Wish I'd Found Dr Atherton Sooner

This is going to be very detailed and long but it needs to be to do Dr Atherton justice.

From the start to where I've reached now in my recovery, I cannot fault Dr Atherton or his team at the Cadogan Clinic. Shima was so kind and prompt in getting my consultation and surgery booked in. Laurence is extremely responsive to emails and accommodating to your needs. I can't remember the name of the nurse who removed my nose cast and stitches following my surgery (sorry!) she was so kind and made me feel so comfortable as I'd heard this would be the worst part, and that too was virtually pain free!

I've always had an issue with my side profile but then broke my nose in January 2020 and struggled with my breathing due to a deviated septum. From the offset, Dr Atherton was empathetic but knew exactly what he needed to do to ensure we would both be happy with the results. He thoroughly talked me through the issues that needed to be fixed medically and told me how that would be achieved. After this, we went through what I'd like to achieve visually, how it would be done and how achievable it is. He made some morphs and edited things differently if I wasn't sure/didn't want my side profile to look that way etc. and completely exceeded those pictures! He ensures that your new nose is still in harmony with the rest of your face, and this was VERY important to me as I knew I wouldn't suit a teeny tiny nose.

I'd spent ages looking for the perfect surgeon and felt so confident in Dr Atherton after an amazing first consultation that I went ahead and booked an open septorhinoplasty for 2 months later with Dr Atherton. On the morning of my surgery Dr Atherton came in to talk me through the surgery which made me feel at ease, his anaesthetist also came in to introduce himself. I always find the GA the most terrifying part of surgery and both him and his team were wonderful at making me feel comfortable and less nervous. When I woke up hours later, I didn't feel nauseous (which I was concerned about as I previously have been ill after surgery) and I felt 0 pain. My pain intolerance is non-existent so I was fully prepared to be in excruciating pain. I was asked by a nurse if I wanted any pain relief and I declined?! Dr Atherton came in as well and gave feedback about the surgery, that it went well etc. The GA they use is magic I'm sure of it, once I got home I was walking around like I hadn't just got out of a major surgery - I wasn't in pain, I wasn't tired, I wasn't nauseous. I've experienced more pain from a tiny tattoo.

My bruising had started showing properly around 5 hours post op but the worst bruising was on the 3rd-5th days. I didn't take any of the meds/pain relief as I wasn't in pain at any point. I did take bromelain and arnica tablets to help with the swelling and bruising because I bruise like a peach and swelling takes ages to go away for me (but this was more of an aesthetic reason, not pain).

Visually and medically I'm over the moon - my breathing is so clear and I've already stopped positioning myself in certain angles and being conscious of the angle people are looking at me from. I'm only 7/8 weeks post op (surgery was 9th April), and I couldn't be more thrilled with my results so far, and to think there's still swelling etc., that's going to disappear over the next year! I had my 6 week post op last week, where I saw my before and afters and I didn't even recognise myself in the before pictures. I've attached a picture of them in this review.

To put it simply, I was always more than happy to wear a mask anywhere I went so I could cover my nose, and now I'm gutted to be wearing a mask due to my new confidence in my nose, both front on and from the side.

Dr Atherton is realistic with what you should expect and won't sell you a dream - he's extremely humble in this sense. Every consultation and conversation with Dr Atherton has been so calming yet informative. He's without a doubt an expert in his field and one of the most compassionate, genuine, knowledgeable and kindest people I've met. I could go on forever about how much of a great person and surgeon he is and I'll always be so grateful to him for performing this surgery on me. I don't even think this review expresses enough how incredible Dr Atherton has been/is, his expertise and attention to detail is unmatched. This has been a faultless experience and I cannot thank him enough!!!!