32 year old, rhinoplasty

Sorry for the long absence. It’s been 2.5 weeks now and the bruising is almost completely gone. My nose is still very tender and is rock hard right now, swelling is still very prevalent. I’m back to the gym and walking the dogs daily for 45-1hr. I’ve struggled with not bumping my nose, it sounds stupid but honestly I’ve been the worst culprit for this. I truly thought the bigger concern was one of the dogs or kids bopping my face but it’s been me. Whether it’s being jolted awake by my too loud alarm and somehow in the scramble smacking myself in the face or trying to protect my nose from the dog only to hit it myself . The doctor said to sleep on my back for another week due to swelling when I attempted to sleep on my side. It’s getting better now which is a huge relief for my comfort level. I’ve only had one person look at me and say something looks different about my face, no one else has seemed to notice or is neglecting to say anything. All in all I’m happy with it and am looking forward to the 6 to 8 week mark when most of the swelling should be down.

I’ve got to say I feel loads better than I thought I would. Hard to rest and sit in bed so I’ve puttered around tidying up what doesn’t require too much bending or straining. Sleeping didn’t go too well, uncomfortable laying propped up on pillows when I’m usually a side sleeper. Drainage was minimal after the surgery day but my face is swollen and I have chipmunk cheeks. Bruising looks a tad better today.

I found out about dr Denton through a friend who had him perform rhinoplasty on her a couple years ago. Her nose had been broken a couple times and therefore was crooked plus she was unable to breath through one side. She did an extensive amount of research and decided on Dr. Denton due to his specialty as a board certified ENT and specific facial only approach to plastic surgery. I meet with him for a consult November 2018, he took pictures, answered my questions and showed me a photo rendering of probable results. His secretary Yuki is amazing! After meeting with me she went over pre-op and post-op expectations, total cost and possible dates. I booked for January 23rd 2019.

So surgery was yesterday, I was honestly terrier which isn’t like me. Surgerical stuff doesn’t usually bother me but I felt uneasy. Yuki had me fill out some medical info forms and then a nurse brought to the clinic inside the office where I changed my top half and removed shoes. A gown and booties were provided as well as a blanket to keep warm. She then went over the paper work and told me I’d be taking 3 medications prior to surgery (Benadryl, anti-nausea and a relaxant). Dr. Denton then came by to take more photos, mark my nose for surgery and then sent me back to the nurse. There’s a surgical room attached to the office area where I hopped on a gurney. Doc put an IV in and then asked the nurse to put in the sedative. He was chatting to me about my dogs and poof I was asleep. He uses Twlight sedation which I had never experienced before and can honestly say I don’t I think I would do that again for a procedure like this as I felt I woke up a couple of times and could feel him grinding away at the bridge of my nose which was terrifying as I couldn’t really move. He seemed to pick up that I was feeling something because I heard him ask the nurse to give me a bit more. When surgery was done I woke up immediately in tears, I was so scared. They brought my mom in, who was my chaperone for the day, to hold my hand. The nurse said I should rest and asked my mom to head back out the waiting room. She then changed the gauze under my nose and put a little polysporin in each nostril. She went over the post-op instructions again and showed me how to use the supplies they were giving me. Also went over my pain meds and antibiotic prescription. From there my mom was allowed back in and I could get dressed. The nurse wheelchaired me out to the car (they have underground parking) and said farewell.

Leaving the clinic my eyes were bruised extensively and I had quite a bit of blood drainage. I changed the gauze under my nose about 4 times before we got home (a 3.5hr journey) but I wasn’t in pain. They gave me a couple ice packs to put over my eyes because I forgot to pack some.

By the time I got home the bruising was significantly less but drainage still steady. Had a bit to eat and went to bed. Took more meds during the night and changed gauze once more. Eyes still improving steadily.

Will keep updating as days go by but so far I feel ok about this experience though I have zero idea what my nose actually looks like right now.