Post-operation Experience of Rhinoplasty, What I Went Through Exactly, What I Learnt About It

I went through rhinoseptoplasty and turbinoplasty. My nose was a bit deviated and a bit saddle with turbinate hypertrophy. I wished to have a straight, justified and slimmer nose. I was very lucky to have chosen a perfect surgeon, so the result was great. Nevertheless, it comes with a price and I want to share with you my story after the operation, what I think about it and my experience so you may have some preparation for your own journey!

If you want to know exactly what was going on after my surgery, please read on. Otherwise, just skip this part.

When I first opened my eyes after 5 hours sleeping (the surgery was 2.5 hours) I saw many nurses moving around in a large recovery room. I felt like I just woke up in somewhere like heaven. The blood pressure monitor kept doing its job after every 10 mins or so. A nurse asked me if I'm ok, and I said I was tired and thirsty. I tried my best only to speak a few words. Yes because you are not allowed to eat or drink any thing in 6 hours except water, and 1 hour before operation even no water. My throat hurt and was terribly dry, but I was given only some little sip of water. Then I was brought to a waiting room where my husband had been waiting for 5 hours. A nurse asked my if I wanted a sandwich, I said no as my face had become swollen then. How was I supposed to eat a sandwich when even my mouth movement was difficult? Luckily I thought of the honey I brought in the morning. It was perfect for this situation: extremely dehydrated with extremely dry lips and sore throat (I then found the sore throat maybe because they put some breathing tube into your throat). I asked my husband to apply some honey on to my lips, and mix a great deal of honey in the water bottle (the one with a pump). I was actually fed by drinking honey water. I felt much more comfortable and much better at once! What a miracle! Then I could drink some milk by a straw. The nurse said you should not drink a lot of milk as it creates more mucus. I could not breath AT ALL, and they were covering my eyes with a little ice pack which I found not really helpful, as it did not attach to the eyes. The red fluid kept running down my nose and the nurses had to change the sterile cotton pad that lied under my nose quite often. I was still extremely tired from the anaesthesia. I went home a few hours after the nurse gave me some pain killer. I was told they already gave me some Panadol after the surgery finished (may be by injection). We went by car so I experienced bleeding in the next 6 days (you should not move around after the surgery). I did not have to take any pain killer since then, but the face kept being swollen (with bruises under and above the eyes) more in the first 2 days, and my nose was completely blocked in 4 days. The reddish fluid kept running down my nose however less and less. On day 4, after using all kinds of remedies, from bromelian (pineapple, in or after meals), arnica (cream), to saline spray (although the spray did not work for the first few days due to the heavily blocked nostrils), and antibiotics administered, bruises mostly reduced. The nose still kept being blocked and I had to breath by mouth all the time. That led to heavy snoring (which was horrible), sore throat and extremely dry mouth at night, which made me very uncomfortable. So every few hours I had to apply honey on the lips, and poured some in the mouth to let it dissolve slowly. Honey by far could be the best in this case, while you can't open your mouth wide enough to eat or drink. It gives you energy (as you would feel exhausted in the first week), keeps the lips and throat moist for a long time, and most importantly, it amazingly treats sore throat and boost your immune system, helps stop bleeding while not elevating the blood sugar. I chose the Beeotic honey sold in Coles (one with prebiotic ingredients that help minimise the antibiotics' side effects).

I was advised that the blocked air ways, breathing by mouth only, sneezing, and on and off bleeding are all normal in the first few days. When my nose cleared up a bit, I experienced less snoring. During the first week I could only have soup base, or rice soup, ice cream... something you can just put in your mouth by opening it just a bit, as your lips and teeth are numb and stiff, and the jaws and the upper lip should not have lots of movements as it causes bleeding and runny nose. One of my biggest concerns is that I could taste basic flavors like sweet, sour, salty, bitter and unami, but couldn't smell anything, even when the nostrils was cleared. I was so scared then, as there is a little percentage of people who lost their smell sense permanently. If so, this should have been my biggest and the most stupid decision for doing rhinoplasty, just for the sake of better appearance! Fortunately I started to smell a bit better day by day, and I prayed everyday that I wouldn't be in the list of poor people with lost or impaired sense of smell after rhinoplasty.

Believe it or not, for me the most painful part of rhinoplasty is the removal of internal splints and the suture! It was not unbearable, but it may keep your eyes in tears and you would only wish it ended as soon as possible! I had some trouble with a stitch inside the left nostril as my body wasn't healing properly, so it needed extra attention with more antibiotic ointment for over 2 weeks. The nose was also a bit swollen so it was taped for one more week. I don't know if it would be faster for other people, but for me the recovery took nearly a month. After two weeks, the nose was still swollen outside, and inside the dissolvable thread was still there.

After a month my nose started to recover much more quickly. Although it still feels stiff inside and uncomfortable sometimes, I can see the improvements in its appearance day by day, and I'm so grateful I have chosen the right surgeon.

If you have a conviction in your whole life that the nose makes you look horrible every time you look in the mirror, which brings down your self esteem and you definitely want a change, or if you REALLY have serious functional issues, then it's worth putting surgery in consideration. But if the functional issues is not a big problem; if you feel your current shape is ok but still want a better one, or if ANYONE ever wants you to change, my advice: DON'T do anything to your dear nose or anything that significantly affect ANY parts of the Body!!! Believe me, in this case, it's not worth it. You may get a nicer look, but you have to pay too much a price. To be honest I have always desired to have a better look of the nose, that's why I was so decisive to start a consultation, then paid a fortune and went through all the surgery. I was one of the lucky persons to be happy with the new nose, but after all that I went through, I would never dare to involve in plastic surgery again. That was when you was happy with the results and there were no complications with the operation. If the surgery went wrong, if you were not satisfied with the new look, if you couldn't get back your once wonderful sense of smell, or you became a permanent snoring hippo at night due to invasive operation on the nose structure, how tragic your life would be? If you decided to go for another revision surgery, it would be even more risky and costly! Leave alone all the discomfort of mouth breathing, stitch removal to all night on the back with head elevated for weeks, would the fact that it may lead to complications like permanently lost or impaired smell sense and permanent snoring make you think twice? Even though this is mentioned in the information papers from the consultation, you are too excited about your dream-come-true to ignore every warning. Who knows the unlucky one could be yourself??? Only when you have gone through the operation and can't smell anything for weeks or months may you realise this scary truth. Remember there's nothing you can do with permanent loss of smell sense. You can't turn back time and undo your decision.

OK, if you're still determined to go ahead, make sure you're doing this for YOURSELF, not for anyone else, and not to impress others with your new look. Even when you're happy with your nose, people may look at you and judge that you did have a plastic surgery, or that you rejected you family traits and so on. I realised people would not pay much attention or appreciate your new appearance. Your life is still carrying on as it is, with not much difference. Only your love ones care about the changes, but they love you for who you are, not for how you look.

Please make sure to research a lot to find a qualified surgeon who is nationally accredited in plastic surgery. In the case of rhinoplasty, septoplasty or any kind of nose surgery, try to find a qualified Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist who is also qualified WITH extensive experience in Plastic surgery (e.g. In Australia, FRACS and ASPS member). Then you can minimise the risk of an aggressive invasive operation only for the sake of beauty, when you may have to bear health complications forever (You don't want to live the rest of your life with regrets and hatred towards yourself and the surgeon). Never place your whole life in the wrong hands because of your spontaneous moments or emotional reasons! Research, choose the right surgeon, look at their website (only investigate further if it is a carefully administered and written website. Even the smallest mistakes on the website can tell much about the service. How can they be professional and take good care of you when on their website the fonts in the same paragraph are different, the emails are left unanswered, or there is no before and after pictures, or if any, very few with hardly any comments or explanation about the case? A good website of a plastic surgeon should be well organised, with easy-to-find contacts, emails closely monitored, and a great deal of easy-to-open before and after pictures (which says a lot about their skills and beauty perception). Filter two of the best surgeons, then trust your instinct!
Good luck and all the very best!