Learn From My Mistakes! (My Septorhinoplasty/Revision Rhinoplasty Story) - Fleming Island, FL

I had my three-month appointment a couple of weeks ago. Nothing much to report. Overall, I am still happy with my result as it is definitely a significant improvement.

I do still seem to see a slight unevenness/asymmetry in the tip (with the shape being a little different on one side and the nostril on that side seeming to appear a little higher than the other one), but I think Dr. P thinks it's still too soon to really evaluate that (he said I still have some swelling). If what I see now is still apparent at 1 year, I will see what he thinks and if he would recommend any little "adjustment" (using a filler, I'm guessing), but assuming that what I'm noticing doesn't get any worse, even if he thinks he can improve it, I might decide to just leave things as they are as it seems very minor right now and I still feel extra cautious/conservative about doing anything further (I just don't want to risk any unintended consequences--my experience with that from my first surgery made a lasting impact on my attitude toward all of this!).

He did take a first set of post-op photos (though not the complete set of all the different views, as he said it would be better to wait until more swelling dissipates to take the "oblique" views), but I haven't seen them yet, so I'll need to email him to ask him for a copy. I am very curious to compare them to my pre-op photos, since even though I've had photos taken of me since June, you can't really get the same sense of comparison unless you're comparing very similar shots in terms of distance, lighting, etc.

My next update won't be until January, but I'll try to check into my account here every now and again before then in case anyone has any questions about my op/results and/or Dr. P.

Had my 6-week post-op visit this week. Dr. P says everything looks fine inside and lifted the remaining restrictions I had (I can now wear sunglasses--previously he had approved only regular glasses that have nose pads; I can sleep on my stomach if I want, etc.). I did the "nasal exercises" for the last four weeks and he said they can now be stopped. (He also pointed out that there's no hard evidence that they help at all in the first place, but they can't hurt during that period, so he tends to recommend them just in case.)

I asked him about the slight asymmetry in my nostrils (including the small "dent" or "notch" in the "soft triangle" area on one side) and he saw it , but he said that it could still change over time, so it's too early to make any definitive assessments (which I anticipated it would be). But, on the positive side, he said that it's not likely to change _a lot_ in either direction (worse or better), so that helped to ease my mind about something really pronounced developing. (Right now, the unevenness is so minor, that if even it just changed a little for the better, that might be enough to eliminate the issue completely.) Also on the positive side, he mentioned at least two possible types of minor, in-office "tweaks" that he could do to address whatever issue may remain at 6 months to a year (things to make the nostrils appear more even from the front view and/or to "fill in" the little notch/dent on one side). I'll just have to wait and see and actually, the issue is so minor now that as long as it doesn't get worse, I think I might opt to just leave it as it is and not even get any "tweaks."

All in all, I felt really good after this visit. Sometimes I can let my anxieties about what might develop in the future run rampant (probably reading too many "horror stories" on RS), and Dr. P definitely put my mind at ease. I really do have complete trust in everything he did (and didn't) do in my surgery, and I fully trust his responses to all my post-op concerns and questions. This is such a huge difference from my post-op visits after my 1st op, when I lost more and more trust in my doc with each visit!

So, I imagine my next update will be in early September, when I go for my 3 month post-op appointment and he will take my first set of "after" pics. But I'll try to check back here now and again before then in case anyone has any questions for me.

I was in an elevator today with the kind of overhead lighting that made my pre-revision nose look the very worst (the two visible lines and small bumps on the upper bridge created by my 1st op would create weird shadows with that kind of lighting, and my supratip area was so flattened that the lower part of my nose also looked really bad with odd shadow effects there too) and...to my delight, everything looked super smoothed out and had a very nice overall shape!! :-) Such a change for the better! I also don't have to cringe when going into public bathrooms anymore (another type of location that made my pre-revision nose looked pretty bad)...hooray! It really is so nice not to have to worry about significant changes in my appearance based on the lighting (before my revision, it sort of reminded me of that old Seinfeld episode about the girl that Jerry dated who was a "two-face," lol...)

I'm still a little concerned about a small difference in my right nostril...even before the cast came off, I noticed that it is now slightly smaller and a little differently shaped than the left one, and since then I've noticed that it pulls inward more with breathing (both visibly and in terms of how it feels) noticeably more than the left one does. It also sometimes feels less "open" in its upper corner where the septum is, almost like there's something obstructing it or stuck in that area or like it's slightly "pinched," and there's a little indentation on that side of the tip that isn't there on the left side. So I hope to ask Dr. P about that at my next visit in about 2 weeks. (I say hope, because it is a pretty minor thing and I don't want to come off as too nit-picky or like I'm being critical of his work--I absolutely trust his skill and what he did in my op 100%, but I know that even with a great surgeon, some effects of surgery and/or healing are not always completely predictable.) Assuming that what I'm noticing doesn't become more pronounced over time, I'm really not worried about the "worm's eye" view of my nostrils or even the small indentation/asymmetry on one side (my husband said no one would notice it unless I pointed it out, since he didn't notice it until I directed his attention to it, even though of course he's looked closely and carefully at my nose at several points since my cast came off) . My only concern would be I started to feel like my breathing was significantly compromised on that side (like if the nostril opening starts to collapse more with breathing and/or its overall shape becomes more narrowed). So I would like to get his opinion on whether he thinks it might get worse with time or not.

But the main purpose of this post was to report something that really put a smile on my face, so that is what I want to emphasize! :-)