POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty REVIEWS
1 Year Post -Revision in August- St. Petersburg, FL
ORIGINAL POST
Hey everyone! Like so many of you out there, I...
WORTH IT$9,000
Hey everyone! Like so many of you out there, I have been unhappy with my nose since I was in middle school. It is slightly crooked, which is not great, but in recent years I've started running, and have found that I really cannot breathe through my nose very well. I guess I've been overcompensating by being a "mouth breather" for so long, I haven't really thought much of it. Its very hard to breathe completely through your mouth while running! I also wake up daily all stuffed up with a scratchy throat, which I think is from breathing through my mouth all night.
Anyway, between not liking the appearance of my nose and really wanting to see if there is a way to improve my breathing, I have decided I'm ready to talk about getting rhinoplasty.
I went for my first consult today. Really impressed with the surgeon! Lots of impressive credentials and both him and his staff were very friendly and took their time with me. He confirmed what I thought, I definitely have a deviated septum, and he recommends some reconstructive surgery (slight). He also was nice enough to tell me I have an infection in my nose, of which he wrote me an RX for, and said if I want to have it filled, he can see me back in his office in 2 weeks for free. I thought that was pretty nice, considering the consult was also free!
I am looking at 2 other surgeons in the area, and will probably go see at least one of them for a consult. I'm amazed at how the cost varies for consult. From free to $100 depending!
I have greatly appreciated and benefited from reading through all of the posts on this site and looking at all the pictures, and am hoping that by sharing my experience from the start, maybe I can help someone else with this decision. Maybe help calm my nerves a little too :)
I will be 40 next year and have decided its time to be happy with the way I look and feel my best.
I will, like so many others, post pictures along the way and keep updating this with the latest status! I've attached some "before" pictures for now.
Looking forward to sharing my journey with you!
Anyway, between not liking the appearance of my nose and really wanting to see if there is a way to improve my breathing, I have decided I'm ready to talk about getting rhinoplasty.
I went for my first consult today. Really impressed with the surgeon! Lots of impressive credentials and both him and his staff were very friendly and took their time with me. He confirmed what I thought, I definitely have a deviated septum, and he recommends some reconstructive surgery (slight). He also was nice enough to tell me I have an infection in my nose, of which he wrote me an RX for, and said if I want to have it filled, he can see me back in his office in 2 weeks for free. I thought that was pretty nice, considering the consult was also free!
I am looking at 2 other surgeons in the area, and will probably go see at least one of them for a consult. I'm amazed at how the cost varies for consult. From free to $100 depending!
I have greatly appreciated and benefited from reading through all of the posts on this site and looking at all the pictures, and am hoping that by sharing my experience from the start, maybe I can help someone else with this decision. Maybe help calm my nerves a little too :)
I will be 40 next year and have decided its time to be happy with the way I look and feel my best.
I will, like so many others, post pictures along the way and keep updating this with the latest status! I've attached some "before" pictures for now.
Looking forward to sharing my journey with you!
Replies (5)
August 15, 2013
You are doing the right thing by having multiple consultations. I would discourage to from the temptation of shopping cost. When having surgery quality is a far more important issue. In choosing a surgeon their qualifications are the most important thing to look at in addition to pre-and postoperative photographs and their ability to communicate with you.
August 16, 2013
Hello, first you look very nice the way you are right now .. having said that I think you could benefit from a rhinoplasty , having a nice more feminine with a gentle slope nose will greatly improve the way you look .. even look a bit younger don't worry I'm 35 I know what I'm talking about .. I got gravity in the tip of my nose :) keep us posted and good luck
August 16, 2013
Thank you very much for the compliment and feedback. I will definitely keep everyone posted. I have another consultation in September, can't wait!
UPDATED FROM shelreed
9 months pre
I Think I'm Ready!
Getting excited! Tomorrow is my second consult!! I really liked my first one. Interested to see if this doctor will notice the same infection that Dr. C. did. The RX he gave me did help, but didn't entirely clear it up, and he recommended that I see an ENT doctor next. So one of the things I'm going to be looking for in tomorrow's consult will be if he checks for and notices the same thing, and if he recommends I see an ENT as well. If not, I think I'm going to go with Dr. C. (Unless I find any other doctors in my area soon).
More updates to come!
More updates to come!
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM shelreed
9 months pre
Consult #2 Done!
Ok, so I went for my second consultation yesterday. I really liked this doctor, BUT...he doesn't do very many nose jobs, and thought since I am complaining of breathing problems with running that maybe I should see an ENT for the surgery. I don't know about that because I'd rather see a plastic surgeon. He also thought maybe insurance would cover more if I went through an ENT. Unfortunately, my insurance will not pay for any of it unless I can document a recurring infection in my nose. I don't think I'm going that route.
So, he said he would be very happy to do the surgery, but it is not his field of expertise. He specializes in the body, and face lifts. He said he loves to do nose jobs though, he just doesn't have a lot of chance to do so. I talked to his assistant for a while, and she had her nose done by this doctor, and her's looked good. In fact I would not have known she had one done. So, I think he would do a good job. I'm torn. His cost was a little higher than the last doctor, but he would do a closed rhinoplasty. Which I thought was what I wanted, but I'm hearing more and more concerns from people that closed is not as good, and can lead to more swelling than open.
Now I have two very different evaluations of what they would like to do, and this last doctor kept saying that he couldn't guarantee that I would be happy with the result. So with that said, I don't think I'm going to have this doctor do it. I'll call him Dr. R.
I went back to work and immediately set up another consult with another doctor I found in the area. I talked to his office for a while, and she was very nice. This doctor, Dr. D, has 30 years experience, but mostly with body and face, not so many nose jobs. More than 10 per year though, which is what Dr. R. does. So I see him next Friday. Friday the 13th- maybe that will mean good luck :) LOL.
All the doctors I have seen have been board certified and have shared a lot with me about their credentials and reputation. I think any of them would be trustworthy.
So far I like Dr. R's bedside manner, and he spent a lot of time explaining things to me, where-as Dr. C is more quiet. However, I think Dr. C has provided me the info in writing and has followed up showing he cares by seeing me regarding the infection, all free of charge. They also sent me a certificate for a free facial which I'm going to have done next month. More time to decide.
I'm so confused now...hoping it will all come together and make sense after this 3rd consult next week.
So, he said he would be very happy to do the surgery, but it is not his field of expertise. He specializes in the body, and face lifts. He said he loves to do nose jobs though, he just doesn't have a lot of chance to do so. I talked to his assistant for a while, and she had her nose done by this doctor, and her's looked good. In fact I would not have known she had one done. So, I think he would do a good job. I'm torn. His cost was a little higher than the last doctor, but he would do a closed rhinoplasty. Which I thought was what I wanted, but I'm hearing more and more concerns from people that closed is not as good, and can lead to more swelling than open.
Now I have two very different evaluations of what they would like to do, and this last doctor kept saying that he couldn't guarantee that I would be happy with the result. So with that said, I don't think I'm going to have this doctor do it. I'll call him Dr. R.
I went back to work and immediately set up another consult with another doctor I found in the area. I talked to his office for a while, and she was very nice. This doctor, Dr. D, has 30 years experience, but mostly with body and face, not so many nose jobs. More than 10 per year though, which is what Dr. R. does. So I see him next Friday. Friday the 13th- maybe that will mean good luck :) LOL.
All the doctors I have seen have been board certified and have shared a lot with me about their credentials and reputation. I think any of them would be trustworthy.
So far I like Dr. R's bedside manner, and he spent a lot of time explaining things to me, where-as Dr. C is more quiet. However, I think Dr. C has provided me the info in writing and has followed up showing he cares by seeing me regarding the infection, all free of charge. They also sent me a certificate for a free facial which I'm going to have done next month. More time to decide.
I'm so confused now...hoping it will all come together and make sense after this 3rd consult next week.
Replies (2)
September 8, 2013
Hey there, just some thoughts after reading your last post, this is just based on my personal experience.... I had a hard time find a doc I felt comfortable with, part of the issue is that I am doing two procedures so I need to find someone who has perfected both. Living in las vegas there are tons of docs good at BA but not as many skilled in Rhino. I actually went to five consults in las Vegas, scheduled my procedures with a doc her that I was 100% confident in his BA skills, his rhino images looked good but he too did not do a lot of them (15-20 a year). I ended up canceling my procedures with him the day of pre-op... Rhino is a complex surgery and there are a lot of ways to to do the same thing, some will look good short term but shift or drop and not look good long term. So... my I had to continue my search, feeling I had exhausted my options in LV I started researching docs in So. Cal. I did alot of reasearch up front on the docs on line so I didn't waste time with consuts and trips to docs 5 hours away. I ended up going on three consults in So. Cal, so were not up to a total of 8 consults. I had a strong feeling based on reviews research and the before and afters I would end up picking the doc I have and, his images just look SOOOO good. Now I feel totally at peace with who I have selected to do my rhino, I also learned alot going through all the consults. So, my tips would be to reaserch the heck out of the docs, contact previous patients if possible (I was able to do so here on realself), pick a doc who has a lot of experience in rhino, especially look for similar noses to yours, I do believe different rhino docs are better at different things.
There is a lot of emotion that goes into this desicion but I think when you find the right doc, you'll know and feel confident about the desicion... thats how I'm feel now anyway : ) fells free to ask me a few months from now when I'm on the otherside and healing.
September 14, 2013
Thank you for the advice. I really do feel exactly like you said...emotional. I thought that once I made a real decision to get it done I would feel good about it, and instead I'm starting to feel more and more insecure and unsure as this process continues. It has been interesting how different the doctors have been so far, and their recommendations. I like the idea of seeing a lot of docs and really researching but at the same time, I'm getting exhausted. My husband says I'm obsessed and he doesn't see why I need to do this at all. Especially when he has to see me sad leaving the doctor's office instead of feeling good about myself. I'm sure I'm driving him crazy! I sure wish we lived closer so I could go to where ever you've been. I only know one person here that has had a nose job, and I went to see her doctor last time. I don't want to tell a bunch of people I'm getting this done either, so its kind of a lonely confusing process for me. Thanks for helping me feel better, and with what you said, I still dont entirely feel at peace like you do, so maybe I need to see another doctor first. I guess I have nothing to lose, except maybe a little money, which is well worth it if I find that perfect peace I need. I feel pretty good about Dr. C, and if I end up going with him, I don't think I will be disappointed. I know he knows what he is doing. Maybe the next time I go in there I will have them show me some pictures of before and afters. They haven't done that yet there for me. Thanks again, I will be sure to watch your progress and check in with you too to see how its going for you. Good luck!!
You're smart to go on several consultations and really check out all your options. Glad your first appointment went well.
Here's a list of questions to make sure you get answers to from the prospective doctors.
Please keep us updated throughout your process!