Before I begin the long story of my nose, I’m happy to report that it’s finally over – I’m FINALLY happy and Dr. Joseph is the reason. I highly recommend Dr. Joseph – he is a skilled rhinoplasty surgeon, and more importantly, a very skilled revision rhinoplasty surgeon. His credentials are what you should require – dual-board certified ENT and facial plastic surgeon. I am thrilled with my decision and I think you would be, too. Now here’s the unabridged story…
My relationship with my nose began when I was about 11 years old. This is when my extremely large nose grew in. I was tormented by kids naming their birds after me and very self-conscious, especially of my profile. At the age of 16 I pleaded with my mom, asking if she would support my having a nose job. She agreed and I had the surgery. Within a year I went back for tip revision. Then about six years later it seemed that the tip had fallen and I went back to have the tip lifted. This is when my nose was butchered – NOTE that this was years before I met Dr. Joseph. My previous doctor snipped my columella (portion of your nose between your nostrils) and failed to properly support it, so after healing, it fell. I went back again two years later and needless to say, the same thing happened. Nearly nine years after my first rhinoplasty and I was still self-conscious, still unhappy with my nose.
It took another ten years for me to find Dr. Joseph while I was searching online and researching non-surgical nose jobs. After four prior surgeries, I did not want to have another nose surgery, but when I went to see Dr. Joseph he explained that the damage to my columella and the hump-like shape to my nose could not be fixed without surgery. I was disappointed to hear this, but I was happy to finally realize that there was no reason to wait any longer.
Dr. Joseph explained in detail the work he would do on my nose. His revision rhinoplasty would take at least two hours and would be one of his most difficult surgeries. He would have to lift my columella and would do so by taking cartilage from inside my nose and putting in a columella strut, often referred to as a “c-strut” to support it. He would also try to cover up the scar tissue from the previous surgeries which had been visible. A good bit of shaving of the bone would also be done to create a gentle curve. He would also fix my deviated septum (which also should have been fixed with my first rhinoplasty).
I decided pretty quickly to schedule the surgery. Dr. Joseph was surprised to see me on his surgery schedule only a couple of weeks following my initial consultation. He wanted to be confident that he and I had the same objectives in mind, so he had me return to his office for another consultation. Dr. Joseph spent an hour with me, examining my nose, reviewing the computer imaging and making sure that he understood my expectations.
I am extremely hard to please and I have to say that I’m extremely happy with the outcome. I love my new nose! It’s finally “small” and I have a profile that I do not feel self-conscious about. I am 10 weeks post-op, and I have to say my nose still feels tight – but this is worth it. If you had a bad nose job and you’re not sure you want to go through it again, trust that Dr. Joseph will listen to what you want and will get you a nose that you can finally smile about!
* note that there were additional medication costs as well as hospital and anesthesia fees, but again, the outcome is priceless and well worth it.
