Open rhinoplasty - 27y female - 4.5 months post-op - Gold Coast, AU

It's been a while! So I thought I'd give a quick update. I am loving my new nose from the front and 3/4 angles but not 100% from the profile view. I still have the bump that I was so hoping to get rid of and at this point it looks like it's here to stay.

I saw Dr Layt the other day and he felt that I would need an additional surgery to smooth it out. It will just be a closed surgery this time to rasp the bone - all done under general. I asked him if he did the procedure as an in-office surgery and he felt that it was too traumatic on the patient. Tbh I think I wouldn't have had the guts to do it while awake! I admire anyone who could :) He told me he wanted to see me in January at which point we'd make a decision about if we should go ahead with the revision.

There are always risks when undergoing a revision, so I want to make absolutely sure that I'm ready for it if I decide to do it. I don't want to end up having the parts of my nose that I like currently changed, but at the same time the residual bump does really bother me. We shall see!

I do feel a bit disappointed that I am needing the revision. I had been trying to stay positive throughout the whole recovery process that it would eventually smooth out by itself because that is what I had been told every time I had gone for a checkup. I know that everyone heals differently though, and there's always a possibility that it won't turn out perfectly the first time.

Apart from the bump, as I said I am really happy with the way it is looking. It's a huge confidence booster to not have to hate something about your face!

I hope everyone is well!

I thought I'd share a few comparison pics - things are coming along well, still not that many changes though. Overall I am happy! I am totally glad that I went ahead with the surgery because it has done a lot for my self confidence. Even though there are still things I don't like about my nose, I honestly believe that my new nose is a big improvement on the old. However, for the sake of being open about all that is going on, here are a few things:

The bump along my bridge is still there which is disappointing! From what I have read, it may be a callus that was formed from rasping the bone and there is still a chance it will go down after a couple more months. I just want it to go away! I see so many people on RS who come out of surgery and they have perfectly straight noses and I wish that was the case with mine as well.

About a week ago the bumps on either side of my bridge felt a lot less pronounced which was promising! They've come up a bit again since then, but it was my birthday so there was a bit of alcohol and salty food happening :D Once things settle again hopefully they'll keep reducing.

The swelling in the tip seems to have reduced a little bit - the under side seems to have come up a tiny amount, which I am happy about :) After I got my cast off I felt that my nose wasn't up-turned enough but I feel like it is heading in the right direction.

Right now my favourite angle is the 3/4 view. Which is good! Because before I had no favourite angles haha. If the bump on my bridge goes away then I think I will be entirely happy. My 3 month post-op review with Dr Layt is in 3 weeks, so I will see what he says about everything. I am sure that I will be told it is still too early to judge... so we will see.

I am still feeling pretty stuffy and I am snoring while I sleep (apparently haha). I didn't snore before the surgery, so I hope this goes away! My fiance is so patient and never complains but I feel sorry for him! Another odd side effect of the surgery is that my nose is really ticklish now! If I touch the underside of the tip where it is still numb, I get a phantom tickle somewhere inside the tip of my nose. It is a really weird feeling!

Hope everyone is going well! I will probably update again after my 3 month review / if there are any more changes :)

Not much has changed since my last update, apart from I'm even more swollen than I was - I've stopped avoiding salt as much so maybe that's what's contributing?

I had a post-op appointment with Dr Layt yesterday to check on some bumps on either side of my bridge. They're small and feel like they're underneath the skin, and show if the lighting is right. I originally thought they were just part of a breakout, but they haven't gone away since my cast removal. He told me that it can sometimes happen as a result of the bones being broken and I can expect them to go down after a while. I found someone with a similar issue here http://www.realself.com/question/hard-lumps-side-nose-bridge and the answers seem to be along the same lines as what my surgeon explained to me. So I'm feeling a bit better about it now!

I still have a bump along my bridge which I really hope is just down to swelling - it looks more or less prominent depending on the lighting and is mostly visible from the side profile. Dr Layt told me it'd definitely improve with time and that it was all straight when he'd finished the surgery. I just hope that it goes away altogether! Having the hump removed was probably the biggest part of why I had the surgery in the first place. I wish it didn't take so long to see the final result!

My nose is starting to feel a bit more normal.. but it still feels like there's pressure (from swelling I guess?). The underside of the tip is still totally numb as well. My columella seems to have dropped a tiny bit (which I am happy about!) and the scar across it has gotten a little bit more pink since my last update. I've started applying a scar gel as well as papaw ointment to keep it from getting dried out.

I'll post another update soon once there's more to report :)