POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
39yr Old Female with Wide, Long and Bumpy Nose - Frankfurt Am Main, DE
ORIGINAL POST
The outcome is better than I could have imagined....
Natasha0603August 5, 2016
WORTH IT$7,600
The outcome is better than I could have imagined. 6wks post rhinoplasty my nose looks very refined and natural. My nose now compliments my face instead of overshadowing it. I met with a few other surgeons before rhinoplasty, but Dr. Bianca Knoll presented the most thorough information on how exactly the procedure was going to be performed and the desired outcome. We reviewed similated computer graphics together of possible outcomes for me post-rhinoplasty. She spent a lot of time providing information on how to prepare for the procedure and what to expect while I was recovering that made my post-op experience very quick and manageable.
Natasha0603's provider
Replies (6)
August 6, 2016
Do you have any pictures?
August 7, 2016
I am not comfortable posting pictures of myself online. It is prohibited for doctors in Germany to post pictures of patients online to protect patient confidentiality, however if you go to a plastic surgeon’s office he/she should show you a full portfolio of before and after patient photos who did the procedure you are interested in. Before rhinoplasty I would avoid taking photos, and when I knew I would be in a photo, I would use a lot of concealer and contouring to slim my original nose out. So I don’t have any good personal “before” photos, but my surgeon took several before and after photos of me to show future clients. I looked at several before/after photos of other patients (some patients in her portfolio had similar skin tones and Class II malocclusion (overbites) like me) so I had a good idea of what my rhinoplasty result would be.
Congratulations on a successful Rhinoplasty, so happy for you! Do you have any pre/post-op tips to share with the community to help them prepare for their big day? We love photos, I was wondering if you were up to sharing some before and afters, and maybe your morphs (if you still have them)?
Pre-Op Tips:
Carefully follow ALL your surgeon and anesthesiologist’s instructions. My surgeon recommended before rhinoplasty avoiding:
Asprin (10 days before)
Non-steriodal/anti-inflammatory, like Ibuprofen (5 days before)
Vitamin E/other dietary supplements (2 weeks before)
Alcohol (72 hours before)
Stop smoking (6 weeks before)
Also, a few weeks before my procedure, my surgeon requested bloodwork before the procedure to check CBC (WBC, Hb, Hct, Platelets), Electrolytes Serum (Na, K, Chlorid, Bicarbonate, Crea, BUN, Gluclose), and Coagulation factors (PTT, INR) to ensure a safer procedure for me.
Post-Op Tips:
The first 5 days post-op are really unpleasant, but not impossible. I took Cefaclor 500mg antibiotic every 8 hours for 5 days, and Gelonida 500mg for pain every 6 hours. The biggest obstacle for me was the medications giving me bad headaches, making me very nauseous, urinating a lot and irritable.
I usually sleep on my stomach or side, so it was difficult trying to sleep sitting up. I tried sleeping on my side the 5th day (when I still had tubes in my nose) and woke up with a very bloody nose. I regretting not trying to sit sleeping up another night. Using a neck-pillow (the kind you find in airports) and sitting in a recliner where helpful during this time.
It was also helpful that my surgeon warned me what to expect with swelling and recovery for the first 2-3wks. For the first 2 weeks swelling caused my nasal tip to raise about 20 extra degrees (like a pig’s nose). Thankfully it eventually went down as my surgeon promised! Also, healing doesn’t happen symmetrically. So I was very swollen on my left side for 3 weeks, and my right side healed almost immediately so I looked strange during this time. Thankfully it evened out after a month.
I felt very congested for 6 weeks. I used saltwater spray several times a day. It was also helpful to boil water in a pot, and put my face over it for a few minutes in the morning and evening to loosen blood and mucus. You aren’t supposed to blow your nose for 6 weeks post rhinoplasty, so it is unpleasant to let all the discharge to drip out of the nose or back of the throat, but I didn’t want to rupture a suture during this time.
I was bruised for about 5 weeks. I am very fair-skinned and bruise easily. I still had dark bruises under my eyes after 3 weeks. I even had a light bruise of a hand imprint on my jaw (where my surgeon probably held me during the procedure). I read online that Zinc tablets and eating pineapple can help with bruising, so I tried that after 2 weeks and it helped quite a bit.
It was helpful to use bags of frozen peas to help with the swelling around my eyes for the first couple of weeks. Then I switched to warm washcloth compresses to help with the bruising after that. After a couple of weeks, massaging the bruises under my eyes broke up the dark patches quite a bit.