My Rhinoplasty Experience - Gold Coast, AU

Like many others I have never been completely happy with the appearance of my nose and I have decided to go ahead with a rhinoplasty procedure. I did a lot of research about clinics on the Gold Coast and chose the Lotus Institute as I'd heard first-hand experiences about the work they do. In July I ended up going for a consultation with one of their surgeons, Dr. Widdowson. He was very professional and we discussed what I disliked about my nose and what I wanted to change, then he showed me various photos of his previous work and took photos of my own face which he altered to show what my expected results would look like. I have my surgery booked September 26th and am counting down the days!

Last edited 9/26/16

I had my surgery yesterday! It went well despite a couple of minor issues. The anaesthetist woke me up in theatre but I had a lot of trouble breathing due to blood at the back of my throat. I vaguely remember panicking because I couldn't breathe and heard people fussing over my heart rate. They quickly put me back under anaesthetic so he could reinsert the breathing tube. After surgery there was some concern about my heart beating rapidly and irregularly which meant I had to stay in recovery longer so they could monitor my heart rate, blood pressure, and do an ECG test. In the end the anaesthetist seemed to believe it was caused by the stress of the anaesthetic on my heart and I was allowed to go home.

So far I don't have much pain - if any. There is a feeling of discomfort from not being able to breathe out of my nose and I can't eat much at all because there's a lot of pressure when I try to swallow. All I've had to eat since my surgery is some yoghurt and jelly but I get my internal packing out today so hopefully this will make it easier to eat, drink, and take my medication.

Here are some before photos I had on my computer. My surgeon is going to send me the before shots he took during my consultation but for now here's a picture of what my nose used to look like. The cartilage at the tip was uneven due to a childhood injury and overall I felt it was too big for my face. I can already see that after surgery it looks significantly smaller so I'm very excited to see the final results!