Rhinoplasty Part 1: Just Got My Cast Off - Vancouver, BC

I apologize in advance for the length of this post - i have a few month's worth of stuff to talk about (lol). please bear with me...

I already have an account on realself that I am using for another kind of review, and I made the mistake of putting up photos there without editing out parts of my face or tattoos I have. Then I realized that I can't delete them (as far as I know). So I made this new account so I can document my experience with rhinoplasty and upload photos with my eyes and tattoos covered - I'm not ashamed of what I'm going to get done, but I only want the few people I've already told to know. The rest, if I can get away with not having to say anything, I'll be happy with that. Chances are, I'll eventually close this account after all is said and done, as this seems to be the only way to delete reviews, lol. I just want a place to document my experience and get support and have potential questions answered, and as well, maybe help out others who have similar questions or thoughts. I've found this website very helpful in making my decisions regarding surgeries, and so I figure maybe my review can help at least 1 person. But once I'm all healed up from the surgery, I'd rather delete it altogether. I don't like the idea of all my photos and stuff being accessible to everyone, forever - it freaks me out, haha.

My story pretty much begins the same as everyone else's.. I had a decently cute nose up until I was about 8, and then certain things started to become more noticeable, such as a small bump in my bridge and a crooked nasal bone (mostly noticeable on the right side of my nose). I wish I could blame this on breaking my nose or something, but alas, that's never happened. My mom has a nice nose, and the fact is, I just inherited my dad's nose. Everyone in my dad's side of the family has a nose with "character", let's just put it that way. My dad's nose suits HIS face, but that's also because he's a man, lol. I'm proud to look like a pretty equal combination of both my parents, except for my nose - it's not feminine at all.

My main problems with my nose are: it's too long, the tip is too big and droops a LOT (especially when I smile or talk), the small bump on my bridge, and the unevenness. I do have a misaligned jaw, and so my nose (like my mouth) tends to (very slightly) sway more to the right side of my face. My nostrils are also uneven, and this is most noticeable if you look at my right profile. Currently, it feels like my nose on my right side of my face literally is taking over my face, whereas my nose is little more gracious when looking at my left profile. I would still want to change it even if both sides looked like my left, but at least I'd be less self-conscious overall of my current nose.

I'd already broached the topic of plastic surgery with my mom and dad this past summer because I made the decision to get a breast augmentation next year. Nothing big; I'm barely over 5 feet and don't weigh much, so I know that anything larger than a small C cup would look silly on my frame. Overall, I love who I am and I'd say I'm about 85% comfortable in my own skin. The only things about me that I never really liked were my small breasts (I have a bit of a muscular body so they never seemed to fit my frame, and as I'm a small person, they make me feel sometimes like I have the body of a 13-year-old, despite being in my early twenties), my nose, my crooked teeth, and my butt. My teeth I am currently straightening out with braces, and I believe in exercising to improve your health and figure, so I know things like my butt and thighs are fixable by my own doing, I just need to maintain the self-discipline. But the fact is, my breasts and nose can't be improved by any other means than plastic surgery. I personally believe that, so long as you do it for the right reasons and aren't endangering your health, plastic surgery is just as acceptable as doing OTHER things to change parts of your body, such as braces, or makeup, or dying your hair. Plastic surgery just has a negative connotation attached to it, which is why it's criticized by lots of people. It's very unfortunate. That's also part of the reason why I'm discussing these things here, but will delete my review once I'm all healed up and ready to stop talking about it; I'm doing this for my own reasons, but I don't exactly want people I know to stumble across this, recognize me, and then give me lectures, lol. Hopefully people here understand where I'm coming from..

Anyways, when I finally made the decision (after years of thinking about it) that I'd get a breast augmentation when I turn 22 next year, I told my fiance, my mom, and my dad. My fiance kept telling me that he loves me the way I am now, but he understands that if this is what I feel I need to do, he'll support me. He hasn't judged me at all about it. I was nervous to tell my mom, since she's the closest person in my life and who I tell absolutely everything to. I also care WAY too much about her opinion. She was a little surprised, since I'd never mentioned this topic to her before, and at first she was skeptical. But after I showed her all the research I'd been doing and would continue to do (I'm not the kind of person who does things half-assed; I do my homework to a tedious extent), she slowly came to my side and was supportive. The one thing she told me though was that she didn't want me turning into one of those girls who gets hooked on plastic surgery and suddenly I don't look like the same person anymore. Because I know this won't be the case, I assured her that wouldn't happen. Telling my dad was even easier, because he just laughed and told me it's my body and whatever I do to it is my choice and he just wants me to be happy.

The thing was, once I told them the truth about my decision to want to get that, rhinoplasty was soon to follow in my head. Just as long as I'd wished I had slightly bigger boobs, I'd likewise wished I had a smaller, more feminine nose. But since I just told my parents about the breast augmentation, I felt I'd be pushing my luck if I opened up to them about wanting to fix my nose as well. Especially since my mom has expressed her concern that I'd become "hooked". The truth was, these were the only two surgeries I ever cared to get; I'm more than happy with everything else on my body, and I really don't want any other plastic surgery. But I worried that, because I was only discussing it NOW, despite thinking about it for years, it might appear to her to be a sporadic decision, and perhaps "proof" that I was already getting ahead of myself. I spent about 3 months doing research on rhinoplasty, reading reviews, looking at pictures, and researching surgeons in Vancouver. The only person who knew was my fiance. When I first told him, he didn't quite understand why I wanted to get it fixed. Well, I mean, he DID, but he personally doesn't see the flaws that I see in it. Ahh, the perks of having a wonderful man who literally loves everything about you, lol. However, same as the other situation, he just hugged me and told me that he'll support my decision because he knows it'll make me happier and more confident, and I'm doing it for ME and for no one else. What I like is that he's GENUINELY supportive; he doesn't begrudgingly support me but is critical about it. I am very lucky to have him.

I wound up feeling compelled to tell one of my bridesmaids over the phone, because I'd booked a consultation with Dr. Denton and I was feeling morally guilty about keeping this information from my mom, as we tell each other everything. Like my fiance, she didn't think rhinoplasty was necessary, but she was kind about it. She DID think I should tell my mom though, and so, nervous and shaking on the phone, I told her. I explained everything to her - how much research I was doing, that I was booking consultations with two surgeons (the one with Dr. Denton and another one with Dr. Bounassisi in late December), and that I understand why this might worry her but that I wasn't going to have anymore plastic surgery after these two operations, because these are the only two I want. To my surprise, she told me that she already expected I'd tell her I wanted to get rhinoplasty, because apparently I've told her several times throughout my life that I disliked my nose and wanted it fixed. She told me that she was less surprised by this than when I told her of the breast augmentation. LOL, go figure! So she's completely on board and fine by it all, because she trusts me and my judgement. She knows if I don't feel 100% safe, I won't go through with it. I haven't told my dad, though, or any of my other close friends. I would like to imagine that perhaps none of them will notice, and then I can get away without having to tell them.

I had my consultation with Dr. Denton on Monday, November 5th, and was very impressed. I went in with about 40 typed up questions, a list of my likes and dislikes in nose jobs I've seen, pre-existing conditions of mine he should know about (like my misaligned jaw), my own expectations, and pictures. I'd heard from a couple reviews that the odd person felt rushed by him, as though he didn't have time for all of their questions. This certainly was not the case with my experience; he patiently answered all of my questions and even let me refer to him jokingly as "Doc". I pretty much covered any question you can and should ask at a consultation; if anyone is interested in what Dr. Denton's answers were (everything from pre-op questions, to surgery questions, to post-op care questions), just message me and I can message you all the questions and his answers. He felt my nose a bit and agreed with my observations. He also told me that I have thicker skin, so that'll be in my favour for the surgery. He told me that the nature of my concerns was pretty mild, and so more than likely he won't resort to open rhinoplasty, but closed, which I like because then I won't have any visible scars. He also told me that he uses Twilight anesthesia, as it results in the lowest chances of nausea post-surgery. The idea kind of freaks me out; can anyone who's undergone Twilight anesthesia tell me a bit of what it was like, to ease my fears? Lol :P

I told him that what I would like done to my nose is: shorten the length, reduce the size of the tip a bit, get rid of the bump, even out my bridge, upturn the tip a bit, and give the bridge a slight curve. I told him what I DON'T like is too pointy a tip (I still want a bit of roundness), piggy snouts, and too much of a curve. He assured me that my desires are achievable with my nose and shouldn't be difficult to produce.

Then came the digital imaging. I have to admit, I was the most excited for this. I really didn't like seeing my nose blown up on his computer screen, lol. He edited the front of my nose first, and at first, I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. He mentioned that, due to the contrast and it being a flat image, it's difficult to fully see, but rest-assured, my tip would still be round and not pointy, which was nice to hear. Then he edited the right side, profile, and I have to admit, I was kind of horrified at first. Though he was doing exactly what I wanted with it, my initial thought was, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND AT ALL!" I instantly wondered if I was making a mistake. But the longer I looked at it, the more I noticed how much more it fit my face, softened my features, and gave me a more feminine look. The more I looked at it, the more I was starting to love it. All of a sudden, it dawned on me: it's not that I didn't like the new nose; it's that I've been so used to looking at MY nose for the last 21 years. Whether or not I like it, it's what I've been accustomed to. So seeing myself with a different nose was startling and foreign, which I misinterpreted as dislike. But I'm actually in love with the digital imaging of my nose. When he edited the left side, it solidified these feelings. By that point, I was sold, and knew in my heart that I was going to do this. Also, it was nice to see the very real possibility of no longer having a "bad" side; though aspects of my nose would still be (slightly) uneven, that would make it look more natural. The important thing was that, though both sides will obviously look a bit different, both sides look wonderful in their own way. I like the idea of not having a self-conscious angle or side anymore. I also liked how Dr. Denton was honest about there still being small aspects where my nose would be uneven - I respected his honesty, and more so the fact that he referred to these imperfections as "what makes us human", as opposed to lying to me and promising me things he couldn't achieve.

With the taxes and the cost of the anesthetic and surgical fees, my cost would be around $6800. I knew it'd most likely be around that much, but it still took me by surprise and slightly disappointed me, only because I hate the idea of spending that much money, lol. I feel pretty confident that I want to go with Dr. Denton, but I still want to have my consultation with Dr. Bounassisi in December. His receptionist was a little more helpful over the phone, and apparently one perk is that Dr. B has a larger number of employees, so you get more post-op care. A downside is that Dr. B is more expensive, so I'll wait to see what quote THEY give me.

I'm getting married next August, and I want to have my breast augmentation in the fall, so I've decided that, no matter what, I'll get the rhinoplasty in April of this coming year, as soon as I'm done the exams for my final semester of University. It'll be my graduation present to myself. The nice thing about that is that my mom won't be coming into town until mid-June for my graduation ceremony, and it takes approximately 6 weeks for your nose to be considered "healed" (to the extent that you can touch it like you would've your old nose, without the worry of pain or hindering the healing process). So I'll be in the clear by the time she arrives, so she doesn't have to see my nose look all wonky. Another perk is that it'd be healed for about 3.5 to 4 months by the time my wedding arrived, so it would look more or less more natural by then, and then others won't suspect anything (hopefully).

Okay, that's my story up until this point. Sorry it took so many words to say it, lol. I appreciate being able to record my journey here, with so many understanding and supportive people going through the same things. I will update after I have my consultation with Dr. Bounassisi next month. Have a happy holiday!