Reflections and Advice from a 35 Year-old Male. Munich, DE

My surgeon removed my splint and dressing today — and I'm delighted to say I'm really pleased with the result!

Dr Hundt has successfully achieved what he said he would: the hollowed-out part in the middle has been built-up again with 'fascia lata'; the nostril show has been reduced; the columella and tip have been slightly lifted; and the tip also de-projected a very conservative amount. I left the surgery with a spring in my step, not just because I'm happy with the result (which I am), but just out of sheer relief! The biggest worry with a revision rhinoplasty is that things are made worse, or that in fixing one problem another is introduced. That's not been the case for me and I think I've now got the nose I always wanted.

A couple of people who commented on my earlier posts warned me against making my nose "too small", but I don't think that's actually what's happened. Dr Hundt discovered that my previous surgeon hadn't touched the cartilage in my septum, so he was able to harvest this (rather than resort to using ear cartilage) to reconstruct the parts of my nose where cartilage had been (inadvisably) removed. That's why my tip and nostril rims didn't look right — the previous surgeon had stripped away a lot of my internal foundations. What Dr Hundt has done is build that back-up and reverse the damage.

So the result is not necessarily a nose that's substantially "smaller", but one which has a more refined and homogenous shape because the underlying framework has been fixed. Sure, it's not a perfect match with the simulation — it was never going to be, but it's pretty close and may get closer still as the swelling goes down and my thick skin retracts a little. But, in any case, I'm not really bothered about that. The main thing is that it looks good!

I will leave it a few months until I'm confident enough to get a final verdict, but initial results are good!

Woke-up on day 2 with a clearer head and nose, but still a bit of sneezing and I also developed a nose bleed. Was quite concerned about this at first, but it eventually went away. Good news is that my bruising went from black to a more acceptable red/yellow shade.

Day 3 saw a real change for the better. I got a decent sleep and my nasal passageways were a lot more clear. Amazing how much this changes your mood. I even ventured out to the local shop with my shades on (to hide the bruising). Got a couple of looks but nothing prolonged. Nose splint feels a bit looser — maybe the swelling is going down a bit?

As for days 4–7, things got increasingly better. Nose was often still bunged-up but I increasingly felt I had more energy. Bruising on the cheeks became a very faint yellow, it's just round the eyelids it's taking longer to fade from the darker blue/red. I can see how some people could return to work by day 7, though I think you'd need a bit of make-up to hide the excess bruising.

Had my first half-decent sleep since the operation, mainly lying on my back with extra pillows propping my head up. For some reason my hand would occasionally bang against the nose splint, instantly waking me up each time. No idea what my hand was trying to do as I slept — perhaps I was subconsciously trying to remove the splint in my sleep?

With a continuing head cold I couldn’t be bothered doing anything so spent all day lying on the sofa watching YouTube videos. Struggled with the amount of mucus blocking my nose, though the colour changed to a paler red, suggesting blood-tinged mucus rather than an actual nosebleed. Just before bedtime both my nasal airways cleared for the first time and the head cold began to lift — a hint of light at the end of the tunnel!