Outstanding Team and Care

It's been a whole year since I had my surgery. I am still happy with my nose. It's much better than before surgery in every way. The swelling has gone down a lot. My nose is very strong but if I blow my nose too hard then I feel a dull ache later at the top of my nose so it's best not to do that! I am controlling my allergies with daily saline irrigation and an antihistamine every once in a while. I had very little allergy symptoms for the first 6 months or so (which was absolute bliss and no airplane ears!) but, as Dr Tas pre-warned me, that period doesn't last forever so I've been trying to avoid triggers. Because my nose is much straighter internally and externally, I feel much less irritation in my nose. It was well worth it for the medical improvement alone. Also, it's interesting to note that the unevenness I felt inside the entrance of the nose for several months has now gone so it feels smooth. If I feel the bones (that were cut), there is some unevenness there but it can't be seen, only felt and this is normal after nose surgery. It's nice to have the aesthetic improvement too :) I don't feel constantly self conscious about my nose now (although I do sometimes as old habits die hard).

I've had a number of enquiries by email, Instagram and in person so I hope this post answers most questions. Now that it's been a good few months, now is a good time to explain my experience in more detail.
I had my follow up appointment with Dr Tas 5 days ago. As usual, he showed me how my nose looked on the inside which is a privilege as I like to see for myself what the condition of my nose is. It looked well healed. Because of allergies, the lining of my nose is a little swollen in places but not as bad as it was before the surgery. Dr Tas prescribed me a steroid spray that I might begin using if I need it but so far, I don't feel that I do. I rinse my nose with saline and don't suffer with sneezing or a runny nose as a result. I know the straightened shape has also helped control my allergy symptoms. There is an article that mentions a link between the deviated septum and nasal allergies. He said that my bone and nose is very strong. I do still have a lot of swelling around the middle of my nose and tip so he gave me 2 more exercises to do. I had an extensive surgery so I'm not surprised that it's still swollen and the swelling is not uncomfortable.
My nostrils were detached a little and brought inwards. Of course, they began to attach again very quickly and now the scars are well healed. No-one can tell that I've had any incisions. Yes, this seemed a little bonkers especially as no UK surgeon said they'd do the alar base excision but I trusted the surgeon's judgment and knew disproportionately large nostrils wouldn't do me any favours. My mum took great care of me and I did too to ensure I was keeping my face as still as possible in the first 2 weeks after surgery so I didn't disturb the healing process. I'm really pleased that Dr Tas did this as my nose looks more proportionate this way. I get a little itch in the scar area every once in a while but it doesn't bother me and the itch may be associated with healing. I also had grafts put into my nose such as the L-shaped graft at the tip. Not sure what others I had but my nose feels normal and comfortable. It is moderately hard at the tip where I have swelling. He also put diced cartilage between my eyebrows which I guess he did to shape up my nose but it also got rid of frown wrinkles!
I had been searching for a talented surgeon for a long time and initially only considered ENT surgeons. When I realised that my allergies were getting under control and the deformity that I had was likely worsening my symptoms, I decided to consider general plastic surgeons too that had some facial surgery expertise. You see, I understand that a ENT surgeon wouldn't be able to do the surgery any differently in a better way and having met some of the UK's 'best' ENT rhinoplasty surgeons, I was convinced that I'd be better off widening my search. So I found Dr Tas and after visiting him for a consultation, I knew that if anyone would do my surgery, it would be him. I cancelled the 2 other consultations that I had scheduled in Istanbul for the following days.
Why was I so sure? He was confident about my surgery (most surgeons I met weren't), he was detail-oriented (he noted many small things which means a better eye during surgery), a great listener (so I knew he'd take on board my desires for my nose) and ambitious (he ended up spending many hours in surgery correcting my complex nose). He also has a calming, warm presence and is soft spoken which makes you feel at ease when you are anxious/nervous about surgery! He was also genuinely concerned about me and all of his patients so there wasn't a conveyor belt scenario at his clinic. Many surgeons perform 4+ surgeries in a day but not him. He wants to ensure that he gets each one right. I also read a few of his research papers and could see that he was highly skilled. I was especially impressed by his problem solving skills as a lady had developed severe rosacea shortly following rhinoplasty and he treated her successfully. He also reattached a severed foot and treated a severely burned patient (I think it was by an autologous transplant). I saw short video clips of his technique in one of the papers; his hand was gentle and highly precise which was reassuring as some surgeons are very rough (I've watched those in gory videos, flinching!). A skilled, gentle hand is important for a beautiful healing process and minimal pain. He had appeared on interviews on turkish TV channels, CNN and also attended European rhinoplasty meetings. Elvira and him speak English which was important for me to feel safe that I was being understood.
He didn't offer package holidays and other enticing offers like other surgeons which made me take him more seriously as it focussed my attention on his ability. He doesn't make cookie cutter nose shapes. It's important that each nose suits the individual's face. He has a good eye for aesthetics and learns quickly. He also remembered minute details of the surgery which really took me by surprise especially as he sees so many patients! On an earlier follow up visit, he had a demo machine for laser surface resurfacing (just for a few days) and both he and Öznur kindly performed it on my nose despite just returning tired from a surgery. Post-op oily skin, too gentle cleansing and exposure to more sun than I should've took it's toll on my nasal skin but the skin treatment really helped restore it back to normal.
The post op process was amazing. Elvira and Öznur answered my questions and checked up on me a few times before my cast came off at day 10. Öznur was very delicate in removing the stitches and splints so I didn't feel much at all. Ignore those YouTube videos of people crying in pain as Öznur has a level of skill that ensures that you won't be crying when yours are removed. She removes the drains which are the stringy things that help to drain the blood into the gauze on your upper lip. These drains are removed from your nose a day after the surgery but splints come out later. I didn't have to take the pain medicine from day 3 onwards as my pain was very minimal and I had no bruising at all. Some people do though as everyone is different. I did get considerable facial swelling for 2 days from day 3-4. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better recovery experience. My mum was a massive help too so I'm indebted to her for showering me, dressing me and feeding me for the first couple of days after surgery.
So these are all of the reasons that I chose Dr Tas. I believe Turkey is still leading the way in many types of plastic surgery in Europe so I am very grateful that my research and surgery paid off! I am definitely breathing better, happier and don't feel so self conscious anymore!

My nose is much stronger now at 2 months post-op and it feels good! My nose is getting its sensitivity back too so I'm keeping up with my sinus rinses to keep my allergy symptoms under control. I don't massage it anymore and now sleep on my sides too. I might start taping it soon with some breathable tape just to help reduce the swelling/scar tissue of the nose next to my cheeks. By the way, all nose surgeries, no matter where they are done, leave some scarring behind but a closed rhinoplasty results in less. Still very happy with my nose and decision to get this surgery done. My tip is still swollen (which is normal) but the top half of the nose is much less swollen now and feels normal. My skin is less oily now too so it looks dewy, which I like! I have posted my 2 month post op photos and noticed that my before pictures didn't post to my previous post so here they are :) Hope this helps!