Rhinoplasty, Septoplasty, and Lower turbinate reduction for Dorsal Hump - 26 years old

I hate my nose, and I am finally going to do something about it! 25 days until surgery day!!

I have a dorsal hump "deformity" that just seemed to keep growing during my teen years. I became so self-conscious about it, to the point that a day wouldn't pass without me thinking about it. I avoided looking at my profile in the mirror and pictures from the side. When I happened to catch a glimpse of my profile, I was shocked at how much bigger my nose actually was than what I thought I looked like in my head. I went through phases of trying to convince myself it wasn't that bad, or to accept it/ignore it, sometimes succeeding for a few months, until the horrifying reality set in all over again that I would have to live with this for the rest of my life (usually brought on by an accidental glimpse at my profile in the mirror, or rude comments from other people.)

I never thought of surgery as an option for me. I didn't know anyone that had it done, and while breast augmentations/reductions aren't terribly uncommon, a lot of people still stigmatize rhinoplasty. Over the past year, my husband and I's discussions about it had gotten more serious. Gradually, I went from saying I would NEVER seriously consider plastic surgery to saying I would definitely get it if someone gave me the money. So now that we're much more financially stable and after another MAJOR breakdown in January, my husband (who is amazing, btw) told me he was willing to spend the money on it if I decided I wanted to do it. I thought it over for a few weeks and was finally considering scheduling a consultation when a friend of mine randomly told me she had rhinoplasty when she was younger! I was so surprised that someone I knew had done it (her nose looks great!), and that cemented it. She told me the name of her doctor, I had a consultation, booked the surgery date, and here we are!!

There was a lot more emotion that went into the decision than I feel I can convey here (well over 10 years of emotion), and I'm guessing each step will continue to be very emotional. I cried (out of joy, I think?) when I made the decision, cried after booking the consultation (nerves, perhaps?), cried at the consultation when they told me how much it could cost (my poor bank account!!), cried again when they told me the first available date! 4 months away! So long to wait! Lol, too many tears!

But it's so close now! I'm just soooo excited! The countdown is on!

I went in for my consultation with Dr. Jared Spencer on February 3rd. He is double board certified and fellowship trained. He was recommended by the only person I know that has had rhinoplasty. I planned to have multiple consults, but realized he's the only plastic surgeon in my area (Northwest Arkansas) that does exclusively facial plastic surgery. That was important to me! I want the surgeon to be very experienced at rhinoplasty! I really didn't want to have to travel either (especially as that increases the cost even more). I did look in Little Rock (about 3 hours away and my parents live there), but couldn't find any there that do exclusively facial either.

First, we talked about what I disliked. He then examined my nose and seemed very detailed!! He was pointing out things for the nurse to make notes of that I've never noticed about my nose (and I am very detailed!): fullness on one side of my tip, a groove in my columella, etc. He confirmed that I do have a deviated septum (was surprised I don't snore or have difficulty breathing), and said that I needed a septoplasty and lower turbinate reduction, too. He said he could not do just the rhino on me because then I would definitely have trouble breathing. He also said his goal is always for people to breath as well, if not better, after the procedure.

I showed him some before and after pictures of dorsal hump reductions that I liked, and he said that I had chosen good examples of realistic changes...yay! They took a few before pictures and then the nurse answered about a million of my questions and went over some more details with me including the cost. I was really hoping if I had a deviated septum that it might end up being cheaper, but since insurance is strict about it all being billed separately, it's actually going to be more expensive because of the septoplasty. He also only operates in the hospital surgery center, which is a bit more expensive, but worth it. Safety is not the place to cheap out!

So, I cried for a good while from the shock of the initial cost (although I think some other forces were at play, too...I think I was still shocked I was even there!) and the nurse was very friendly about it. Then I scheduled my surgery date and pre-op appointment, and that was that! 22 DAYS!!!

My pre-opp appointment is in 4 days and my surgery is in 10! I really can't believe it's coming up so soon. Every morning I wake up and wonder if I'm completely crazy! But I'm also just really excited!! :)