Subtle changes for big impact! 27 yo female rhinoplasty

So far everything is going about as expected!

I had one scare where I accidentally pulled hard on a stitch when cleaning my nose and had a small nosebleed. I immediately started to panic and cry thinking I had ruined it! A day or two later a small shift appeared in that part of the nose, but it’s already resolved. I’m going to ask my Dr about it at our 3 week checkup but trying to remind myself it’s a process until then!

Moral of the story is BELIEVE what people tell you about recovery - we’ve all been obsessing over this for a while and every small shift or swelling change can start to mess with your head a bit.

Overall, everyone who’s seen me has been impressed with my results (even though it’s early) and everyone comments with relief that they’re so glad I still “look like me” and didn’t get the Barbie nose. I feel like when I catch a glimpse of my profile in the mirror it’s more like me than it ever was before! Still watching it and getting used to things. I think my bridge may be a bit wider than it was with the dorsal hump, so I’ll be interested to see what happens there.

In terms of feeling, I can tell some of the sensitivity is coming back to the tip very slowly. The area around the bridge is VERY sensitive and putting on makeup or trying to clean my face is a slow process. Whatever stitch or something my doctor put at the base of my nose to prevent it from dropping is VERY strong and I can definitely feel it when I move my mouth in certain ways!

Columella scar is teeny tiny - I can barely see it when I’m actively looking for it so I can’t imagine it being an issue going forward.

Overall I’m happy with such a lovely improvement, excited for swelling to continue to decrease, and trying to remind myself to not obsess over perfection.

Yesterday was my cast removal and I was SO anxious leading up to it all day. I think like most people here I was really nervous I would either have a different result than what I discussed with my surgeon, or look in the mirror and panic thinking “that’s not me”, OR still look too much like my old self because all my changes were meant to be very subtle.
Cast removal itself was so easy! No pain, a little bit of discomfort as they were cleaning out my nostrils and removing the plastic that was stabilizing my septum.
I am THRILLED with my result so far even though it’s VERY swollen. Immediately I saw the improvements and it was everything we discussed -
A) a straight profile (I’m not a fan of the big swoop noses you sometimes see, they just wouldn’t fit my features!)
B) a defined bridge
C) even and straight front view (before one side was slightly bigger than the other and slightly curved)
I cannot WAIT to see it progress as the swelling goes down!!! Definitely setting this review to Worth It!!!

Every day things have gotten better! Starting yesterday I could breathe a little through my nose and that’s continued to improve today. Bruises are almost completely gone already, but the chipmunk cheek swelling is definitely still hanging around!

I stopped taking the serious pain meds around the 48 hour mark after surgery, and stopped taking Tylenol around the 72 hour mark. I have some light burning in my nose and some pressure around the cast and splints, and a little tingling on and off at the columella incision spot but thats it!