Completely changed my life - extremely happy with my results

I am 8 months post-op and extremely happy with my results. Dr. Bora and his team were wonderful and did a great job on my nose. Throughout my experience I was in contact with Sila, one of the nurses on Dr. Bora’s team who was also my coordinator.
My decision to have this surgery was motivated by self-esteem issue and aversion to taking photos due to a previously broken nose. This is an overview of my experience, as it was quite some time ago I have forgotten the exact order some of the events occurred but will do my best:
I had an initial consultation with Dr. Bora over video call in March 2022 where he answered my questions and, while looking at my ‘before’ photos I sent to Sila, discussed my likely treatment plan. I was asked to send photos of my ideal nose. The cost of the consultation would go towards my treatment if I went through with the procedure. To book I had to make a deposit to secure the date I wanted, I used Revolut to transfer the money over. I had to fill in and send a pre-surgery form on my health history and was informed that I would have to stop taking birth control a month before my surgery and given other pre-op information. I also had to send a picture of my passport and fill out a confirmation form. Later I had to send my flight ticket information.
July
I arrived in Turkey on the 13th of July. That night I was sent a text informing me of the process for my surgery tomorrow. I was instructed to fast from 12:00pm that night and given the time of my check-in at the hospital. I arrived at the hospital at 6am. I had to wait a while before Sila arrived but the hospital room was en-suite and really nice (I’ve attached a video). At some point I had a cannula put in and had to fill some forms. When Sila arrived I took some ‘before’ photos of my nose. After speaking with Sila, I had to wait a while more before seeing Dr. Bora for a final consultation. He assessed my face and we talked about the photos I had sent of my ideal nose. Dr. Bora explained that as I had thick skin it may be difficult to achieve the nose I wanted, he also explained that he would be using my rib cartilage to build my nose bridge. At the time I was also considering a chin implant to fix a chin defect I had, however Dr. Bora advised me that the chin implant may not fix the problem I had and I should consider other options. At this point I decided to continue with the rhinoplasty only.
Some time went by and one of the nurses came in with my gown to change into. I was a bit surprised as I had to change in front of her, but she was very kind, although she did not speak much English. At one point Sila came by to collect the payment and to inform me about the time of my operation.
When the hour arrived, a few nurses came into my room. I barely remember being pushed out of the room on my bed. I remember waking up with a small weight over my eyes, which turned out to be an ice bag, and realizing I had already had the operation. I don’t remember how I felt exactly but I know I wasn’t in any pain. Later I spoke with Sila and Dr. Bora who reassured me that I would love my results. A nurse checked on me throughout the night and helped me to go to the toilet. I had dinner and breakfast at the hospital (I’ve included pictures).
The next day I was greeted by another nurse. I believe she explained how I would take care of my nose and walked me through the medication I would be taking (I have attached a picture of the medications I was given, I believe the medication cost about £40?). She was lovely and it ended up being a very funny experience as she helped me put in my ear piercing that was taken out prior to my surgery but we kept losing the ball of the piercing because it was so small and blended in with the floor. In the end it took 3 people to put my piercing back in.
I took an Uber back to my hotel and rested for a few days. Sila sent me my table pictures and after seeing them I was a bit worried as I did not feel too confident about the look of my new nose. I was told to rest at the hotel. On the 4th and 5th day after my appointment I decided to do some sightseeing. I was able to walk fine, albeit much slower than normal due to pain in my ribs. My cast off was also 5 days after my operation. I was actually horrified when I saw my nose at cast off. My nose was crooked before and it looked like my new nose was still crooked, and now it was twice as big. However, Sila and Dr Bora told me my nose looked great although there was still a lot of swelling. They showed me how to tape my nose.
For the first month or so after my surgery my nose looked horrific. My face was swollen, I couldn’t smile as I didn’t have full motion of my top lip and I still had slight rib pain. I had mentally prepared myself before surgery to not be phased by my initial results and so fortunately I found humour in my funny-looking appearance. Before returning to work I also had chin filler to resolve my chin issue.
I would say at around 6/7 weeks post-op I started going out with friends and I began to get compliments despite my nose still being swollen and not being completely in love with it. I took arnica tablets, bromelain, vitamin C and drank water with turmeric to help with swelling. The prescribed Accutane really helped with swelling, cleared my skin and eliminated my oily skin problem I had struggled with for most of my life.
For several months I was not completely happy with my nose as I had uneven nostrils, however I realized that my nostrils were uneven before surgery (although less noticeably so) and Sila explained why it looked that way despite performing a symmetrical nostril reduction for me. I also felt like the front-view of nose was not as defined as I wanted it to be, although I will say that the side-view is perfect (particularly after taping). Prior to the surgery I had requested that Dr. Bora did not let too much of my nostrils show, however I started to wonder if I would have liked my result more if I had not made such a request.
All in all, although I could see that my new nose was an obvious improvement, I only really liked it when I applied make-up over it. However, saying this, most complaints I have had with the look of my nose have been due to swelling and some have actually resolved themselves overtime. On some days, I think my nose looks perfect. I believe by the 1 year mark I will completely love my nose to the point of not needing make-up anymore. Besides, if it only takes a bit of make-up to turn my new nose into my ideal one I think it is safe to say my surgery was more than a success.
I have continued to tape my nose since my operation as my swelling is accentuated in the morning, particularly if I forget to tape or when I’m not drinking enough water. My nose has continued to change and looks better with every month. While I still don’t like to leave my house without a bit of make up on my nose, this surgery (and chin filler) has had such a positive effect on my appearance and my self-confidence. Honestly, there hasn’t been a day where I’ve gone out in public and haven’t received a compliment from a stranger. Now I’ve started to see and really feel that I am beautiful. I will say, the surgery did not completely fix my self-esteem issues but it has opened a lot of doors for me and given me opportunities and experiences I may not have had otherwise.
The way my nose looks now is very different to my table pics and so different to how my nose looked a few months back. Every few months Sila has checked in on me to ask for progress photos and I know that if I had any issues she would be available to talk to. I would definitely recommend Dr. Bora, especially now that a lot of my swelling has gone and I can really see and appreciate what he has done. What is interesting is that Dr. Bora said it would be difficult to achieve my ideal nose due to my thick skin but managed to do so anyway (or at least come pretty close)! All I desire now is for front view to get a bit smaller and more defined.
Once again, thank you Dr. Bora, Sila and the rest of the team for changing my life.