Alar base reduction, nose tip - wanted something subtle that fit my face

Can’t say I shopped around much as Dr. Pearlman was the first and only doctor I visited for a consultation. Aside from reading every single review of his online, I was impressed by the very natural before and after photos he had in his (beautiful) office. My greatest fear was ending up with a cookie cutter nose that looked obviously “done” with a saggy columella. I wanted something subtle that fit my face, and I walked away from the consultation feeling confident that Dr. Pearlman could help me achieve the look I desired. Not only that, but we went to the same school, so I was sold!
[DR. PEARLMAN]
Dr. Pearlman himself is a very charismatic man, who I would describe as a straight-shooter. He is a bit direct, which I’m sure can be a little off-putting to sensitive people or those who expect to be buttered up given they might be dropping several thousand dollars. At the end of the day, I was looking for a surgeon, not a best friend, so his frank demeanor didn’t bother me too much. Plus, I prefer someone to be brutally honest instead of just doing what I tell them or sugarcoating things to get my money. Overall, I felt like he was a good listener and very nice, and the people who worked at his office are lovely.
[THE SURGERY]
The surgery itself was as pleasant as it could be. They put you under to music of your choice, and most importantly, it’s all in the comfort of a beautiful warm office. You wake up in a cozy room with a friendly assistant by your side...not in a sterile hospital! This in itself helps justify the cost a bit. I received calls from Dr. Pearlman and his staff before the surgery and for several days after just to check in on me, which I thought was nice.
The bandage stayed on for about a week, and when they finally took it off, I was startled by how upturned my nose was but Dr. Pearlman explained this was normal, that it would go down and take a full year or more for my nose to fully heal and see the true final results. So here I am, at my 2-year mark, and I wanted to share my results with you guys.
[THE RESULTS]
Overall, I’m moderately pleased with how it turned out. About 60% of the time I think it looks really natural and nice, and about 40% of the time I am self conscience and think it looks a bit harsh and “done”. I got an alar base reduction, and was left with weird/deep scarring on the sides of my nostrils. Even worse, the base of my nostrils now looks like little stubs attached to my face instead of naturally curved in nostrils like I used to have. I raised this concern with Dr. Pearlman and he gave my two complimentary sessions of laser scar removal to smooth these scars out, but they didn’t change much. I’m also a bit bothered that my nose looks very pointy when viewed from the bottom up. See yellow AFTER pictures to really see what I’m taking about.
Lastly, I was tested for coronavirus recently, and when the swab was entered into my right nostril it wouldn’t go in. The nurse asked if I had broken my nose, because it was “blocked”, whatever that means. It went into the other nostril fine. To be honest, I’m very concerned about this. It’s been is a little harder to breathe since my nose job, and my breathing has become louder, especially at night.
[CONCLUSION]
Long story short: Yes he is expensive, and I can’t say I’m 100% completely satisfied with the outcome. The “experience”, however, was top notch. I do like my nose a bit better than my old one, but for the money, I can’t help but feel a little regret that I should have shopped around more and perhaps found a doctor that has more experience with “ethnic” nose jobs.
I know this is a lengthy review, but I would have loved ones of these before I made the leap, so just paying it forward.