Rhinoplasty This Friday 12/6 - Excited and Nervous - Danville, CA-

These photos were taken about 5 hours after cast, tape, and stitch removal. Large hump of swelling on the bridge of my nose. Bulbous tip. Weird suture/stitch crest under my nostrils. Still very wide and swollen. Nostrils uneven due to swelling. A lot of bruising under my eyes. Positives: Straighter than before, tip stays straight/in place when I "smile" (no more hooking to the side) no more downward slope or hooked tip (I called it the Gonzo effect, and it's the one thing I disliked most about my pre-op nose). Only time will tell... I'll keep posting photos. Good night, Realselfers.

Hello Realselfers,

Sorry for the delay in posting my cast removal update. I've been really busy at work the past couple of days (that's right, I've been going to work despite my bruised and battered appearance), but I've finally made some time to sit down and write an update. Had my cast, stitch and tape removal yesterday. Interesting process the way they remove the tape and cast… very slow process. Took almost 20 minutes. Then the stitches - certainly an eye watering experience. Not painful, just uncomfortable. Imagine plucking out a nose hair. Now imagine plucking out about 10 of them. Not fun times at all, but I made it through. After everything was removed, they told me to look in the mirror. I was excited to see the new me. Then I looked in the mirror. I was a extremely shocked when I first glanced at my face. I didn't recognize myself at all - and I don't mean that in a good way. I was WAY more bruised and swollen than I thought. All the tape on my face hid the extent to which my face and nose had blown up. I literally looked like Rocky Balboa during round 15 of his epic battle with Apollo Creed… Clubber Lang… Ivan Drago… take your pick! I mean, I was a mess. The doctor explained to me that the swelling would go down over the next 2 weeks, and my nose would begin to take shape. I can already see that the structure is significantly better than it was before. No more downward slope. I have a HUGE hump of swelling and bruising on the bridge of my nose. The tip looks nice - no more hook to it. Despite the major swelling, I'll still take my current nose over my previous one. I know it's a waiting game, and things will get better over the next few weeks, months, years. I will remain patient. One weird thing is the suture/stitch line. There is a noticeable difference between the skin above and below the stitch line. The skin below is quite normal. The skin above is very tough, tender (almost numb) to the touch, and swollen. Again, this will improve over the next few weeks, and I need to apply vaseline to the stitch line and tip of my nose 2-3 times a day. Still cleaning the inside of my nostrils with the water/hydrogen peroxide mix. Icing every hour or two for 10-20 minutes. I have seen some improvement over the past 24 hours. Hoping I look somewhat normal in time for New Years Eve. The tip of my nose is quite bulbous right now. My doctor explained it to me like this: You know how the swelling in your face starts around your forehead and eyes, then works it's way down your cheeks and eventually works it's way "out" through your jawline? Your nose works the same way. Swelling and bruising starts at the top of the bridge, works its way down, and eventually exits through the tip. So, the tip will be round and swollen longer than any other area of the nose. Ahhh, gravity… you're a cruel SOB! All-in-all, still happy I went through with it. Nothing else to do at this point but wait and see how things develop. I know my doc does amazing work, so I'm sure I will be pleased with the results.

Oh, another thing I am experiencing that I've read about quite often on this site - I've lost my smile. Apparently, the fibers that connect the nose to the upper lip are torn or damaged during the procedure (or so I read in some of the doctor responses to questions regarding this subject), and it takes some time for those fibers to rebuild and bring your smile back to normal. Again, this could take 4-6 weeks or longer depending on the individual and the procedure. My smile looks fake, and all my top teeth are hidden. It's like my stupid lip refuses to peel back and reveal my pearly whites. Just need to remain calm, stay patient, and wait for progress.

My coworkers say I don't look too bad, but they are just being nice. When my father first saw me after the cast removal, he asked "does your face hurt?" I said no. He replied, "Well, it's killing me. You should have kept it covered up!" Gotta love his honesty. :-)

That's all for now. I will post some photos in a minute, and update every couple of days. Happy reading!

This is how I've been dealing with cleaning of my incision and nose, and how I've found a somewhat effective way to unclog all the congestion. Definitely get the OK from your doctor before doing this, as each patient is unique, and your procedure/post-op instructions may be completely different than mine. This is what happens to work for me.

Frequency:
3-4 times per day

What you need:
A LOT of Q-tips
gauze
1/2 water 1/2 hydrogen peroxide mix
vaseline
nasal spray (my doc recommended Afrin)

Step 1: wash hands vigorously with Hibiclens, heavy soap, or whatever pre-surgical wash your doctor may have prescribed to you. Your hands are going to be all over the surgical site, so best to have them super clean before you touch anything

Step 2: Soak one end of q-tip in water/HP mixture. Use this end of q-tip to clean one nostril. Be very gentle with this. Avoid the area if you feel discomfort or tenderness. If you feel heavy resistance (most likely from clotted blood), be very gentle and rub the q-tip around the area to help break up whatever is causing the buildup. Soak the other end of the q-tip in water/HP mixture and repeat in other nostril.

Step 3: This step is completely optional, and get approval from your doctor before doing this… but I've found it helps A LOT with congestion. I'll soak a piece of gauze in the water/HP mix, twist it up to form a tight long gauze strip, and gently insert into my nose - NOT DEEP at all, only as far as comfortable. I'll do a soaked gauze strip in both nostrils and let them sit there for approx 5 minutes. I'll then gently and slowly remove the strips - I've noticed this clears up a lot of blood, built up mucus, and large clots. You'd be amazed how many gross things get soaked up and pulled out by the gauze. Makes you realize very quickly why you were having such a hard time breathing. I would have taken photos of some of my gauze strips, but everybody would have been completely grossed out… so I spared you the horrific sight. You're welcome! Again, make sure your doc is okay with this before doing it. Essentially, you are temporarily packing the nose, so you obviously want to skip this step if you already have packing or stints or anything else up there that was put there by your doctor to serve a specific post-op purpose.

Step 4: Use nasal spray in each nostril. I will gently breath in as I spray, and then very gently breath out to push any excess blood, mucus, buildup out of my nose. This gentle breathing should be no more than just that - a natural pushing of air out through your nasal passage. No vigorous breathing like blowing your nose… gentle.

Step 5: You may need additional gauze or tissue to clean up any remaining blood, mucus, etc. that may be resting on the tip of your nose, upper lip, or just inside the nostrils. I do this by gently dabbing the gauze or using another q-tip to gently gather the buildup.

Step 6: Use q-tip and water/HP mix to gently clean the incision area.

Step 7: Use q-tip to apply vaseline around incision area. I apply a very generous layer.

With this process, I'm at about 80-85% nasal breathing as opposed to mouth breathing.

Again, happy to answer any questions over private message or in the comments section.