not sure

Hi Tim, I'm very sorry that you're not happy with your results. I know how you feel but chances are it looks a lot worse to you than to anyone looking at you. Swelling last for months so I think you'll like it better as the weeks past. Patience is imperative and the more work that was done, the longer the swelling. Open Rhinoplastys usually swells more and for longer than closed rhinoplastys. Make sure you tell your doctor because sometimes they can give your steriod injections to help with the swelling. Thanks for posting the pictures and review. Please keep us posted on your progress. This is a great site for advice and you can even post questions to the the doctors. I wish I would have found this site before I had my surgery and I would have done everything differently. Best wishes to you. Hang in there.

Hey Tim. How are you? I know how traumatic this can feel as I went through the same thing. I'm so sorry about the distress but remember that it's only been 28 days.

I wouldn't panic just yet as it takes up to a year (as they say) to see final results. That may not make you feel better but at least it will give you some hope that it WILL get better.

My Dr told me I should start seeing the early stages of what it will look like at the 6 to 8 wk mark.

I'm not a Dr but I really do think you are still swollen. I had my sept/rhino. about 11 wks ago and I'm STILL having tip swelling (open rhino) but I know it's normal and with each passing day it comes down more and more.

If I were you (for your own peace of mind) I would call your Dr and address your concern about the closure area. Maybe the slanting to the right might just be because of the swelling. As a layperson I really can't tell and if I were out on the street I wouldn't know it at all. Ask your dr. about it and that might help soothe your worry.

I know you're afraid to go out in public but really at this point no one probably really notices the slight differences except for you since you see it every single day. I felt the exact same way.

It may also make you feel better to look at some videos at other people's progress over time (I know it certainly helped me) to see how long the healing time REALLY is.

Stay strong and keep calm.

Tim,
1. Post Rhino pictures for some reason look different than reality. I have really struggled with this because i am a realist. If my nose looks like a fat cow in the picture then it must truly look like one in reality, that is my line of thinking. Well it doesn't and i can't explain why but, it just doesn't represent itself in photos.
a. your nose to me still looks like it has swelling. TRY not to worry so much. focus on the fact that your still a good looking dude, and don't look in the mirror too much if it upsets you.
b. realize that even with it swollen there is NO WAY it looks as big (or whatever your seeing) to others as it does to you. After rhinoplasty, we stare, stare and stare some more. after a few days I developed the habit of looking at only my swollen nose and no longer its surrounding frame. If I had the power to shrink the size of my nose I would certainly ended up with a nose too small.
2. Swelling seems to be different for everyone. Men tend to have thicker skin. This leaves us more prone to swelling. While women certainly experience swelling, we men seem to experience more. There don't seem to be as many good progression pictures available for men to help us properly measure our expectations regarding swelling immediately post-op to 4mth to 1yr after.


3. A few thoughts

A. Is it really possible you went in and the doctor made your nose worse and bigger? I have NOT noticed ANY before after pictures (once enough time had passed, 4months-1year) that made me think, "what the heck, that person started with a good size and ended with a bad sized nose" (not saying it's not possible but I doubt it in your case)

B. I'm not sure if this is the place for this but I will tell you my story seems to have some similarities to yours (as far as huge disappointments early on) For the first two weeks i cried multiple times, I felt heavy embarrassment a few times (especially when i contemplated going back to work and seeing friends-and having the fear of them looking and saying what the heck did you do?), I regretted my decision. Hope of a better nose was very small to zero. So I did two things. 1. prayed 2. made a decision that i would not let this ruin me even if my nose turned out less attractive then i hoped. When i looked in the mirror i would tell myself 3 things. 1. you are going to be a stronger person because you won't let it effect you negatively 2. Swelling is still going down. 3. your nose might still turn out to be awesome. Then I tried not to spend undue time in front of the mirror. I have been 100 percent emotionally stable since i did those two things.

C. Most importantly, I think you will end with something you are sooooo much happier with, unfortunately you will need to give it more time for the swelling to go down and I am sure by looking at your pictures it will. It doesn't have a BIG NOSE look to me. It has a SWOLLEN LOOK (Remember!, the camera distorts this for some reason beyond my comprehension).

Good luck, fishsticks

Sounds like you're a good guy too. :)

I'm so glad to hear that and I'll bet it will continue to look better and better as the days go by!

its still early tim so hang in there. the swelling will go down. i honestly think you look great. its not that bad. just give it time. :)

Hi Tim :)

I really think you're stressing yourself without reason. It's very clear that your nose is still really swollen (i can even see the puffiness in the photos). There is no way your nose got permanently bigger through surgery because i'm quite sure your doctor didn't put something extra in there, it's just the swelling.
There are cases when surgeons must add extra cartilage to support the structure, and they often take it from the earlobe, but it's not your case.
So stay calm, be patient, talk to your doctor about local corticosteroid injections to reduce the swelling faster and don't strain your nose. No matter how much you disapprove of it, let it heal in the best conditions.

I'm sure the swelling will go down soon and you'll be really happy (I really like the way your nostrils look from the side now) .. despite the swelling, the shape really looks better.

I think it looks pretty good. still looks natural. Remember that it may take up to 9 mo or a year for the swelling at the tip of the nose to be reduced. You will have says where the tip looks bigger and then the next day it looks smaller. The scar tissue is constantly building up and breaking down. Ask your physician is he wants you to tape the tip of your nose..

@mezak, I totally agree. Some days the swelling will be more than other days. It's a long, drawn out process that requires a lot of patience and it can be frustrating so I understand how Tim's feeling (I had mine a little over 12 wks ago now!). Tip is still swollen and hard and hasn't settled yet.

Tim I hope you're doing okay! Hang in there. I also think your pictures look great and you have such a nice profile too. Imagine how it will look 6 months from now!

Keep us posted!

Tim it will go down. The tip takes the longest, I know it's frustrating. I think what's more frustrating is these doctors don't really tell you point blank "Don't expect your final results until 9 months" or whatever. It will be much longer than just a few weeks for swelling to subside.

They "say" it takes roughly 3 months for the bridge to START setting, another 3 months for the middle section and then ANOTHER 3 for the tip!! That's crazy. So we are looking at 9 months minimum here. Who would have thought that the nose would be so stubborn? ;-)

I really believe that to be true because my tip is STILL hard (and it's been 13 wks now) and my top part is still swelling every now and then but it feels like it's starting to settle now (barely).

Try not to worry yourself or mess with it (unless instructed).

Take care and keep us posted on your progress!