NYC has a lot of great surgeons but I found some of their before/after site photos to be a bit too overdone. Having subtle results was extremely important to me. I met with Dr. Tobias a week after my fall to discuss the possibility of surgery. He wanted me to let a few weeks go buy and return when my injury swelling had decreased so that I could make a more informed decision.
- I returned 5 or 6 weeks later, still unhappy with the more pronounced deformities from the fall. He asked me to describe my nose, what I liked and didn't like about it, and what I hoped the surgery would accomplish. I wanted him to take down the bump without making the bridge of my nose too curved or sloped. I just wanted it to be very straight and symmetrical. He also planned to do a minor tip rotation, and make my nose a little smaller and more feminine but ensured me this would all be subtle. Tobias doesn't do a computer 3D preview of the changes, but he draws you a graphic to make sure both visions are aligned. I set my surgery date for a few weeks out.
- One of the girls who works at the office recently (6 months ago) had her nose done by Tobias. She came in and talked to me about her experience. It was great to hear from (and see) someone who had experienced the procedure first hand.
Surgery Prep:
I took arnica pills 3x a day for a week leading up to surgery. I also ate like four pints of organic fresh pineapple in the days leading up to the operation. Pineapple is high in bromeline, which is supposed to reduce swelling. I have no idea if this is true or placebo, but it worked very well years ago before my wisdom teeth removal (almost no swelling), and it's healthy and low cost so why not. I was extra active for a few days before surgery because you can't exercise for a month after. I also cleaned up my diet the week before- cutting out high sodium foods, drinking a lot of Juice Press, wild caught salmon, organic vegetables, turmeric, etc. anything I could do to reduce inflammation. I filled my fridge with a few cold pressed juices for the days after surgery.
Surgery
- I had my surgery on January 2nd (which made for a very lame NYE, because you can't drink a couple weeks before surgery).
- Tobias has offices in NYC and in NJ, but he operates at Englewood Hospital in NJ. It's a 30 minute uber ride from my apartment in East Village. I didn't really mind traveling and the hospital is nice/new/clean.
- I took 1mg of Xanax the morning of the surgery so that I wouldn't be as anxious. This is typically fine but tell your anesthesiologist so they can adjust any benzos they're planning to put in your IV
- I chatted with Dr. Tobias before surgery and for one last time we went through the changes he was planning to make, and I reminded him to keep everything subtle.
- I got quite nauseous coming out of anesthesia years ago during a hip surgery (sports injury). I mentioned this to the nurse and she gave me an anti-nausea patch to put behind my ear and let me know I could keep it on for up to three days.
- Between the xanax and whatever else they gave me, I was pretty calm by the time they wheeled me into the ER. Anesthesia is nerve wracking in the days leading up to it, but in reality it's pretty breezy and they have you under so quick that you don't have time to dwell on it.
- I woke up in recovery feeling surprisingly okay. I hung out with my parents and let the sedatives wear off. Tobias came by and let me know everything went well and that the bump was history. Sipped on some apple juice. I wasn't in pain, but just had a lot of nose and sinus pressure which is normal. You have to breathe through your nose which takes a little getting used to. Tobias took out the packing before I left the hospital.
Recovery
- My parents drove me back to my apartment in East Village and my mom slept over for two nights.
- The pain was very mild. I took one Percocet the first day and another the second day, and that was basically it, pain med wise. I took a couple tylenol throughout the week but really, no pain. Just sinus pressure and congestion. You feel like you have a bad head cold but cannot blow your nose.
- I continued to take the arnica and to eat as healthy and low sodium as I could. I developed little black eyes on day two, but not too severe. I also applied arnica cream to whatever parts of my face were a little puffy and not bandaged. Tobias said I didn't have to ice, so I didn't.
- Sleeping is tough for the first couple days because you want to stay elevated, and you have to breathe through your mouth. Humidifier helps, as do cough drops. It gets better as the week goes on.
- A few days later I felt okay, but I mostly stayed inside because there was dried blood on my cast and it looked a little gruesome. I looked way worse than I felt. There was also a snow storm in NYC, so I just hung out indoors and did some work, watched a lot of Netflix, ordered some seamless, a few friends came over to hang out, etc. Basically it's a week to lay around a relax and catch up on books and movies and podcasts. I definitely got a little stir crazy, but nothing unmanageable. I tried to stay elevated while sleeping, but this is difficult and I wasn't too hard on myself about it if I woke up flat on my back in the middle of the night.
- You can't shower, so I took a lot of baths. I washed my hair in the bath a couple times throughout the week... not easy. I also bought a giant sack of epsom salts. I figured taking salt baths would help with the achiness of laying around. I also did some *very very very very light easy* stretching. Nothing where your head is upside down. Just gentle quad, hamstring, shoulder stretches throughout the week to stay loose and sane.
Cast Removal-
- Day 6 (this morning) I took an Uber to Tobias' office to have the cast removed. I was a little nervous to see the big reveal. The cast removal was pretty breezy. A little pressure, no pain.
- I'm very happy with the results so far. Of course, I'm still swollen and I still have bruising under my eyes, but the shape is generally what we talked about and the profile is very much improved. I look way better than I thought I would 6 days post op. I attribute this to Tobias doing a closed procedure, as minimally invasive as possible. I also think my arnica pills and cream, clean low sodium diet, etc. helped.
If you're in he NYC area, I highly rec Tobias. He did a fantastic job and really too into account all of the things I asked him to. There was a college aged boy at the office today getting his cast off, and he looked great too.
I'll post a few more photos in a few weeks when swelling and black eyes subside more.
Background:
- I'm a 29 year old female and I live in Manhattan
- I broke my nose when I was a teenager and I did not have it fixed. This left a little bump. I did not have a tiny perfect nose to begin with, but I was otherwise happy with my appearance and I didn't think much about it.
- Late October of this year I slipped outside of my apartment and face planted, fracturing my nose in a couple places. I was black and blue for a few weeks, which subsided, but left my previous bump even more pronounced. I also had minor congestion and breathing issues on the side of the injury.
- I found Dr. Geoffrey Tobias through recommendations and also research. I liked that he only does closed rhinoplasty (less invasive, quicker healing time) and I liked that his work was subtle. NYC has a lot of great surgeons but I found some of their before/after site photos to be a bit too overdone. Having subtle results was extremely important to me. I met with Dr. Tobias a week after my fall to discuss the possibility of surgery. He wanted me to let a few weeks go buy and return when my injury swelling had decreased so that I could make a more informed decision.
- I returned 5 or 6 weeks later, still unhappy with the more pronounced deformities from the fall. He asked me to describe my nose, what I liked and didn't like about it, and what I hoped the surgery would accomplish. I wanted him to take down the bump without making the bridge of my nose too curved or sloped. I just wanted it to be very straight and symmetrical. He also planned to do a minor tip rotation, and make my nose a little smaller and more feminine but ensured me this would all be subtle. Tobias doesn't do a computer 3D preview of the changes, but he draws you a graphic to make sure both visions are aligned. I set my surgery date for a few weeks out.
- One of the girls who works at the office recently (6 months ago) had her nose done by Tobias. She came in and talked to me about her experience. It was great to hear from (and see) someone who had experienced the procedure first hand.
Surgery Prep:
I took arnica pills 3x a day for a week leading up to surgery. I also ate like four pints of organic fresh pineapple in the days leading up to the operation. Pineapple is high in bromeline, which is supposed to reduce swelling. I have no idea if this is true or placebo, but it worked very well years ago before my wisdom teeth removal (almost no swelling), and it's healthy and low cost so why not. I was extra active for a few days before surgery because you can't exercise for a month after. I also cleaned up my diet the week before- cutting out high sodium foods, drinking a lot of Juice Press, wild caught salmon, organic vegetables, turmeric, etc. anything I could do to reduce inflammation. I filled my fridge with a few cold pressed juices for the days after surgery.
Surgery
- I had my surgery on January 2nd (which made for a very lame NYE, because you can't drink a couple weeks before surgery).
- Tobias has offices in NYC and in NJ, but he operates at Englewood Hospital in NJ. It's a 30 minute uber ride from my apartment in East Village. I didn't really mind traveling and the hospital is nice/new/clean.
- I took 1mg of Xanax the morning of the surgery so that I wouldn't be as anxious. This is typically fine but tell your anesthesiologist so they can adjust any benzos they're planning to put in your IV
- I chatted with Dr. Tobias before surgery and for one last time we went through the changes he was planning to make, and I reminded him to keep everything subtle.
- I got quite nauseous coming out of anesthesia years ago during a hip surgery (sports injury). I mentioned this to the nurse and she gave me an anti-nausea patch to put behind my ear and let me know I could keep it on for up to three days.
- Between the xanax and whatever else they gave me, I was pretty calm by the time they wheeled me into the ER. Anesthesia is nerve wracking in the days leading up to it, but in reality it's pretty breezy and they have you under so quick that you don't have time to dwell on it.
- I woke up in recovery feeling surprisingly okay. I hung out with my parents and let the sedatives wear off. Tobias came by and let me know everything went well and that the bump was history. Sipped on some apple juice. I wasn't in pain, but just had a lot of nose and sinus pressure which is normal. You have to breathe through your nose which takes a little getting used to. Tobias took out the packing before I left the hospital.
Recovery
- My parents drove me back to my apartment in East Village and my mom slept over for two nights.
- The pain was very mild. I took one Percocet the first day and another the second day, and that was basically it, pain med wise. I took a couple tylenol throughout the week but really, no pain. Just sinus pressure and congestion. You feel like you have a bad head cold but cannot blow your nose.
- I continued to take the arnica and to eat as healthy and low sodium as I could. I developed little black eyes on day two, but not too severe. I also applied arnica cream to whatever parts of my face were a little puffy and not bandaged. Tobias said I didn't have to ice, so I didn't.
- Sleeping is tough for the first couple days because you want to stay elevated, and you have to breathe through your mouth. Humidifier helps, as do cough drops. It gets better as the week goes on.
- A few days later I felt okay, but I mostly stayed inside because there was dried blood on my cast and it looked a little gruesome. I looked way worse than I felt. There was also a snow storm in NYC, so I just hung out indoors and did some work, watched a lot of Netflix, ordered some seamless, a few friends came over to hang out, etc. Basically it's a week to lay around a relax and catch up on books and movies and podcasts. I definitely got a little stir crazy, but nothing unmanageable. I tried to stay elevated while sleeping, but this is difficult and I wasn't too hard on myself about it if I woke up flat on my back in the middle of the night.
- You can't shower, so I took a lot of baths. I washed my hair in the bath a couple times throughout the week... not easy. I also bought a giant sack of epsom salts. I figured taking salt baths would help with the achiness of laying around. I also did some *very very very very light easy* stretching. Nothing where your head is upside down. Just gentle quad, hamstring, shoulder stretches throughout the week to stay loose and sane.
Cast Removal-
- Day 6 (this morning) I took an Uber to Tobias' office to have the cast removed. I was a little nervous to see the big reveal. The cast removal was pretty breezy. A little pressure, no pain.
- I'm very happy with the results so far. Of course, I'm still swollen and I still have bruising under my eyes, but the shape is generally what we talked about and the profile is very much improved. I look way better than I thought I would 6 days post op. I attribute this to Tobias doing a closed procedure, as minimally invasive as possible. I also think my arnica pills and cream, clean low sodium diet, etc. helped.
If you're in he NYC area, I highly rec Tobias. He did a fantastic job and really too into account all of the things I asked him to. There was a college aged boy at the office today getting his cast off, and he looked great too.
I'll post a few more photos in a few weeks when swelling and black eyes subside more.
Provider Review
Board Certified Otolaryngologist
140 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Tobias was great. See my review above. For 6 days post op, I don't think I could look much better and it's obvious that he's passionate about symmetry and artistry. He only does noses, so this is his focus day in and day out. It shows. All of the women in his practice are very nice and very helpful. They get to know you by name and they call and check up on your during the week. All in all, I highly recommend.