Rhinoplasty Ahoy! - Stanford, CA

I've wanted a rhinoplasty since I was a child. However, I've thus far been in school (to get my bachelor's, and then my doctorate)- as a huge proponent of delayed gratification, I chose to wait until all my schooling was done to get my "dream" procedure.

I've been looking into the rhinoplasty procedure and consulting with doctors for about one year now. I debated going down to LA for a doctor who I felt could give me that flattering curve that I want, but eventually I settled on a pricier (given that he is a facial "specialist") doctor closer to home.

I've scheduled my pre-op for early October 8th, and my surgery for mid-October.

I'm anxious and a little scared. Not of the procedure itself, but rather that I'm not sure if the results will be what I want. I am really looking forward to my pre-op so I can be reassured that the doctor understands what I want and what would look good given my unique facial qualities.

I suppose this is normal; did anyone experience anything similar pre-op? How long did it take you to heal?

The one on the left and the middle were by my doctor- the one on the far right was mine, which is a look I like and I'm hoping looks natural on my face. I'm interested to hear what you think!

New pics. Sorry for the constant updates.

I've stocked up on protein shakes, flexy straws, and face wipes (to clean my face around the bandages). I'm also gonna be sure to get my vitamins in before and during recovery (Costco kale packs- veerrryyy smoothie friendly!).

Does anyone have any other tips? Thanks in advance!

I hate taking pictures because of my nose- but I've uploaded a couple for your viewing pleasure :)

So, I have my pre-op later today, which I'm excited about... but I can't help but wonder if I should have consulted with Dr. Grigoryants instead- there are so many reviews and pictures of his patients that I love.

I went with Dr. Most based on my gut feeling that he could give me the results I want, on the fact that he is closer to home (so I wouldn't have to travel), and the fact that he had an opening for surgery during a period where I can heal, etc., without work or school.

But now I'm wondering if I should have stuck it out for Dr. G- he's so fully booked, I really wish he took a fee for consults, because people literally book him 3-4 months out in advance... SIGH.

Okay, quick update. I had my pre-op appointment this morning, and everything went well. I'm healthy as a horse! No issues to speak of. I'm feeling much better than I was this morning. I think it's the anxiety or fear of the results that was creating doubt in my mind, but after I talked to my doctor again about the results I was hoping to achieve, I'm convinced I made the right decision.

I dropped by my pharmacy on the way home and got myself taken care of with my scrip and OTC meds- a bottle of hydrogen peroxide was only like 1.25$! Wasn't expecting it to be so cheap. I also picked up the Bactericum (forgot how to spell the name) and also bought Triderma bruise healing cream. Neither Dr. Most or the Nurse recommended the bruise healing cream but It was pretty cheap ($10 on target.com) and I have always been kind of a slow healer from bruises, so I wanted to make sure I had some. Also bought some chapstick and EAS shakes!

It's finally happening!!!!!!!

So, 5 days away from surgery. All the butterflies in my stomach are gone. As I mentioned in my last review, I had some pre-op jitters. During pre-op appointment with my Dr., I made sure to be incredibly honest about what my expectations are, and that I was a little nervous. I'm not going to put on a front for a man who is literally going to alter my face. I was clear that my biggest fears were: (i) ending up with an overly "done" nose, (ii) ending up with a nose that looked far too much like my old nose or (iii) ending up with a nose that doesn't look like it belongs on my face.

Dr. Most told me: "Well, I'm expecting you to be nervous; I'm making changes to your face. I'd be more nervous if you were acting like you were getting a car wash or something."

And with that, I felt better. These feelings are normal. I think the best thing you can do is talk to your doctor. I brought in a morph I made, and I really made it absolutely clear what I would like done. I think any half decent PS will be honest about whether or not your results can be achieved. When I showed him my morph, he agreed it "look[ed] pretty," but was unsure if that particular slope can be achieved due to the thickness of my skin and how Asian skin tends to heal. And that's fine: he said he would be happy to make it our goal, although he cautioned me about the fact that he simply cannot give me a guarantee. I'm extremely happy about this: I mean, let's be reasonable, anyone can photoshop a nose into the shape we want, but DOING it is a whole 'nother story. He'd promised me he'd do his best, and I believe him. I think between the two morphs I posted above, the result will likely end up somewhere between the two, which I am 100% content with :)

My friends (the ones who matter, at least) know about my rhinoplasty and support me. I have to admit, I kind of rolled my eyes at the "you don't need it, but we support you" line (which I'm sure countless other women have heard)- "need" is such a fluid term! Anyway, I'm not complaining. I'm just happy everyone is being so supportive.

Thanks to the Realself community for following my story and answering my questions, too :) you guys rock!

Well, I'm cheating- the big day is tomorrow! Surgery is at 7AM, so I'll need to leave home at around 530 :((( I spent today putting together a "go bag" for tomorrow's surgery. Since I don't wear glasses, i'll have to bring my contacts case and some contact fluid so I won't wear contacts during the surgery. I also brought my meds (vico/antibiotics), q tips, bacitracin, and a protein shake (and a flexy straw). You never know what you might need!

Bye nose! It's been real. Can't say you'll be missed.

Hello friends! Surgery came and went- everything went great! Here's the play by play:

I live about an hour away from the hospital. We planned to leave at 5:30 for my 7AM surgery just to make sure we wouldn't be late in case we got lost. We did get a little lost (omg the road was so unbelievably foggy and dark! so dark in fact my dad almost drove up onto a shoulder because we could only see 20-25 feet in front of us, and he thought it was a freeway entrance!)

When we got to the hospital, their regular receptionist office was closed. Thankfully, Mia (surgical assistant) gave us a number to call in case no one was there to open the door. and she came quickly so we weren't out in teh frigid cold. Inside, she had me take some Afrin which tasted AWFUL- it goes in your nose but ends up in your mouth and on the back of your tongue- YUCK.

After the afrin, one of Dr. Most's fellows came in to introduce herself, discuss the extent of my consent, and explain she'd be observing the procedure and helping Dr. Most, but the procedure itself will be done by him. She left, then returned a few minutes later w/ Dr. Most, who played around with my nose again and explained to the fellow what he'd be doing, and told me that he reviewed the pictures and was prepared to operate! YAY! Seriously, I love this guy. No overselling, no over-reassuring, just straight forward, to the point, and clear. He also is good about reiterating what your goals are. I mean, when u think about it, I met this guy 3x. LOL. So I was a little afraid he'd forget all the little things we talked about in our past meetings. But really- he made me feel at ease.

Lastly, the Anesthesiologist came in and explained what was goign to happen. He was very friendly and kind of young! But basically he explained that I'd feel a little woozy then black out, haha. Sounds good to me!

They took me to the OR, where I laid down and they wrapped me in what has to be the most AMAZING packaging ever- it's a warm air blanket! Kinda looks like amazon.com packaging, with those big air sacs all next to each other like a blanket to keep me warm. Over that, they laid a couple other blankets too. The anesthesiologist made some light convo, told me he was inserting the IV now, and i was O-U-T. Cold. Maybe mid-sentence, haha, because i don't remember falling asleep. I hope I didn't do anthing embarassing.

NEXT THING I KNOW: I'm in the recovery room with Mia. I have two little bandages on my eyes. I felt like I had maybe been out for 15 min, haha. I was still loopy from the anesthesia but I do recall lifting up one of the banadages to take a look around- I was realy confused lol like "where am i??" Mia looked at me and I was like "sorry- just wanted to take a peek" LOL OMG i'm so embarassing hahhaah. If Dr. Most or his team is reading this: sorry, guys. Hope I wasn't too weird.

I woke up fully pretty shortly after that, no big deal. I really really had to pee, though, so Mia helped me to the restroom (IV sack and all, which we hung on the door haha). When we got back, I put my clothes on, and then Mia went and got my mom. My dad went around back to move the car closer to the ramp, so it was just mom and me. Mom was surprised I looked so okay. The cast is quite small compared to some of the serious headgear I've seen on some people. She was also surprised I was up and about and talking- didn't appear to be in any pain at all. I then had to pee again! Seriously! Is this a side effect of the happy juice or something? Because later I had to pee in the car on teh way home- I hadn't even had anything to drink asie from a bit of water to take with my vico. Mia taught mom how to clean my drainage, and then we were off.

When I got home, I crawled into my bed and we cleaned my drainage- have to admit, my nose looks freaky! However: i can tell the hump is gone (YAYYYY) and my drooping tip is gone (DOUBLE FREAKING YAYYYY)- im really happy with the amount he took off, not too much. No upturnedness here!

That's it for now folks. I'm off to ice my face- my eyes are starting to blacken a little. I should also mention I slathered some arnica on- hope to attack the bruising preemptively.

Pics soon :) Hope this was informative for you beauties, especially for my fellow Dr.Mostians. Stay beautiful guys!

Hello again dears. Updating because I got such great noose, I had to share.

Post-op, in the recovery room, Dr. Most came in. My band aids were still over my eyes so I couldn't see him. But he had the most excited sound in his voice- like he just won a new car, haha. He said; "Everything went great! Better than I could even hope for- I got your nose VERY close to your "goal nose" (see the "morph" i provided above). It looked really great on the operating table- even better than I anticipated." OBVIOUSLY I WAS THRILLED. But in my anesthesia/vico haze, I wasn't sure if I was hearing correctly and I also didnt wanna get my hopes up too high! The sugery only happened a few minutes ago haha!

Well, tonight I got my check in call with Dr. Most. The first thing he said, again, was that my nose looked excellent on the OT. He's confident he got me close to what I wanted, and he sounded REALLY PROUD of his work: like a proud dad at his newborn son lol! Not cocky at all- more just like, grateful that everything worked out favorably and happy that he really really did his best in giving me what I wanted.

I'm so happy I could cry.

I've changed my drainage 3x today- the bleeding isn't excessive or anything, the gauze just starts to feel heavy when it starts to fill up and that makes me feel icky. Also, I'm not experiencing much discomfort (kinda just feels like my face is smooshed with a balloon from the inside of my head, if that makes sense), but I am feeling pain around my sutures. I took another vico to get me through the night. I am probably not gonna get any solid food in today- my upper lip feels very tender and I am scared to move my jaw too much for fear of disturbing the sutures. The EAS low carb shakes are SAVING MY LIFE right now. they're delicious and nearly sugar free- not to mention surprisingly filling.

I will also upload some pics I took on the way home from the hospital. Not exactly glamorous but I DON'T CAAARE! HELLO NEW NOSE! I LOVE YOU! I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU! If there's enough interst, I'll do a "panoramic" side-to-side of my nose too so you can get the in-person view. That way I can take another after the cast comes off, and more after the swelling goes down. THOUGHTS?

Hi friends. Late night update, especially for my dear friend MatiZ- good luck on your surg tmr girl! Wanted to post my pic so you all can see.

I'm still very swollen (only 6 days out from surgery)- its mostly in my cheeks, but also in my tip... I really think I like my new nose but it's definitely taking a lot of getting used to!!! I know the swelling will go down but I do feel a tad piggy. Wondering how much my tip will drop (if at all)- any rhino patients have their own experience to share?

Thanks guys. Enjoy.

Day 1 of new nosedom. Of course I'm expecting things to shift and move around, but I think I love it. My profile is particularly amazing! I'll be posting lots of new pics...

So, I'm 10 days post op, 4 days from cast removal. I initially thought I looked piggy and that my tip was too pointed and high for my face. My still-swollen cheeks didn't help much either. I was VERY unsure about how I felt about the results. But of course, thanks to Realself and all your amazing reviews, I know better than to make a snap judgment right after cast removal!

After a couple days of scooting around town and seeing my friends and family, I have to say: My rhinoplasty is probably one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Not only is my new nose a drastic improvement from my old one, but it is somehow still natural looking on my face. My aesthetician did not notice a thing, which is surprising because I see her every month. My (usually very critical) family pretty much agreed across the board that my face looks more "gentle" and less "angry," and that it is very harmonious with my other features. My cousin said I look more girly and cute now, and my smile has improved (no droop!) My mom and dad were at first surprised at my piggy tip too, but after just a couple days, the tip has already dropped a bit - maybe 1 or 2 mms. Now that my tip has dropped and my swelling in the cheeks is gone, it really does look like it suits my face.

I really have to give my hats off to Dr. M. Not only did he give me teh results I was hoping to achieve, but he did it in a way that is suitable to my natural features. My incision is already invisible- almost fully healed and imperceptible, and I feel so much better about myself. Seriously. I'll post pics or maybe a full panoramic video soon. I'm ecstatic about the results!!!!

PS: if any of you would prefer to see pics w/o me covering the eyes, feel free to PM. I know it's hard to see w/o the full pic sometimes, and I'm happy to share with other community members who have shared their own story.

The difference is SMALL, but it's definitely visible! Tip dropped by a couple millimeters, and the swelling in my face is almost completely gone. My nose finally looks like it it's my own! All strange "sensations" have almost completely stopped as well. :)