Dr. Imola Hump Reduction Rhinoplasty - Denver, CO

Ever since I can remember I've wanted to have this rhinoplasty procedure. The slight hump and top of my nose constantly made me self-conscious in photos, driving cars and everyday actions in my life. I can't remember the last time I wasn't worried about what my nose looked like in public. A little under a year ago, I went to my first consultation looking for a doctor. I knew I wanted a doctor who specialized in only facial plastic surgery. Somehow the thought of someone performing a breast augmentation or a totally different plastic surgery the day before my rhinoplasty made me anxious. After a few consultations with doctors in the Denver area, I knew right when I met with Dr. Imola that I wanted to schedule my surgery with him. Now, after a year of funding, my surgery is less than a week away! During our most recent consultation, Dr. Imola and I discussed what I wanted in my new nose. The hump reduction was what I mostly cared about as well as a reduction of the tip. I told him I desired a much more feminine nose. I showed him this photo as an example of what I was looking for. Very subtle but feminine. He edited the online photo of myself so I could see what to expect after surgery. I was very happy with what he showed me, but he told me I couldn't take the before and after photos home for legal reasons. I wish I could say that didn't make me a bit nervous; however, I am very comfortable with my choice of surgeon. All of Dr. Imola's previous patients supported a very natural look. I'm very excited to have a natural feminine nose finally! I will update my photos a day or so before my surgery so you will see my full progress. Thank you for reading, I will keep you updated. Until then!

I cannot believe surgery is tomorrow. After wanting this for so long, it seems so unreal that it's finally happening! Right now, I'm an emotional rollercoaster between excited and nervous. Deep down, I know that no matter what, this surgery will be an improvement in my physical appearance and inner confidence. This is my first surgery ever, and I'm not even nervous about the surgery. I'm nervous for the results! I just want a feminine, cute nose, and while I love Dr. Imolas work and trust him, I'm still scared that I won't get the results I've wanted for so long. It doesn't need to be perfect, but I'm tired of a manly nose! I just hope I love it. Any tips on dealing with the nervousness? Yesterday I cut out all salt in my diet, and I will continue to do so until a few weeks after surgery. I also went to the store to fill my prescriptions and get a few items for after surgery. I call it the ultimate nose job supplies List!

List:
Button down shirts
Hats (for after surgery)
Sunscreen SPF 45 or higher
Q-tips
Gloves
Bags of peas
Hydrogen peroxide
Ocean nasal spray
Antibiotic Ointment
Lip balm
Humidifier
Arnica Cream
Extra strength Tylenol
Bottles of water
Neck pillow
Soft food such as:
Applesauce
Yogurt
Protein smoothies
Protein bars
Mashed potatoes
Soups
Pineapple (I heard it could significantly reduce swelling and bruising, so I am going to juice it the first week. Might as well try it!)
Ect.
P.S. Let me know if I forgot anything!

Dr. Imola also supplied me with Arnica and Bromelain with Quercetin to begin taking every day five days before surgery. I'll also continue taking these throughout my recovery. My surgery will be open and a total of 4 hours. I know, quite a long time for a rhinoplasty, but Dr. Imola is a perfectionist. The thought makes me even more comfortable with my choice of doctor, but the nerves are still there!

I will keep you all updated, wish me luck with the surgery! Thank you for reading and the support xx

PS. These photos are not high in quality or attractive but you will get the idea of what my nose looks like! I will upload better before photos after surgery haha.

I left my house around 2 hours early since I live about an hour and a half from the surgery center. My dad drove, and I wasn't nervous in the car because I still did not feel like it was happening. At 7am, I went into the Waiting room to complete some paperwork, and it all hit me at once! I started shaking and second guessing myself. A few minutes later a nurse called me into the back with my father. I took a urine sample and changed into the hospital gown. I laid down on the bed and put my hair up, she inserted my IV, and it did not hurt like I expected it too. I was just like a shot and then it was done. She put two calf massagers on my feet to prevent blood clotting during surgery and hooked me up to the monitor. Finally, she gave a some warm blankets, and I felt much better. I met my anesthesiologist who was very kind and outgoing and assured me going under is safer than driving my car here. A little past 8 Dr. Imola walked in and greeted me. We went over what was being done once again, and then marked with a pen everything on the nose being reduced. After being reassured I will look great, they started the medicine to knock me out. By the time they started rolling my out into the operating room, I was already out of it. Then all I remember is the staff asking me to lay down on the other bed and then placing an oxygen mask over my mouth. The next thing I know, I'm awake in the recovery room with a glove of peas over my eyes, my nose slightly hurting (3 out of 10 on the pain scale) and being VERY thirsty. I tried taking off the glove to talk to the nurse and ask for a better pain killer, but she told me to keep them on. She started giving my ice cubes to suck on until 20 minutes had passed so I wouldn't be sick from the anesthesia. After 20 minutes, I chugged a significant amount of water and had apple sauce. She gave me a painkiller and told me that my body must have handled the anesthesia very well because I was not nauseous, had an enormous appetite, and woke up easily after 20 minutes. My father came in, and I made a few calls to people letting them know I was okay, then the nurse wheeled me out to the car, and I slept the whole ride home. Since I got home, I've had a few portions of soup, protein bars, yogurt. And lots of pineapple juice and smoothies. I also still have my taste, so that's good! I regularly started icing on and off as well, I can already tell my swelling has gone down. Also, although there is a cast, I can say my nose looks ten times better. It's so much smaller, and the tip fits my face so much more. I can see the slight curve and it's still the 1st day of swelling so it'll only get better! I am so relieved that I chose Dr. Imola as my surgeon, and his staff was unbelievable as well. I've been on and off napping since I've been home so I'm sorry this took a while to update! My upper lip is still very swollen as well as my left eye. My left eye seems to have a ton of bruising while my right does not. However; like I said. I'm not worried. When did you begin cleaning the inside of your nose with hydroxide and an ointment? I was told that if I were careful I could start right away, but I was curious what you guys thought. I am still having quite a bit of draining, especially from the left side. I will update you guys first thing tomorrow morning. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will answer them asap. Thank you again for reading and all the support, it makes me feel so much better.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to update you guys yesterday. I wish I could say that this surgery thing wasn't kicking my butt. Yesterday and today were just me sleeping and getting up every half hour to take pills, drink water, or use lip balm. I will never take breathing through my nose for granted again! Pain so far has been very minimum if any. The most annoying aspect is that my head and nose feels so congested, like the worst cold I have ever had. It also makes me feel like there is a lot of pressure within my nose. I wish I could just make it go away!! I was 100% prepared in my head but now that I have to deal with it, it's such a bother haha. Durable, just very uncomfortable. I'm counting down the days until I get my cast removed which should be five days from now (May 29th.) Besides that, I'm happy with everything else. Although it is very annoying, I can already tell it's worth it when I see the tip of my nose. Although it's still very swollen, the shape is already much more flattering to my face. So now I am just counting down the hours until my appointment. I cannot wait to see some results, I'm feeling very hopeful! Thank you for reading, hope you're all feeling well xx

Hey, guys, I'm sorry for the lack of updates throughout my recovery. I went to type an update every day but every single one was the same once I wrote it. Therefore, this week has been very uneventful. Every day has been a smaller and smaller improvement, after the 4th day I stopped taking all medications and Tylenol simply because I didn't need it at all. Everyone always told me it was an almost pain-free procedure, but I didn't believe them. After four days, I felt totally normal except I couldn't breathe out of my nose still. Right now, my bruising has improved quite a bit but I still have it quite bad on the left eye. I hope I can get it under control soon because I want to get about out into public! Hopefully, some eye makeup will help. Tomorrow at 3pm, I'll be getting my cast off, inside splints removed, stitches out, and the inside of my nose cleaned out. I am VERY excited. Not only to see the results but to be able to breathe and wash my face again. My doctor warned me that I would have numbness to the tip of my nose and top lip and might have trouble tasting foods throughout my recovery or for a few weeks. I find that strange because neither has been affected in my case. Right, when I got home from surgery I remember my taste being there fully too. So I'm either handling everything very well, or I have a fantastic doctor. Probably a little of both! I can't wait to show you all the results. I've never had stitches or anything like that so I hope it's not too painful. Either way I am not worried. Thank again for reading, wish me luck xx

Hello, everyone! Yesterday I got my cast off. My appointment was set for 3pm at Dr. Impola's office, and I was so excited that I got there at 2:30pm. I wish I hadn't been because I ended up waiting for Dr. Imola until 4pm. He was apparently very busy and apologized once he finally came in. At the point I didn't really mind, I just wanted to get my cast off! So I sat in the chair, and he started taking out the stitches. I've never had stitches before, and they did slightly hurt to get out but nothing too bad. My eyes started watering a LOT while he was taking them out, and he had to keep asking if I was okay. Of course I totally was, my eyes are just very sensitive about that sort of thing. After that, he took out the inside splits. This was a very very odd feeling but not painful at all. Just slightly uncomfortable and he was very quick about it. Then he started to clean the inside of my nose which was the same uncomfortable feeling but nothing awful as well. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes (besides waiting for almost 2 hours lol) Finally; he took off my cast. I wasn't nervous to see my nose at all since I knew there was still a ton of swelling, but I was once I saw it. I only saw the front for a minute and then told him thank you. He said that there is still 50% to 60% swelling and that it would go way down, especially in the tip. I could tell the profile was already much better, but I was so exhausted; I wanted to hurry home. It took about 2 hours to get home, and I didn't wish to worry about what my nose looked like so I honestly just went to bed. Now that I'm up, I've finally had time to look at it. The profile is SO much better. Such an improvement compared to what I had before. Although it's not perfect, I think I would be happy with this profile if I had to be. However, it makes me even more comfortable to know that there is still a lot of swelling. The front, however, is a little concerning, and I looks slightly uneven and very wide. I already had a very wide frontal view, and it's defiantly much more straitened out which I like; it's just wide and prominent at the tip! That is my primary concern. The tip feels very hard, and I know it is still so swollen, so I just need to be patient. I'm not worried because I know when it comes down to it, I can contour the front until the swelling goes down. I could never contour a bump haha. So that is my update. I am traveling out of the U.S. in a week or so, so I have an appointment in a few days with Dr. Imola to make sure I am okay to go. He told me I should be fine but just to be sure. I will keep you guys updated! Let me know what you think, thank you for reading.