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Just Had Surgery This Morning! Will Continue to Provide Updates :)
Just wrote the longest review ever that of course got deleted when I went into another app on my phone :( but hopefully what I write now is more concise.
I just had my surgery with Dr. Grigoryants this morning. Before writing about the surgery itself, I want to provide some context as this is my first review.
Last month, I did an email consultation with Dr. Grigoryants so that I could go ahead and book a surgery date. At the time, the next available surgery was September 6, which I booked, but I requested to be placed on a waiting list in case any sooner dates popped up. On June 30, about two weeks after I scheduled my surgery, I decided to call Dr. Grigoryants' office on a whim and was pleased to learn that there was an availability on July 21—which I booked, of course!
I drove down down to Glendale (from the Bay Area) on July 10 for my pre-operative appointment. Though the drive was LONG it was totally worth it, and I would encourage anyone who lives within California to do this too. The doctor arrive a little over an hour past my scheduled appointment time, but it was to be expected as he comes from the surgery center (in a completely different part of the city). I did not feel rushed at all when I met with Dr. Grigoryants; it felt like he spent about 10-15mins with me and my father and we had a great chat. I'd suggest bringing some photos of noses you like, and he will be very honest about whether or not it would look good on you. I also came with questions I believe EVERYONE should ask, such as if I have thick or thin skin (luckily, I have the latter), the likelihood of rib/ear grafting (unlikely and did not happen for me), as well as the risk of nasal collapse. After our appointment, I was notified of my surgery time (which ultimately did change) and paid for my surgery.
In the week before surgery, I got my COVID-19 test done. Dr. Grigoryants provides suggestions on how / where to get the testing done, I chose to ask my primary care physician if she could request a test for me due to my upcoming surgery. She said yes, so I was able to get my results within 24hrs (you take the test 6 days or fewer before surgery). I also had to get bloodwork done at Quest Diagnostics. At the pre-op, you will receive a folder with lots of important paperwork / forms that includes the QD bloodwork form so that you don't pay anything out-of-pocket. IMPORTANT: Make sure you receive your prescription list before you leave the office. I made the mistake of not checking until I was back in the Bay Area and realized they forgot to give me my med lists, and since they prescribe a narcotic, you can't get that faxed. It wasn't a huge deal because I just picked it up and got the order filled at Walgreens the day before my surgery (yesterday), but still... Don't forget to check like I did.
About three days before surgery, I started to take four "Arnica Montana 30x" and a 500mg Bromelain pill three times a day to prevent bruising and limit bleeding. I paid for these products out of pocket and purchased them through Amazon—altogether, it came out to roughly $13, though I don't know if they worked as my bruising is... Not optimal, haha. The day before my surgery, I received a call from the surgery center to confirm some last-minute details, and my surgery time got moved earlier so I was really happy about that. :)
Now finally, surgery! I had to report to the surgery center at 7am. There was a triage nurse who sat outside the surgery center who took my temperature upon arrival. This is where I had to say goodbye to my mother, as non-patients are no longer allowed inside due to COVID. I signed some documents in the surgery center and within minutes was taken back to do a urine sample (for a pregnancy test), get weighed, and get an IV (the worst part, in my opinion). Around 8:15am, Dr. Grigoryants popped in to my room to review what he would do to my nose, and I asked him if he could take a photo of my nose after surgery for me to see. I don't have that photo yet, but will post it if he remembered to take it. Then, my OR nurse and the anesthesiologist met with me to review what would happen. As a sidenote—I had four nurses during my time at the surgery center, and I absolutely loved all of them. My OR nurse was especially sweet.
Around 8:45, I was wheeled into the OR by my OR nurse and anesthesiologist, who inserted some sedative into my IV. I then rolled from my rolling bed to the OR table, and from then, remember literally nothing. Next thing I know, I'm awake but unable to fully open my eyes back in my recovery room. I asked my new nurse for water, which she let me sip a little bit (my mouth was like the Sahara Desert, but I didn't have a sore throat and I could breathe through my nose!). She then put an ice pack on my forehead. I had oxygen to breath from to aid my mouth breathing and it really helped with the pain and queasiness I think. At that point, my nose hurt so my nurse gave me some strong painkiller through my IV until I felt better. I had a special button I could press whenever I needed help in case a nurse wasn't around.
I did not leave the surgery center until 2pm. It may seem really late, but honestly I cannot be more grateful that I left when I did, because any earlier would have probably resulted in me either fainting or vomiting (neither of which I have done so far *knock on wood*). As such, I've been back in my hotel room for roughly eight hours now, and during this time I mostly just had TV play in the background as I rested my eyes / kind of watched. I've felt very nauseous but never got sick. I am taking Norco every four hours on the dot, and took Zofran twice to help with my nausea. I also took my first day of antibiotics. I haven't had any dizzy spells, which is impressive considering the fact that I have gone to the restroom to urinate at least ten times (the IV really filled my bladder...).
My undereye bruising is bad but not the worst. Until about an hour ago, I had no puffiness, but my eyes are swelling and the purple bruising is spreading by the hour now. I've been icing my forehead and head mainly because my head just hurts, but I sometimes ice the area beneath my eyes. I've only eaten one cup of Jell-O, a GoGoSqueez applesauce, and drank a can of Dole pineapple juice; otherwise, I've been sipping water here and there. I sprayed my mouth twice with Biotene to help with the dryness and have been using Vaseline on my lips to help too. Since coming to the hotel, I've done two gauze changes, but my nose is now dripping blood more (annoying...) and getting a little congested so I'll probably need to get on that more.
But best of all... My nose looks so cute, even with the cast on. I know it's way too early to tell what it will look like, but I already know that I'll be much happier with whatever is underneath the cast than I was with my original nose. I will post some before photos as well as a 3/4 view photo of my nose with this post for reference.
I apologize for the extreme length of this review, but I found RealSelf to be the most helpful for me and my family in my search for a doctor and as such, really wanted to give back in some way. I will continue to post updates if I feel physically up for it. Please feel free to ask questions if you have any. :)
I just had my surgery with Dr. Grigoryants this morning. Before writing about the surgery itself, I want to provide some context as this is my first review.
Last month, I did an email consultation with Dr. Grigoryants so that I could go ahead and book a surgery date. At the time, the next available surgery was September 6, which I booked, but I requested to be placed on a waiting list in case any sooner dates popped up. On June 30, about two weeks after I scheduled my surgery, I decided to call Dr. Grigoryants' office on a whim and was pleased to learn that there was an availability on July 21—which I booked, of course!
I drove down down to Glendale (from the Bay Area) on July 10 for my pre-operative appointment. Though the drive was LONG it was totally worth it, and I would encourage anyone who lives within California to do this too. The doctor arrive a little over an hour past my scheduled appointment time, but it was to be expected as he comes from the surgery center (in a completely different part of the city). I did not feel rushed at all when I met with Dr. Grigoryants; it felt like he spent about 10-15mins with me and my father and we had a great chat. I'd suggest bringing some photos of noses you like, and he will be very honest about whether or not it would look good on you. I also came with questions I believe EVERYONE should ask, such as if I have thick or thin skin (luckily, I have the latter), the likelihood of rib/ear grafting (unlikely and did not happen for me), as well as the risk of nasal collapse. After our appointment, I was notified of my surgery time (which ultimately did change) and paid for my surgery.
In the week before surgery, I got my COVID-19 test done. Dr. Grigoryants provides suggestions on how / where to get the testing done, I chose to ask my primary care physician if she could request a test for me due to my upcoming surgery. She said yes, so I was able to get my results within 24hrs (you take the test 6 days or fewer before surgery). I also had to get bloodwork done at Quest Diagnostics. At the pre-op, you will receive a folder with lots of important paperwork / forms that includes the QD bloodwork form so that you don't pay anything out-of-pocket. IMPORTANT: Make sure you receive your prescription list before you leave the office. I made the mistake of not checking until I was back in the Bay Area and realized they forgot to give me my med lists, and since they prescribe a narcotic, you can't get that faxed. It wasn't a huge deal because I just picked it up and got the order filled at Walgreens the day before my surgery (yesterday), but still... Don't forget to check like I did.
About three days before surgery, I started to take four "Arnica Montana 30x" and a 500mg Bromelain pill three times a day to prevent bruising and limit bleeding. I paid for these products out of pocket and purchased them through Amazon—altogether, it came out to roughly $13, though I don't know if they worked as my bruising is... Not optimal, haha. The day before my surgery, I received a call from the surgery center to confirm some last-minute details, and my surgery time got moved earlier so I was really happy about that. :)
Now finally, surgery! I had to report to the surgery center at 7am. There was a triage nurse who sat outside the surgery center who took my temperature upon arrival. This is where I had to say goodbye to my mother, as non-patients are no longer allowed inside due to COVID. I signed some documents in the surgery center and within minutes was taken back to do a urine sample (for a pregnancy test), get weighed, and get an IV (the worst part, in my opinion). Around 8:15am, Dr. Grigoryants popped in to my room to review what he would do to my nose, and I asked him if he could take a photo of my nose after surgery for me to see. I don't have that photo yet, but will post it if he remembered to take it. Then, my OR nurse and the anesthesiologist met with me to review what would happen. As a sidenote—I had four nurses during my time at the surgery center, and I absolutely loved all of them. My OR nurse was especially sweet.
Around 8:45, I was wheeled into the OR by my OR nurse and anesthesiologist, who inserted some sedative into my IV. I then rolled from my rolling bed to the OR table, and from then, remember literally nothing. Next thing I know, I'm awake but unable to fully open my eyes back in my recovery room. I asked my new nurse for water, which she let me sip a little bit (my mouth was like the Sahara Desert, but I didn't have a sore throat and I could breathe through my nose!). She then put an ice pack on my forehead. I had oxygen to breath from to aid my mouth breathing and it really helped with the pain and queasiness I think. At that point, my nose hurt so my nurse gave me some strong painkiller through my IV until I felt better. I had a special button I could press whenever I needed help in case a nurse wasn't around.
I did not leave the surgery center until 2pm. It may seem really late, but honestly I cannot be more grateful that I left when I did, because any earlier would have probably resulted in me either fainting or vomiting (neither of which I have done so far *knock on wood*). As such, I've been back in my hotel room for roughly eight hours now, and during this time I mostly just had TV play in the background as I rested my eyes / kind of watched. I've felt very nauseous but never got sick. I am taking Norco every four hours on the dot, and took Zofran twice to help with my nausea. I also took my first day of antibiotics. I haven't had any dizzy spells, which is impressive considering the fact that I have gone to the restroom to urinate at least ten times (the IV really filled my bladder...).
My undereye bruising is bad but not the worst. Until about an hour ago, I had no puffiness, but my eyes are swelling and the purple bruising is spreading by the hour now. I've been icing my forehead and head mainly because my head just hurts, but I sometimes ice the area beneath my eyes. I've only eaten one cup of Jell-O, a GoGoSqueez applesauce, and drank a can of Dole pineapple juice; otherwise, I've been sipping water here and there. I sprayed my mouth twice with Biotene to help with the dryness and have been using Vaseline on my lips to help too. Since coming to the hotel, I've done two gauze changes, but my nose is now dripping blood more (annoying...) and getting a little congested so I'll probably need to get on that more.
But best of all... My nose looks so cute, even with the cast on. I know it's way too early to tell what it will look like, but I already know that I'll be much happier with whatever is underneath the cast than I was with my original nose. I will post some before photos as well as a 3/4 view photo of my nose with this post for reference.
I apologize for the extreme length of this review, but I found RealSelf to be the most helpful for me and my family in my search for a doctor and as such, really wanted to give back in some way. I will continue to post updates if I feel physically up for it. Please feel free to ask questions if you have any. :)
Day 2 Recap
Yesterday (Day 2, one day post-op) was a rollercoaster of pain and emotion so I didn’t have the energy to post an update unfortunately. But in summation: I woke up yesterday with slightly swollen eyes, but overall felt pretty good. As the day progressed though, my eye swelling got drastically worse to the point where I could barely open my eyes in the evening. I had to sleep at an 85° angle all night because when I dozed off for a bit at about a 45° angle, my left eye became so swollen I couldn’t even open it. That definitely freaked me out quite a bit so I got a little emotional, and crying made me flare my nostrils which hurt my nose, and made me worry about my nose (LOL). I called Dr. Grigoryants’ office yesterday to ask if I could increase my Norco intake because I was in so much pain, so I’m now taking 1.5-2 pills every 5-6 hours. The Norco makes me very disoriented though so I’m trying to only take as much as I need to control my pain.
My nose also was fully congested all day yesterday, which was very bothersome and hard to adjust to. You don’t realize how difficult it is until you experience it yourself! Even drinking from a straw is difficult because I can’t breathe through my nose at all. In terms of food, yesterday I had one cup of Jell-O, a GoGoSqueez applesauce (highly recommend this as you don’t need to use a spoon), two cans of pineapple juice, and some lentil soup at ROOM TEMPERATURE. Hot food is not good for recovery, btw!
My savior yesterday was ice. I didn’t take icing seriously enough on Day 1 which I think is why my eyes got so swollen yesterday (and are still swollen this morning, Day 3). I was mostly icing my temples and forehead on Day 1, but yesterday I focused the icing on my cheeks and under eye area. The swelling truly does travel from the top of your head down, and it’s sooooo unpleasant. That said, with pain medicine it is much more manageable.
Will provide a Day 3 update later today / tomorrow! I’ll timestamp the pics I uploaded from Day 2.
My nose also was fully congested all day yesterday, which was very bothersome and hard to adjust to. You don’t realize how difficult it is until you experience it yourself! Even drinking from a straw is difficult because I can’t breathe through my nose at all. In terms of food, yesterday I had one cup of Jell-O, a GoGoSqueez applesauce (highly recommend this as you don’t need to use a spoon), two cans of pineapple juice, and some lentil soup at ROOM TEMPERATURE. Hot food is not good for recovery, btw!
My savior yesterday was ice. I didn’t take icing seriously enough on Day 1 which I think is why my eyes got so swollen yesterday (and are still swollen this morning, Day 3). I was mostly icing my temples and forehead on Day 1, but yesterday I focused the icing on my cheeks and under eye area. The swelling truly does travel from the top of your head down, and it’s sooooo unpleasant. That said, with pain medicine it is much more manageable.
Will provide a Day 3 update later today / tomorrow! I’ll timestamp the pics I uploaded from Day 2.
Day 3 Recap
Sorry for the late post again—yesterday (Day 3) was the worst day of recovery by far, so I was hardly able to use my phone / laptop.
I woke up with worsened bruising and more swollen eyes. As the day progresses, this eye swelling became even more pronounced, to the point where my left eye was nearly swollen shut on numerous occasions. I noticed that icing and sitting upright helped assuage the swelling. Whenever I took Norco yesterday, I took 1.5-2 pills instead of just one because of the pain. My temples still felt pressure, but my jaw now did too. So I was icing my temples, jaw / cheeks, and under eyes. I coughed up some phlegm-like blood yesterday which I’m assuming is post-nasal drip (good, I think?). I also had to get back on Zofran yesterday because Norco makes me feel nauseous.
I was very dizzy and very emotional yesterday. The pain was so bad for me, I guess I’m not as strong as others who go through this process... The eye swelling really freaked me out and my ears started to get blocked from built up pressure so my whole face felt like a balloon that was about to burst, and that idea freaked me out. It’s normal, yes, but wow... I don’t know how some people manage by just taking Tylenol!
When I felt my nose, it was mostly really uncomfortable soreness. At one point, some dried blood from my nose got stuck to the gauze when I was doing a gauze change, and that was horrific because I thought the dried blood was my stitches so I thought I ruined my nose... I also cried a lot yesterday. I think Norco makes me really emotional (I’ve taken it before and it made me really worried then too) so I cried so many times, further hurting my nostrils and probably causing more swelling in my tip.
If I had to describe how I felt yesterday in one word, it would be “disoriented.” I was so confused and too unwell to even bother watching TV or talking to people. Whenever I tried to talk, I would panic about how hard it was to speak / open my eyes and just cry instead (LOL). Yesterday my mother and I drove an hour away from the LA area to spend the next few days, and the car ride was SO rough, it took a huge toll on me. I’m shocked that I did not vomit or faint that whole car ride. I was really close to doing it, but luckily I did not.
Because my face was so puffed up yesterday, my head felt really hot—just know that that is normal. Not gonna lie, Day 3 was a nightmare. I was so exhausted by 9pm I was already dozing off and managed to get my best night of sleep yet. And now that I’m on Day 4, I feel better but... Who knows. This process is so unpredictable and greatly varies person to person. Just know that if you get very extreme swelling or pain, you aren’t alone. :)
I woke up with worsened bruising and more swollen eyes. As the day progresses, this eye swelling became even more pronounced, to the point where my left eye was nearly swollen shut on numerous occasions. I noticed that icing and sitting upright helped assuage the swelling. Whenever I took Norco yesterday, I took 1.5-2 pills instead of just one because of the pain. My temples still felt pressure, but my jaw now did too. So I was icing my temples, jaw / cheeks, and under eyes. I coughed up some phlegm-like blood yesterday which I’m assuming is post-nasal drip (good, I think?). I also had to get back on Zofran yesterday because Norco makes me feel nauseous.
I was very dizzy and very emotional yesterday. The pain was so bad for me, I guess I’m not as strong as others who go through this process... The eye swelling really freaked me out and my ears started to get blocked from built up pressure so my whole face felt like a balloon that was about to burst, and that idea freaked me out. It’s normal, yes, but wow... I don’t know how some people manage by just taking Tylenol!
When I felt my nose, it was mostly really uncomfortable soreness. At one point, some dried blood from my nose got stuck to the gauze when I was doing a gauze change, and that was horrific because I thought the dried blood was my stitches so I thought I ruined my nose... I also cried a lot yesterday. I think Norco makes me really emotional (I’ve taken it before and it made me really worried then too) so I cried so many times, further hurting my nostrils and probably causing more swelling in my tip.
If I had to describe how I felt yesterday in one word, it would be “disoriented.” I was so confused and too unwell to even bother watching TV or talking to people. Whenever I tried to talk, I would panic about how hard it was to speak / open my eyes and just cry instead (LOL). Yesterday my mother and I drove an hour away from the LA area to spend the next few days, and the car ride was SO rough, it took a huge toll on me. I’m shocked that I did not vomit or faint that whole car ride. I was really close to doing it, but luckily I did not.
Because my face was so puffed up yesterday, my head felt really hot—just know that that is normal. Not gonna lie, Day 3 was a nightmare. I was so exhausted by 9pm I was already dozing off and managed to get my best night of sleep yet. And now that I’m on Day 4, I feel better but... Who knows. This process is so unpredictable and greatly varies person to person. Just know that if you get very extreme swelling or pain, you aren’t alone. :)
Provider Review
