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Update/Overall Experience
It's been just over 2 months since my rhinoplasty and I'm amazed at how much better my nose looks. I honestly couldn't tell it was swollen at the 7 day mark, but now, looking back, it's obvious it looks smaller and more defined. I'm officially changing my review to "worth it" since it has been enough time for me to recover and see more of a "true result".
I want to be completely honest about the entire process and my experiences for anyone who is considering rhinoplasty. Sorry if this gets too long but I want to be thorough since the realself community has been so helpful for me.
I'll start with the good things:
- Surgery was a breeze. I've had other surgeries before so I am used to anesthesia and knew I wouldn't have any complications with it. Everyone at the Inspire Surgery Center was a delight and made the process so easy and stress-free.
- Recovery was so much easier than I thought. I didn't believe this when I read it online but it really was! The worst part was not being able to breathe through my nose.
- I didn't have to have packing or a splint inside my nose! I had read some horror stories about it so needless to say I was relieved when I heard Dr. Reid does not use this technique unless absolutely necessary (this is probably the case for the majority of surgeons but you'll want to ask)
- Swelling/bruising was not that bad! I'm not sure how much of this was due to Dr. Reid's expertise or how much was due to the VitaMedica recovery vitamin pack I was taking. But I highly recommend both!
- I don't worry about how my nose looks anymore!! This is a big one for me. It has been so freeing to not have to be so self-conscious.
- My nose looks so natural! It doesn't have that "done" look I was worried about. Everyone tells me it looks natural and many people have told me they probably wouldn't have noticed had I not told them. Somehow I think the changes are subtle but at the same time makes so much of a difference.
Okay, here are the not-so-good things:
- For about a week or two after getting the cast removed I had to actively try not to criticize how it looked. Because of the uneven swelling, my nose appeared to be leaning to one side and I think it was quite noticeable - you can see it in my 12 day picture. Now it has mostly gone back to normal and although it is still possibly very slightly leaning to the right, I think it's due to the underlying structure of my face. I never noticed before but I looked back at old pictures and it does seem to tilt ever so slightly to the right. It just became a tad easier to see now that there's less wrong with my nose :)
- It surprised me how much of the rest of my face I could see. You want to be mentally prepared for this. In my case I think it was mostly the fact that my old nose kind of drooped down a little more than it does now. So you can see more of my upper lip (and you could especially see it early in my recovery because that area was numb so it was kind of hanging down if that makes sense).
My advice to anyone who is thinking of having a rhinoplasty:
1. Do not expect perfection. Only go through with this if you feel you need some amount of improvement and your surgeon can give you an idea of what is possible.
2. For me it was really helpful to comb through as many before/after pictures that I could and really try to find the features that are changing. Try to see if you see similar features in your own nose as well so you can see how it might impact your face. I looked at some reviews where it was "not worth it" as well to see what the person was unhappy with - and if I agreed with them. As someone who scrutinized their nose, I know it's easy to get fixated on something and have your whole perception of yourself revolve around that thing. That still might be true after your surgery, so be sure that you have as much information as possible from the start.
3. In the same vein as #2, make sure to take a lot of your own 'before' pictures - and don't delete the ones with bad angles. During the first few weeks especially, it's good to have the full picture of your improvement to reference when you are feeling a little down.
4. Don't put so much importance into the simulation pictures. They kind of scared me to be honest. I think some of that was due to the complexity of the changes that needed to be shown and also probably because I hate the way I look in professional photography lighting. But I thought the pictures looked kind of unnatural. After talking to Dr. Reid about it and showing him the simulations I made and the differences I saw in the simulation that I didn't like, he was able to tell me that my expectations were reasonable and he adjusted the plans to make sure I got the nose I wanted. He even posted my simulated picture in the operating room to make sure he worked based on my expectations!
I want to be completely honest about the entire process and my experiences for anyone who is considering rhinoplasty. Sorry if this gets too long but I want to be thorough since the realself community has been so helpful for me.
I'll start with the good things:
- Surgery was a breeze. I've had other surgeries before so I am used to anesthesia and knew I wouldn't have any complications with it. Everyone at the Inspire Surgery Center was a delight and made the process so easy and stress-free.
- Recovery was so much easier than I thought. I didn't believe this when I read it online but it really was! The worst part was not being able to breathe through my nose.
- I didn't have to have packing or a splint inside my nose! I had read some horror stories about it so needless to say I was relieved when I heard Dr. Reid does not use this technique unless absolutely necessary (this is probably the case for the majority of surgeons but you'll want to ask)
- Swelling/bruising was not that bad! I'm not sure how much of this was due to Dr. Reid's expertise or how much was due to the VitaMedica recovery vitamin pack I was taking. But I highly recommend both!
- I don't worry about how my nose looks anymore!! This is a big one for me. It has been so freeing to not have to be so self-conscious.
- My nose looks so natural! It doesn't have that "done" look I was worried about. Everyone tells me it looks natural and many people have told me they probably wouldn't have noticed had I not told them. Somehow I think the changes are subtle but at the same time makes so much of a difference.
Okay, here are the not-so-good things:
- For about a week or two after getting the cast removed I had to actively try not to criticize how it looked. Because of the uneven swelling, my nose appeared to be leaning to one side and I think it was quite noticeable - you can see it in my 12 day picture. Now it has mostly gone back to normal and although it is still possibly very slightly leaning to the right, I think it's due to the underlying structure of my face. I never noticed before but I looked back at old pictures and it does seem to tilt ever so slightly to the right. It just became a tad easier to see now that there's less wrong with my nose :)
- It surprised me how much of the rest of my face I could see. You want to be mentally prepared for this. In my case I think it was mostly the fact that my old nose kind of drooped down a little more than it does now. So you can see more of my upper lip (and you could especially see it early in my recovery because that area was numb so it was kind of hanging down if that makes sense).
My advice to anyone who is thinking of having a rhinoplasty:
1. Do not expect perfection. Only go through with this if you feel you need some amount of improvement and your surgeon can give you an idea of what is possible.
2. For me it was really helpful to comb through as many before/after pictures that I could and really try to find the features that are changing. Try to see if you see similar features in your own nose as well so you can see how it might impact your face. I looked at some reviews where it was "not worth it" as well to see what the person was unhappy with - and if I agreed with them. As someone who scrutinized their nose, I know it's easy to get fixated on something and have your whole perception of yourself revolve around that thing. That still might be true after your surgery, so be sure that you have as much information as possible from the start.
3. In the same vein as #2, make sure to take a lot of your own 'before' pictures - and don't delete the ones with bad angles. During the first few weeks especially, it's good to have the full picture of your improvement to reference when you are feeling a little down.
4. Don't put so much importance into the simulation pictures. They kind of scared me to be honest. I think some of that was due to the complexity of the changes that needed to be shown and also probably because I hate the way I look in professional photography lighting. But I thought the pictures looked kind of unnatural. After talking to Dr. Reid about it and showing him the simulations I made and the differences I saw in the simulation that I didn't like, he was able to tell me that my expectations were reasonable and he adjusted the plans to make sure I got the nose I wanted. He even posted my simulated picture in the operating room to make sure he worked based on my expectations!
So far so good!
Its going to be 2 weeks since my surgery tomorrow and I can't believe how good my nose looks so far! I don't really have anything to compare it to besides what I've seen online of other's experiences but I feel that my septo-rhinoplasty was pretty complex. Yet my swelling and bruising was very minimal, getting better since day 3. When I got the cast off I was expecting it to look big but it looked so good I cried. I can't really tell that it's swollen besides one lump on one side which you can barely see (I only notice it because I can feel it). So I'm looking forward to it looking even better down the road! I'm adding a couple before/after pictures. In one of them I added a simulation picture that I made and showed to Dr. Reid. He told me he posted it up in the operating room to reference during surgery and I think it looks very close to it in real life.
Before Pictures
Adding some before pictures. I messed up on my last update - that should have said day 2 post op. Today is actually the third day, not counting surgery day. I'm feeling a lot better today and the swelling went down a little since yesterday. The bruises on my eyes look worse but still not too bad compared to other pictures I've seen. I still can't breathe through my nose but I got a good amount of sleep last night because I took a Valium and a Benadryl.
Provider Review
At every step of the process I have felt so comfortable with Dr. Reid as my surgeon. He and his staff are very professional, knowledgeable, and reassuring. I had tons of questions and concerns which we went over in two consultations prior to my surgery and Dr. Reid was extremely patient with me in addressing every single one of them. As far as surgeries go, my experience was a breeze. I felt that I was in good hands and there were extensive efforts in ensuring my comfort the entire time. Post surgery, any concerns that I had were addressed very quickly and professionally. I am only 2 weeks into recovery and I'm surprised at how much I love the results so soon!