Surgery Coming Up May 18th!!!! - Michigan

Surgery is in 3 days! I go back and forth between being excited for the change and being scared of surgery and not knowing what the outcome will be. Dr. Golden does not do morphs, so I have to put 100% faith in him to make me look better. I think the part I'm most scared about is having the surgery done under conscious sedation... has anyone had a rhinoplasty done with this type of sedation?

Today is day 3 after surgery. I haven't updated this so I"ll go through it day by day.

The night before surgery my boyfriend and I drove to my grandmas house an hour and a half away so we would be closed to Dr. Golden's office in the morning. She was up north so we had the house to ourselves. The morning of surgery Nick, my boyfriend, was throwing up and feeling awful! It was not a good way to start the day. I set him up in the passenger seat of my car and drove us to the doctors, where he immediately drove back to my grandmas to rest. I was pretty upset that my support system had fallen through and no one would be there for me before and right after surgery. I was lucky that I was the only patient scheduled the whole day, so Dr. Golden reassured me that he would be taking his time to make everything perfect. They tested my urine for pregnancy and had me put on the hospital gown. I wore a sports bra, tank top and left my sweat pants and shoes on. Lucy, the RN warmed a fleece blanket up in the dryer and gave it to me to help keep me warm. I was pretty nervous about the IV since I've never had one before so they gave me a valium pill to help take the edge off. When Dr. Golden put the IV in it didn't hurt AT ALL. In fact I felt it more when they drew blood last week than when the IV went in. Lucy then started putting all types of medicine in the IV. I was really nervous about hearing and remembering parts of the surgery. It didn't take long before I felt a wave of relaxation come over me. The next thing I knew the whole procedure was over! I didn't feel anything, hear anything, or remember anything. I was the most nervous about the conscious sedation, but after all is said and done it was a breeze! My surgery lasted 3 hours.

I didn't feel any pain but I was woozy. I remember having hallucinations of people that I would be talking to, but no one would be there so it just looked like I was mumbling nonsense to the nurse. Since Nick wasn't feeling well he was not allowed to come into the office so they wheeled me down to the car. I faintly remember the car ride home. When I got to my grandmas I slept on and off for a few hours. My eyes were instantly swollen and a deep red color. Surprisingly I didn't sleep too bad, but got up in the middle of the night to change my drip pad and take some meds.


Day 2: I expected there to be bruising around my eyes but I did not expect them to be so swollen that I could barely see! I couldn't look down with one eye and felt a constant pressure. My nose didn't hurt at all. I took vicodin a few times throughout the day, but only one half at a time. I had a decent appetite but stuck to eating watermelon, berries, soup, and macaroni and cheese. My nose was so stuffy that I could only breath out of my mouth. I was worried about the whole mouth breathing thing so the week before surgery I bought a Winix air purifier. My grandma has a cat so it was nice to know I was breathing fresh air and I wouldn't sneeze from the allergens in the air. I want to make sure I don't do ANYTHING to mess up the results! I slept better than the first night... waking up only 1x.

Day 3: Today is day 3. I talked to Dr. Golden to make sure everything I'm experiencing is normal before I make the hour and a half drive home. I'm still using a drip pad. I change it every 4-5 hours and I take it off when I eat. It's not bleeding anymore, but the discharge is blood tinged. I feel pressure on my nose whenever I swallow - it almost feels like swallowing is pushing out of my nose. It's uncomfortable but I can deal with it. I haven't had a headache at all which is nice. I've been joking with those who have called to check on me that this scrape I have on my calf hurts more than my face. I go in to get my cast off on Tuesday, which I'm super nervous about. I like having the protection of the cast and will feel vulnerable once it is off. I've been sticking to food that you don't have to chew much.


Overall I was happy with the time my surgeon spent with me on the big day and I have been having a decent recovery. If anyone is thinking about going with Dr. Golden send me a message and I will send you a before and after picture!

Tuesday, May 22 was my appt to get the cast off. The appointment only lasted ~10 minutes. It was extremely uncomfortable - the Doctor was sticking medicine drenched cotton allllll the way up my nose and taking the stitches on the inside and outside out. After he took the cast off he applied some tape to help keep the swelling down and for a little support. I was worried I would feel vulnerable without the cast, but the tape was a nice substitute. All in all it went well.

by Friday, May 25th I was finally able to breathe out of my nose! It took the course of 3-4 days to get to the point of being able to breathe with my mouth closed. Every day would be a little better - starting with short stents of being able to breathe then going to hours, then days. For awhile there I was worried I wouldn't be able to breathe through my nose for weeks.

Today is Monday, May 28th - the swelling on my face has completely cleared up and my bruising is 95% gone. So far I'm very happy with my results. I'm excited for the bruising to be completely gone and to start living with my new and improved nose. My second post op is tomorrow... I'm hoping it's not another torture session like the last one. ha. Overall the recovery has been very quick... it's amazing how fast the body heals itself.

Almost 13 weeks post op: So far so good. I know I still have swelling around the bridge of my nose and I can tell in pictures, but family and friends I've seen haven't even noticed I had surgery! There is a shadow under my left eye... and I think it still looks bruised a bit. I'm hoping this clears up soon so I don't look so tired all the time. My breathing is pretty good.. but the side surgery was on is not as clear as the other side. I assume this also will get better with more time. If I press down and slide my finger down the bridge of my nose it feels bumpy under the skin, but after researching online that is normal. You can't see it, so that is good. Just waiting it out for another few months to see what the end result will be. I'm hoping my nose thins out a bit... so we'll see!

Some people have messaged me asking about Dr. Golden and how they are unsure of him because of his reviews... and I would like to comment on that.

Dr. Golden does have good and bad reviews - but if you take a closer look most bad reviews are regarding his bedside manner and personality. The good reviews regard his work and outcomes. So ask yourself this: Is it better to go with a doctor that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling and has mediocre results? Or would you rather go with the doctor who has a reputation as being "arrogant, etc" but is known for his great work and natural looking noses? At the end of the day it only matters what you will look like.