Photos
Odo, the Changeling (have to see the humour, otherwise it gets very depressing)
Photos
Odo, the Changeling (have to see the humour, otherwise it gets very depressing)
Typo!
Sorry, I meant to say that I had my "primary rhinoplasty" done with Dr. Solomon. I have not had any revision yet.
Does this sound familiar?
Does this sound familiar to you too? I was shocked that on the morning of my surgery, as I was waiting to be ushered to the OR, Dr. Solomon came to me in a hurry (he was running late and looked like he'd just woken up!) and said: " so, what you are WE doing today?!!" I felt a bucket of ice dumped over my head. I expected him to hold my chart with photos and diagrams reminding him of what I had specifically requested him to do. Oh, how naive I was...but I still managed to say, "septoplasty and alarpalsty to narrow my nostrils" . To make the long story short, he gave me a botched TIPPLASTY and shifted my nose from centre to the left. I also deal with facial pain (especially when I chew) on a daily basis. I'm still dumbfounded why I didn't run for my life after his question....I guess I'll never know..
Nose changing shape every day!?
My new photos were just taken today. See how wide my nose is. My nose was half this width before my primary rhinoplasty with Solomon. Also, looking up my nostrils, my nose is crooked and shifted to the right. But looking at my frontal view, my nose is totally crooked (has an s-shaped to it) and shifted to the left. The crookedness is very obvious is person and in some photos (depends on lighting) I also have creases above my upper lip that makes me look absolutely hideous and freakish. There used to be 1 crease, but as of a few months ago, there are 2 creases. I DID NOT have these problems before my rhinoplasty. I also have congestion and crusty nose (24/7) and pain in my nose, especially when I chew.
There are no words in the language that could describe how sad I feel and how many tears I've wept every time I see my reflection in the mirror or look at my photos.
Side profile
I wanted to post photos of my side profile but there hasn't been much change in my side profile. I had an almost perfect (near-ideal, according to other experts I consulted) before my primary. My tip wasn't bulbous either. So, I specifically asked Solomon not to touch my tip and my side profile. He still shaved off my side profile (that I asked him not to touch!) and left a hump that now needs to be removed. The hump is not clearly noticeable in photos but you can see it in person. I also have a hanging columella (again, created by my surgeon). My main problems, and I have quite a few of them, are in the tip work, bad workmanship in osteotomy, and overcorrection of my septum. In a nutshell, My face a work of art! Has anyone seen Picasso's "Woman Crying"?
*correction:
*correction: New pics: Notice the width, overprojection of the tip and strange "creases" above my upper lip
Pain in the nose after Rhinoplasty: Has anyone else experienced this?
I did my primary rhinoplasty in November 2010. I experienced severe swelling and bruising and pain. My entire face was swollen for months. I remember I had a pillow-face for at least 4 months after my rhinoplasty. The pain was persistent and my surgeon always contributed that to swelling and the natural healing process that your body has to go through after any surgery. I accepted that because, at the time, it made sense. The pain eased up around 1 1/2 years after my surgery but never completely disappeared.
Two years and a few months after my primary, I started getting swelling the way I did right after my surgery and my tip started getting more and more droopy. And the pain, oh that pain, came back full force. I have taken photos of my nose since my primary so I know for a fact that I haven't been imagining the metamorphosis of my nose! It’s definitely not in my ‘head’! The pain in my nose has never been explained.
My surgeon, after refusing to operate on me, clearly told me that it is impossible to have pain and that "it is all in my head!!" However, for the first year, when he was reassuring that he will fix everything, he acknowledged that I had pain! The 5 experts that I have consulted for my revision have told me that it might be due to irritation and inflammation of my nose but they cannot say with certainty until they are actually doing the revision and open up my nose and see what happened to it during the primary. One suggested that the pain might be due to my collapsed valve (yes, my breathing problems are at least 10 times worse than before).
Thanks to the Realself community, I have been communicating with another patient who has been experiencing the same issue. She has educated me about detecting sources of facial pain: MRI without radiation is the way to know if you have nerve damage! And that the location of my pain may be due to damage to infra-orbital nerve. It makes sense to me, because what I experience is sharp intense nerve pain. I did not know that, and apparently neither did all those experts I consulted!
I know for sure that something happened to my facial nerves during the surgery, but ‘what’? And, ‘how’ can it be fixed? (I don't wish to think ‘if’!)
As Always, I am asking you vigilantes out there to contact me and help me out. Has any one ever experienced what I’ve been experiencing? My search for a revision expert has been modified from not just finding someone who can fix the external structure of my mutilated nose, but to finding a real expert who can find the source of my issues and put an end to this annoying pain.
I will be requesting my GP to request an MRI for me. I live in Canada, so it's going to take a while to get it done. But I will keep you all posted.
Moral of the story: persistent pain and swelling years or even months after rhinoplasty is not NORMAL healing process, and, NO, you’re not going insane either! It is REAL pain and it may be due to some serious damage to your facial nerves and/or sinuses that happened during surgery. Your surgeon is responsible for this damage!
Spreading Hate Speech or Telling the TRUTH?
Unfortunately, a new member of the RealSelf community has accused me of spreading hate speech against Dr. Solomon and asked me to take it elsewhere. She also told me that I am ugly inside and out (don’t know how she could have seen my face—regretfully, I have never claimed to be a supermodel!). She also mentioned that my botched nose job was "karma" coming at me. Although I found the karma comment kind of entertaining because at least this "patient" acknowledges that I ended up with a botched nose job, her comments have truly hurt me. I posted my review on this website after almost 3 years of physical pain and emotional agony that all started after my very unsuccessful primary rhinoplasty with Dr. Solomon. If the walls of his office could talk, they would tell the truth about the way he treated me and how he literally kicked me out of his office telling me that he agrees that my nose is ruined but he can’t and doesn’t “want” to fix it, and how I should stop looking at the mirror and shouldn't take photos, and just learn to live with it! It took me three years to find the courage to speak up. It took me three years of physical and emotional suffering and pain to find the strength to tell my story. I was happy to have found this community but I wasn’t sure if they were going to actually publish my review or just delete it! To my astonishment, my story was published and there was an outpour of support from other community members, some of them former patients of Dr. Solomon. That gave me peace, not only in knowing that I am not alone, but also knowing that my voice counts and I can tell the TRUTH. I will always be grateful to this community and its members for that. My intention was never to spread hate against anyone, but to accomplish 2 things: 1) let those who are travelling the same painful journey know that their pain is VERY REAL and they are not alone in their suffering , and 2) to let those considering surgery know the real truth about rhinoplasty beyond fancy offices and framed degrees on the walls and phony smiles and empty promises. Calling this “hate speech” is a violation of human rights and (according to my friend who is a lawyer), I know that I have the right to pursue this reviewer’s comment as “defamation” and “slander” through legal channels. Also making this comment publicly online can also be interpreted as “cyber-bullying” which is another offence. Hate speech is illegal (so is defamation and slander) in Canada but telling the TRUTH is not. The difference is very clear. End of the story…
A Medical (legal) Question?
Could anyone (especially our Canadian and Ontarian readers) tell me if it is illegal for a doctor not to mention or describe 'rhinoplasty' procedure in your medical and surgical reports (when in fact rhinoplasty was done and the surgeon got paid for). What is this called in medical/legal terms? 'Professional misconduct'? or, 'Falsification of medical records'? or, something else? As always, you can PM me if you prefer. Thank you all.
