POSTED UNDER Revision Rhinoplasty Reviews
Not the Experience I Hoped for
ORIGINAL POST
Not the Experience I Hoped for
AM123BertJune 21, 2020
$22,000
I have to say that I did not have the same glowing experience that everyone else seems to have had. Aside from running late for appointments when I was visiting from out of state, and also never really making me feel secure and understood - my nose just doesn’t look great. I came in with a complex revision rhinoplasty case, it was crooked and upturned and he told me we could make it much better. It was absolutely and undoubtedly a challenging rhinoplasty, but none the less I was expecting better. The nose is in fact wider from the front than it used to be, and from the side the tip is droopy and over extended. I was extremely clear that I wanted a smaller nose and that I was so frustrated that the first procedure had not achieved this - If anything my nose is now slightly bigger than it was before, just in a different way. When I smile it looks very witchy from the side and is not the elegant and feminine nose that we had discussed. I’ll admit that it is marginally better than the botched nose from before, but for the amount it cost and the emotional investment I was of course hoping for much more than a marginal improvement. Im only glad I didn’t tell people I was getting a procedure, I’d be embarrassed to admit to friends that this is what a second rhinoplasty has produced... of course the original nose was so much better! I’m 6 months into recovery and I know that the swelling will go down a little more, but that won’t change the shape and structure which does not suit my face.
I will also add that when the assistant took the bandages off (saying nothing helpful like it looks great... or all is looking good) she left the room and I was left alone in there for 40 minutes until the dr came in. I walked to the mirror and saw that it hung so low you could not see any nostrils and burst into tears and felt like a fool and ugly and distraught. Why would anyone leave you alone for that long after removing bandages! Finally the dr arrived and informed me that it was excessively swollen and calmed me down... a bit, but there was little warmth or reassurance and frankly it was quite traumatic. Thankfully now I can indeed see nostrils but it was a horrible 40 minutes I won’t forget.
I will also add that when the assistant took the bandages off (saying nothing helpful like it looks great... or all is looking good) she left the room and I was left alone in there for 40 minutes until the dr came in. I walked to the mirror and saw that it hung so low you could not see any nostrils and burst into tears and felt like a fool and ugly and distraught. Why would anyone leave you alone for that long after removing bandages! Finally the dr arrived and informed me that it was excessively swollen and calmed me down... a bit, but there was little warmth or reassurance and frankly it was quite traumatic. Thankfully now I can indeed see nostrils but it was a horrible 40 minutes I won’t forget.
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Replies (5)
Correcting pre-existing problems like these is immensely challenging. It often entails a procedure lasting as long as 5 hours, taking cartilage from the septum to rebuild the top of the nose and restoring the tip by setting it back while also reshaping it. The “after” side view picture dressed in black objectively demonstrates a remarkable improvement despite the poorly contrasting background in the photo.
Assessing the results of such extensive surgery at 6 months is premature. Final results are not established for 12 to 18 months in most cases. Moreover, phone pictures magnify the structure closest to the lens, in this case the nose, adding another element of distortion. Most surgeons I know, like me, work hard for patients and take great pride in our work. A public flogging for perceived failures is not the recommended follow-up method for a complex process engaged in together. All it does is make surgeons like myself more reluctant to repair botched surgery in the future.
- Dr. Hidalgo