32 Y.o. Finally Decided for Rhinoplasty - Cologne, Germany

Today are almost 9 weeks since the surgery. I will write a short summary of how this last 2 months have gone by. First my cast removal: it was not pretty. I was all swollen and the nose was all compressed from the cast, when I say my reflection I felt weak in the knees. I completely panicked, but as a few hours went by and the face and nose begun to settle, I calmed down.

I had a lot of ups and downs, especially since one side of the nose (where it was broken) had more work done and as a result was more swollen. Sometimes, when the light hit it just right, I thought I was developing a V deformity. As time went by, the swelling also went down and although the tip is still swollen, it has a very nice shape. If it stays like this, I would be completely happy. It is not perfect, for example my nostrils are slightly uneven, but I don't really care. Im comparison with my old nose, it is such an improvement. I did not realize how much of my face features were obstructed by my old nose until now. And for the moment I am soo happy with the result. It still hurts when I touch it sometimes, and the tip is still swollen and numb, but overall I find it proportional with my face.

I will wait until 8-9 months post for my final opinion, but so far I am very happy with my decision.

Like most reviews for nose jobs start, I have never liked my nose. I was always conscious about it. I know that is not the only source of my insecurities - those run deep - but it has always been an issue and contributed to them. I was never really teased about it, there were other things about me that annoyed my peers - like my social anxiety and general awkwardness. Even if I did not like it, I decided against rhinoplasty for a long time, because I was afraid of the risks: general anesthesia, if the outcome is worse than the before, etc. What finally pushed me to do it was the fact that I have broken my nose almost two years ago. It was a freak accident and the base of my nose was like almost 1 cm to the left. I went to the hospital and they tried to fix it, but somehow did not manage to get it straight again. The procedure was not an operation - they felt there was no need - and it was performed with local anesthesia. The did manage to make it better though, so much that the people did not notice that my nose now was leaning towards left. But it bothered me, a LOT. I mean, I could hardly come to terms with my nose when it was straight, but when they took the cast off, and it was still swollen, still deviated to the left, I wanted to cry. There and then I decided to get a nose job.

Because I changed jobs in 2015 and it was a busy and stressful period, I had to postpone it for this year. A lot of my research was done on this site, although, because I live in Germany, I had to look elsewhere for doctor recommendations. The surgeon for which I decided was doctor Amir Razzaghi. He is top rated on the official medical sites, and all reviews were positive. So in February I had the consultation and scheduled the OP to the earliest possible appointment - which was the 10. of March. After I paid the advanced, I found another German forum about rhinoplasties where I found only a little about him. There are other surgeons in Germany which perform only rhinoplasties and the girls there preferred them. The said that it is not advisable to go to someone who offers the whole spectrum of plastic surgeries, so I began to freak out, especially since the advance was already paid. Luckily my husband managed to calm me down, if something goes wrong, it can go everywhere wrong, so I went through with it.

I was hoping to document this day by day, but really, until yesterday I was really not able to do it. So, here it goes:

CONSULTATION:
It is free and it was only about 15 Minutes. My case was pretty straight forward, I knew what had to be done and I felt reassured after he mentioned all the things I knew were necessary: he said the nose needs to be straightened but we will probably not get it to 100% like before, the bump on the bridge will be gone, the tip raised and shortened, and also the nostrils will be made smaller. All of this I already knew from this site :). It was over quickly, and because I was sure about the OP I booked the next free slot, because, frankly, I wanted to get it over with.

OPERATION:
One day before the surgery both the nurse from the clinic and the anesthesiologist doctor called me. The nurse called to make sure everything is ok for the following day, and to answer any questions I might have and the anesthesiologist explained to me what everything that the general anesthesia involves and also what to do to make sure everything goes smoothly. I was ready not to eat the night before, but he said that no, I should eat normally because I am not doing anyone any favors if my blood sugar drops too low. I could not eat much, just a banana and a protein bar, but I figured it was better then nothing. In the morning I was not allowed to eat but he said I should drink some sweet tea (for the blood sugar) and avoid milk.
On the operation day I traveled to Cologne and arrived at the clinic. The nurses prepped me and I waited for the doctor to come in for one last talk. There I could show him pictures of noses I and he could answer my questions. The anesthesiologist also came again to talk to me, calm me down, explain everything again and that was it. The next thing I was waking up.

Day 1: the swelling grew around my eyes and the splints really bothered me. I mean, besides the stuffiness, my entire head felt under pressure and inflamed and I could not talk. My teeth also hurt. The first night sleep was really hard - mostly because I was breathing through my mouth and I was not expecting the dryness. The girls that said a humidifier is recommended: they are right. If I knew than what I know now, I would have bought one just for the nights I had the splints in.

Day 2 and 3: same as day one, only the swelling moved down to my cheeks. The splints were really bothering me and I had to stay an extra day with them because day 3 was a Sunday. I also called the doctor on Sunday because I was so uncomfortable, but other then take more ibuprofen there was nothing more he/I could do. Most people do not have so much trouble with the splints, they mostly complain about feeling stuffed but yeah, I was not that lucky.

Day 4: the splints finally came off! yeah, it is really unpleasant but it takes just a couple of seconds. After that, in an hour, I was like a new person. The swelling in the left cheek went down, no more headaches, I could walk, talk and eat.

Day 5 and 6: the swelling keeps going down, the pain in my nose is minimal - although it did hurt a little tonight (I had a swelling under my right eye, like a accumulation of liquid ) and the right side of the bridge felt under pressure. I put some ice on it and it went away together with the pressure pain.

Tomorrow the cast comes off, I will post some pictures. I am not so worried about the shape, I mean, I think it will be better then before. I worry about the complications, I have read so many stories about collapsed noses after 7-8 months, bony growths on the nose etc.