Thankful to Have Found Dr. Reish - Still Too Early to Comment on Results

I was in a fight as a young kid and, per my mom, another kid smashed a glass bottle into my nose and broke both the bottle and my nose. I have very little recollection of this event but my nose has been asymmetric most of my life and, as I've gotten older, I encountered breathing issues that were linked to a deviated nasal septum. So, this started my journey to 1) fix the breathing issues and 2) fix the nasal asymmetry.

Here's everything that I liked and didn't like about my experience. Before I jump into it let me say that I love Dr. Reish's demeanor. He's a fantastic doctor. Ultimately, this matters more than anything else. He provides his personal cell and is very responsive to texts. I was scheduled to have this surgery (septoplasty/rhinoplasty) with another doctor in Florida (where I live) but the procedure was cancelled due to COVID and I decided to do more shopping around for doctors (revision rhinoplasty is pretty common and I didn't want to have to go through the procedure twice). I consulted with several doctors and I narrowed down my choices to three of them: 1) Dr. Sam Most (in CA), 2) Dr. Rod Rohrich (in TX) or 3) Dr. Richard Reish (in NY). I ultimately decided on Dr. Reish after my consult because he had a clear vision, his office took insurance and also because I have friends around NYC that I could stay with while in recovery. I also have family in California so gave serious consideration to Dr. Most. Texas was more complicated as I don't really know people in that state which eliminated Dr. Rohrich.

Let me start off a few areas that I feel can be improved (I'm still rating my experience five stars but there were a few hiccups along the way - the results will ultimately matter more but I'm barely a week post-surgery so can't comment on them at this time):
1) I was caught off-guard with the unexpected bill for the free consultation. I think this could be avoided with a simple disclaimer that if a person wants to go through insurance their insurance will be billed for the consultation. My circumstances were unique since I opted to have the consultation while between jobs and without insurance. Had I realized this would be billed I would have held off on the consultation or requested a second paid consultation while I had insurance.
2) The person that scheduled my surgery didn't seem super willing to work with me. I requested that we pick a date (any date) and then I'd get it approved by my boss within the hour. I was happy to put a deposit for a temporary hold. The person said they couldn't hold a date. Then I picked a date and went to be my boss, got it approved and, of course, when I called back in an hour it was no longer available (this was the scenario was trying to avoid). I then had to rinse and repeat. Eventually, I talked to someone else at the office that said they'd hold the date for me for the hour and to call them back. I did and the date was scheduled.
3) I wish I had a list of all the potential meds given to me well in advance of the surgery (along with all the pre-op instructions). I found out the clindamycin was prescribed to me due to a penicillin allergy. That drug does horrid things to my stomach (I took it for a root canal). This led me scrambling to find an allergist at the last minute (I found Hudson Allergy in NYC and they were able to get me in pretty quickly - apparently I don't have a penicillin allergy but I am allergic to Ceftriaxone - turns out this was useful knowledge as that drug is used during the procedure but there are alternatives). Also, if you have someone that can easily pick up meds post-surgery, I'd recommend not filling the Percocet or stool softener filled unless you need them. I didn't take either so a tad bit of a waste. Pain wasn't terrible and Tylenol likely suffices. Also, they recommend a scar cream (Biocorneum) that I'd get in advance (though they also sell if at their office).

Here's what was great: 1) Dr. Reish has a very clear plan and describes it. I knew exactly what I was having done. 2) The day of the surgery was great. I remember talking to the anesthesiologist and nurses about Tampa before passing out. 3) The surgery was on time. My girlfriend, who happens to be a trauma surgeon, joked about how she's never done a scheduled surgery on time in her career (granted, I'd assume trauma is a little more unpredictable). Surgery was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and it did and I was out of there by 2 p.m. At the moment, I know nothing of my final result so can't comment on it. So far, though, so good. I can already tell that my nose is now symmetric.