My Post-op Open Rhinoplasty Story. September 2013.

Hi everyone. Finally taking that big step and sharing my story. I'm doing this for me and for those of you who are interested in having rhinoplasty and want to know what to expect.

Just like most of you here, I've never liked my nose and I always thought it never fit my face. It's too big for my small features. In addition to it being big, it is slightly tilted to my left and is quite droopy, especially when I smile/laugh. I would never allow pictures be taken from side, and whenever pictures were taken from the front, I'd make sure to not smile full-on as my nose would look huge. Needless to say, my nose made me feel less pretty and very insecure and self-conscious.

So when a friend of mine had rhinoplasty and seeing her results (well, not initially, it took two years for the swelling to go away and her nose looked so cute) and the boost in confidence it gave her I decided I wanted to have one too. This was very difficult for me to admit. I am not a shallow person, and I have never really been fond of plastic surgery but my nose was getting the better out of me and it was time I did something about it. So I booked a consultation with a great plastic surgeon and we met on the 3rd of September (yes this has happened so quickly). It was the doctor who performed rhinoplasty on my friend I mentioned before so I completely trusted him. He took a look at my face and instantly could tell what needed to be done and noticed things nobody (not even my family) had noticed before. Being me and all, I fainted in this hands/arms while he was having a look at my face. I dont know why I fainted but he insisted it was because of the situation being a sensitive one. Needless to say, I was so embarrassed but he was professional about it. I left his office that day having booked my surgery for the 10th of September.

Surgery day came and my aforementioned friend came with me. Prior to the surgery day she had given me so much advise and informed what was going to happen so I knew exactly what was going to happen and nothing unexpected happened (apart from surgery taking a wee bit longer than expected). I was so nervous though, but as I sat in the waiting room before seeing the doctor (for the face sketching) I briefly talked to a girl who had her nose done 6 months ago (by the same doctor) and it looked perfect, must have been faith we started talking because afterwards I was no longer as nervous. My turn came and before I knew it I was laying on the surgery bed waiting to go under general anaesthesia. Next thing I remember is waking up crying, and wanting to hold my nurse’s hand while she let me go of haha, such a baby.

When I eventually woke up, I was sooo dizzy and could barely stand up. After a few hours I could eat a sandwish and go to the bathroom alone. I was feeling ok, and the nose wasn’t too painful. When I went to the bathroom I avoided to look at myself in the mirror as I was too scared I would faint in shock. Finally I used my black screen on my phone to have a look and all I could see was the huge cast and the drip gauze. At 17.00 I left the hospital and took a 2-hour long bus ride home. This was okay because I was so high on my drugs haha. The first night was a pain, I was unable to sleep, and woke every hour or so and drank water and applied lipbalm because of the dryness and soreness of throat and lips.

to be continued.