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POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS

Rhinoplasty & Revision Rhinoplasty Dec 2011 & Jan 2013 - San Diego, CA

ORIGINAL POST

My other review got way too longwinded, and it...

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Dave in California
WORTH IT$2,300
My other review got way too longwinded, and it wouldn't let me update it anymore, so I will try to sum up everything here briefly! (Yeah right! =P )

Regarding the procedure, Had the initial Septo/Rhino in Dec 2011. It was apparent that the nostril arches were very uneven from early on. After about 4-6 months post-op, he began dropping hints that a revision may be necessary.

Jan 2013, revision sought to correct the orig procedure by doing another ear graft and this time, I was awake for the minor revision. Not pleasant...but the worst part was the cotterization of the ear. Anyway, the revision didn't go as planned either. The nostril arch that was way higher was now way lower and flat. Ughhh.

He had me use a large q-tip on a stick to try and tug on one of the nostils to stretch it out for a few weeks multiple times a day. He then began a series of about 4-5 silicone injections which were extremely painful to try and even out the arches. Once he started hinting about a 2nd revision (3rd surgery) I decided I'd had enough and decided to stop seeing him. It was looking good enough to me. And good thing I'm a dude because we're not supposed to look perfect. Imperfections make us look "rugged." Lol.

Ok, so there you have it. It was worth it, but maybe because it is all in the rear view mirror at this point. The anxiety over the procedures, the unknown costs, the long wait to see results, and the agony over the imperfections and those shots to the nose (ouch, like seriously surprised me!) make it hard to stomach on the front end of things. Luckily, I was only dealing with one scenario at a time. Had I known up front I was going to have to endure some of the things I did and for the time period I did, I might have said no. But I am pleased enough with the results.

Insurance covered much of the cost due to the septoplasty. $2300 out of pocket. Not bad huh?

Ok, feel free to ask any questions. I tried to keep this brief, but I'm sure I can conjure up some details. =)

Dave in California's provider

John M. Hilinski, MD

John M. Hilinski, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

4.6 | 87 Reviews
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Dave in California

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Replies (3)

May 2, 2016
Nice to see your new review Dave. (we texted a little while ago about Dr. Hilinski) your results really do look great, although it seemed like a pretty difficult process for you. I'm 5 1/2 weeks out of surgery with him, happy with mostly everything except for some swelling. He seems to think it will go down, I'm not so sure, that's why am waiting to give my final review and rating.

Hope all is well!
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May 4, 2016
Hey... Your nose looks great in your pics both before and after... I am less than 2 weeks post surgery and have had numerous issues. I am really worried about my uneven nostrils and really weird looking collumella which doesn't even look stitched in the correct place or even running flat to my skin. I am really stressing at the moment.
Not sure if you have time to check out my Rhinoplasty posts to see the latest one... but I was wondering if you think I would need revision, since you have been through issues yourself with uneven nostrils. Thanks for sharing on real self. All the best.
November 15, 2016
Just wondering if Hilinksi offered you an explanation for why your nostrils were asymetrical the first time.