Open Rhinoplasty + Septoplasty - Before/During/After. London, GB

My name is Julie, I wanted to share my surgery experience as I found a lot of help online, lots of advice, I think it’s great that people share this process even though everyone is different. It has been reassuring (and scary!) being able to see what people go through. On the 8th of June I had an open rhinoplasty done in London and I was super exited! I kind of always knew I was going to do it, my nose has never been the best looking to put it nicely. I just wanted it to be straight, you know? Nice shape, nothing too fancy.

Here is how the day of the surgery went:

1pm went to the hospital, they put me in my room and I had to choose what I wanted for dinner and breakfast
3pm met the nurse, anaesthetist and saw doc, took some pictures and draw on my nose, went through what we are going to do for the last time
5pm went into the theatre, when I woke up I could not open my eyes because I was so dizzy and felt a bit nauseous, i haven’t been sick at all though and I haven’t eaten as I don’t feel hungry
8:45pm started feeling normal again, slept until about 00:00, little bit swollen but nothing scary, drunk water, coconut water and pineapple juice. The packing is very annoying at the beginning but you get used to it.
01:30 fell back asleep after taking pain killers (no pain but I am just being cautious)
04:00 woke up again, swelling gone, still no bruises but it is starting to arrive on the side of my eyes! Anyway I am so impressed, the work I had done was quite tricky as the doctor said my nose was deviated in every way I was expecting my face to be destroyed. Took some painkillers even though no pain still. Started to swallow some blood/liquid coming down from my nose so I got medication to avoid being sick as well. Everyone is super nice! I feel fantastic and very proud, can’t believe I did it!

Just got home! I feel tired but very good, finally had some food! My nose is completely blocked and a little itchy but I can live with that. I have some antibiotics to take just twice a day and some very strong painkillers I can take if I need, I do take some as I don’t want to take the risk of feeling any pain. Everyone is surprised to see my face as we were all expecting a lot worse. I did take arnica pills a week before the operation which I believe really helped, also drunk fresh pineapple juice everyday to get some bromelain in my body. I have some bromelain pills now that I will take with the arnica to minimise the swelling and bruising. I can see my nose is smaller and straighter, the nostril are so different in a good way obviously, this day 1 and I could not be happier! I am expecting a delivery of fresh vegetables & fruits juice to come tomorrow with some immunity shots containing lots of good stuff which will help my body to recover and cleanse from all the medications.

My nose is quite crusty which is annoying, I really want to clean my face and be able to breathe properly. The nurse told me not to touch my nose at all but it’s very hard not to! No real bruises appeared and the swelling is very minimal which makes me happy. I am quite tired today so taking it easy, staying in bed all dayyy!

Spent the whole day watching Orange is the new black from 8am (no joke) I just could not stop myself! Anyway, I was feeling quite down and my nostrils were blocked by all the blood that dried around them so I decided to take a look and remove some of it (veryyyy carefully) and then I managed to breathe from BOTH nostrils!!! So I got really excited (cried a little!) and reduced a lot the amount of painkillers I was taking, ordered all the mexican food on earth as I could eat a bit better and been starving myself for few days. All of that while watching OITNB needless to say this day turned out to be one of the best of my life.

Today I woke up and did some shopping online which always helps making your day better! My nose looks less swollen, my new nostrils are the cutest! I am so exited to get the cast off on monday, I expect the nose to swell a bit after that but the hardest bit will definitely be behind me. It’s 5pm and I took a pill and a half so far today and I feel absolutely fine (I was taking up to 7 at the beginning of the week). I just did not want to feel any pain at all and even though I could not eat properly when I was chewing I could feel a bit sore around the septum where the skin was cut. Yawning was impossible for few days which was quite annoying but it’s all I do now! Hopefully I will be able to smile and laugh properly soon.

Neck pillow: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008VABY10

This is saving my life, I have no idea how people can sleep without one under those conditions!

Reusable hot or cold gel pack: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B0PSCQS

You can put it in the freezer to have it cold, put it on your head if you have a headache or even put it on your eyes if you are swollen but also can put it in boiling water or microwave to have it hot and use it for your back because sleeping kind of half way up half way down will make your back sore.

Homeopathic Arnica: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002R5HH98

To keep the bruising and swelling down, I had a an open rhinoplasty + septoplasty my nose was broken to pieces I really don’t think I would be looking this fantastic if I did not use arnica.

Ginger, Turmeric & Bromelain tablets: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004RAFMZ2

Bromelain is also helping with the swelling and bruising, you can find it in pineapple. The week before the operation I juiced fresh pineapple and drunk it everyday as I did not receive these before the day of my operation, I do take a tablet every time I am eating now as it also acts as a natural painkiller.

I had my appointment scheduled this morning to remove the cast I wasn’t really nervous as it was such a relief to finally take it off! It did not hurt but it was very sticky so pulling it off wasn’t a pleasure, it was very quick and then I was SO scared to look in the mirror… I eventually did and it was quite a shock as my nose was very swollen and had a bruise which is a bit bumpy. It did not use to be wide and I know it won’t be but seeing it so swollen was hard, I felt like an alien. I still had a long walk outside afterwards and met with a friend for lunch, it was so nice to be able to go outside after a week at home! I bought some arnica gel and put some make up on it felt amazing! I am staying positive and I am super excited to see how my nose will evolve during the next few weeks!

I've been having good nose days and bad nose days this week, obviously it's still early days.. Patience is the key! The swelling has definitely gone down but I feel like my nostrils are trying to get back to the way they used to be and I cannot have that... It makes me worry A LOT :(

I can almost fully raise my eyebrows and my skin doesn’t feel as “tight” as before, I sneezed many times this week (through my mouth) as I kept stopping myself before and it just feels amazing being able to get it out! I am still cleaning inside of my nose every sort of 2 days, I also hit it by mistake… Didn’t hurt and didn’t move so it’s all good, I don’t recommend it though!

Sorry for not updating this review more but here is a picture from december! No way I could have taken a picture like this before. This operation changed my life in so many ways