Rhinoplasty with Dr. Emre Ilhan

Hey there - a litle update from my side! It’s been a while now since I had surgery (almost 2 years). Whilst I was (naively) hoping the swelling would go down, it really hasn’t and I fear it’s permanent. The result is that my nose looks asymmetrical and there are many days where I feel really down as I’m not very with it at the moment and would definitely consider revision at this stage unfortunately. Rhinoplasty is a BIG decision and I would urge you to really think about it very carefully. I’ve seen many results from the doctor that look absolutely wonderful but unfortunately Im probably one of the few ones who just hasnt been that lucky.

I have wanted to get nose surgery since the age of 13. After years of contemplating I finally decided to go ahead with it. Over the years I had met two surgeons before (both in Holland and the UK) but I was put off by the whole process cos of the consultations I had. I knew I had to go to Istanbul to find one of the best surgeons. Rhinoplasty is an extremely popular surgery in Turkey and I knew of many Turkish relatives and friends who underwent rhinoplasty in Istanbul and were happy with the results.

Today almost marks 7 weeks after I had my surgery with Dr. Emre Ilhan. Despite my swelling I'm happy with my results and know it will only get better! I researched intensively for months and months and made a short list of the best Turkish surgeons I could fine. My prime criteria was that the surgeon had to be specialised in rhinoplasty only. Nothing was more off putting to me than a surgeon who would do perform types of surgeries. My gut feeling told me to go with Dr. Emre Ilhan. I also followed many of his patients on Instagram and also contacted them via Instagram or Facebook. This convinced me even more that I had to go with him. What I like about Dr. Emre Ilhan is his artistic vision. Every nose is different and he makes sure the nose fits proportionally with the features of your face.

I was very nervous before meeting him but was very lucky to also have support of my husband, aunts (who live in Istanbul) and mother during this whole process. We rented an apartment near his clinic and stayed there for over two weeks. I can honestly say that Dr Emre Ilhan has changed how I feel about myself. My new nose (despite the swelling) has given me so much more confidence already.

To give a concise overview of the process I'll summarise sum of the pros and cons of the below:

Pros:
-The doctor is very nice and makes you feel comfortable. He tells you honestly what can and cannot be done. He is an ENT specialist and has done so many surgeries in his career. I honestly think he can perform these surgeries in his sleep by now lol. I was therefore not worried for a second about my safety in his hands. It was clear to me that he is passionate about his job and is grateful to make both men and woman feel better about themselves. Another thing to point is that he uses state-of the art technology.
-The team is amazing. My primary contact was miss Jenya and she was very quick to get back to me and answered all my questions before surgery.
-The surgical nurse, miss Cansu, was truly amazing as well. She made me feel at ease and also answered all my questions before the surgery. She visited my room in the hospital before my surgery and calmed my nerves down!
-I had no pain after the surgery
-The clinic is located in a safe part of town. I know many people are worried about the political state of Turkey at the moment, including myself. I must say despite my worries I felt very safe and comfortable in the region. Before the day of the surgery my husband and I spent some time on the princess islands. You can easily get a boat there from near the clinic.
-Both the doctor and miss Cansu visited me the next day in the hospital and made sure I was okay and answered my questions / concerns etc.

Cons:
-I naively thought I would not have any swelling but unfortunately for a thick skinned girl like me there is inevitably going to be swelling lol. I know its still early stages and I need to be patient but I can't wait for the final swelling to go down. A lot of it has already gone down over the past weeks but there is still some swelling left on the top of the nose bridge. This is all part of the process and I know it can take up to a year for the swelling to completely disappear.
-The doctor is very popular and has lots of international patients also. Be prepared to wait a little bit before seeing him for the consultations and I'd advise you to take a book or a smart phone (there is wifi there!). There are lots of shops and restaurants in the neighbourhood and if the waiting will be too long they'll advise you to go for a stroll and come back in a little while. This being said, I think it's fair to also point out they won't let you wait for a long time when you come for the check ups after the surgery.

Some of supplies I found life saving for the operation:
-The doctor will prescribe you the medicines...throat spray and nose spray so no need to worry about this
-You won't be able to breath through your nose very well for the first couple of days and your mouth will dry out. Biotene mouthwash for a dry mouth really helped me as well as the dry mouth spray from Boots (available in the UK)
-Lots of pillows including a U-shaped pillow for sleeping
-Comfy clothes
-Facial wapes to clean your face
-Baby tooth brush
-Eucerin Dry Skin Intensive Lip Balm 10ml really helped me as well
-Cap to protect from the sun

Also make sure there is someone to help you. I believe you can go through this process alone but it will be hard and the fact that I had people to support me made it a lot easier for me.

I'm happy to answer all of your questions but it might take some time as I have a very busy job unfortunately. I'll definitely post some pictures soon but didn't have the time yet to upload these yet.