Get Ready to Feel 100X More Confident! Newmarket, ON

I found Dr. Rival through review sites like this one - believe me I thought I knew who I wanted after getting a referral from my family doctor and searching locally. Once I started reading reviews I picked some top contenders (Rival being my front-runner) and went to meet him. I met with Dr Rival a month ago now for my first consultation. Right away I felt comfortable and understood what the reviewers were talking about - he's easy to talk to, totally gets your issues and even offers some additional suggestions. He did some initial imaging on his app to show me what the results could look like and talked through the procedure. He also talked about cost right up front and answered all my questions (though his website has a ton of info). I left feeling really good and talked to his assistant Nadia at the front desk (who is SO sweet and helpful) and she let me know someone had cancelled and offered me a surgery date just three weeks later! AH! I was nervous but at this point I felt it was now or never. So, I booked my next appointment for the following week. I swear I was the fastest through his process! Consult to surgery in three weeks! At the second appt we did some more imaging using the computer and went through in more detail exactly what I wanted and talked more about the procedure.

Pre-surgery I started taking arnica tablets like many online recommend (I do think they helped). I started taking them about a day before the surgery. I also stocked up on HydraSense, Q-Tips, Polysporin, Vaseline, gauze (4x4), medical tape and ice packs (though a latex glove filled with frozen peas works perfect!). Make sure you also have a humidifier and lots of pillows to keep your head elevated.

I kind of stopped being nervous the day of and felt kind of calm. I arrived at the hospital in the morning about 2 hours pre-op. They took my history, did the blood work and then I changed into a gown and waited in the pre-op room. I started to get SUPER nervous when I saw Dr. Rival's face LOL. He grabbed me to chat and we reviewed what he was going to do exactly which relieved some nerves. The anesthesiologist also came in to talk to me. Finally, I went into the OR (which scared me!) and my IV was started on the table and a few seconds later (it felt like) I was out and waking up in recovery!

I don't remember a lot of that time in the post-op/recovery. I was SO tired, and also really cold which I thought was weird. I felt a bit of burning pain, just a little more than tolerable so I asked for pain meds (morphine) to manage. They were so nice and offered me drinks, ice, warm blankets etc. I must mention how AMAZING the nurses at the Newmarket hospital are, seriously, the best. After I felt okay they brought in my bf and let me sleep for a couple hours. Was a bit nauseous when I finally sat up but I didn't throw-up anything. After getting changed back into my clothes, I was wheeled out by my bf to the car and slept the whole way home. We filled my prescription for T3's and I started taking them right away. I managed to choke down a yogurt when I got home and then slept the rest of the day almost (while simultaneously icing).

At 12 hours post-op I had hardly any bruising and the pain was under control. My throat was not nearly as bad as I anticipated either. I could breathe through my nose at this point. My moustache gauze did have to be changed every few hours the first couple of days.

The second and third day were where the bruising and swelling came in, but actually not nearly as bad as I had imagined! Maybe it was the arnica? I had also picked up some arnica cream to apply to the bruises. The second day I began cleaning with the HydraSense and Polysporin as well. I also couldn't breather through my nose the rest of the first week basically. At about day four I was able to stop wearing the gauze and just had a little bit of runny-ness.

At a week post-op, I had my cast removed and stitches trimmed etc. Didn't hurt at all and omg...the results. As promised, and expected from Dr. Rival, the most NATURAL and refined result. Honestly, it still looks like me but now I have the cutest side profile! He removed the bump on my nose, fixed the droopiness, corrected the over-projection and refined the tip just a bit. I did have a septorhinoplasty so he corrected my septum as well. I can't yet judge the results of that, but I'm sure it will be great. A week out I could stop the meds and just felt a little tenderness. The only noticeable swelling for me was in the tip, as expected. This has already reduced by today (day 10). At day 10 I would be happy with my nose staying the way it is! I know it will just get better :)

Overall, best decision I ever made - it was nothing in the scheme of things! A week later it's as if nothing happened and you're just better looking and more confident ;)

One word to describe Dr. Rival is trust. You can trust him to be honest, to take care of you, and to give you a result that you are happy with.

Don't panic after getting your cast removed! My tip was so swollen, but after 2-3 weeks, it's perfect :) I didn't have too much done to the front, just a little narrowing of the tip but, as requested here's the before and after! This was just about a week out so was still quite swollen, it is much more narrow now. But, you can see the droopiness that was there before.

Okay -- I got the photos off my phone from today. I will be 3 weeks post-op in a couple of days. Here you can see how much the swelling has gone down in the tip and all bruising is gone. The numbness in the tip is also going away at this point. I think the tip had probably dropped a bit now too but I can't tell too much. I still can feel a couple of stitches that need to fall out. Overall, feeling great and happy. I saw my grandparents and a few young cousins this week and none of them had a clue I had anything done! Just goes to show you that you can have natural results that still look like you, just a little more refined :)