Rhinoplasty to fix high bridge and bump, 3 months post op

It took 6 weeks for the swelling to go down enough to where I felt like I looked like myself again, except with a smaller nose. Even now, the tip is still very firm and slightly numb, and my upper lip is slightly numb.

My tip is slightly crooked, which leads my nostrils to appear asymmetrical. I'm disappointed by this outcome but overall I would not trade my new nose for my old one. The improvement in the bridge and the overall reduction in size was well worth going through with the procedure. I don't feel anywhere near as self conscious about my nose as I had for the last 20+ years. And recently I was thrilled to see a candid picture of my profile and not hate the picture!

At the one month point, I'm feeling more and more like myself. While the initial recovery period to get over the bruising from surgery is amazingly brief, the fact is that the overall recovery is pretty slow and requires patience.

I still have some stitches up in my nostrils that haven't dissolved which are a bit bothersome. I've also had seasonal allergies that really irritated my sinuses and resulted in a constant runny nose. This is problematic since my nose is still very firm and slightly painful to the touch, particularly the tip. So wiping with a tissue is no fun. In the past week the swelling has come down enough that I feel like I look like myself again. I was very swelled between my eyes before, since my surgeon did some work to lower my high bridge. This swelling really made me self conscious but has improved. I think my smile is not back to normal, and I'm not sure it will ever be the same as before. My surgeon made an incision behind my upper lip to stop the tip of my nose from moving when I talk. So far this appears to have been effective in stopping my nose from moving, but as a result I think my smile will not be as 'toothy' as before. This may actually be the giveaway in pictures that I had something done to my face!

I'm disappointed to see that my nose is definitely crooked at the tip. While I may be the only one who ever notices, I'm still bothered by it. It's especially apparent when looking at my nostrils. Since my tip pulls to one side, my nostrils don't look like they are the same size. If I push the tip to center with my finger, my nostrils look the same. I will see how it goes over the course of the next year, and maybe I will be pleasantly surprised to end up with a perfectly straight nose. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

Overall I think at this point I can say that my rhinoplasty was worth it. In spite of the crookedness, I still prefer my new nose over the old one, particularly when it comes to my profile. I already can't really remember how my old nose looked in the mirror, and I feel like my new nose fits my face very well. It's possible that down the road I will consider a revision to make my tip straight.

I had my splint removed on Day 7. Since then I have been enjoying my new nose, mostly my new profile. I couldn't be happier with it. I think the tip is quite swollen as well and will become more defined over time. But to be honest it doesn't bother me as it is.

Pros:
-I've been able to breathe very well since about Day 6.
-I love the profile of my new nose.
-Bruising is 90% gone and I can cover what's left with makeup.

Cons:
-Lots of discomfort from the incision that occurred behind my upper lip. It is still tender and swollen and gets irritated easily if I talk a lot or after eating. It's the kind of constant dull pain that just wears you out. However, the whole point of the incision was to reduce how much the tip of my nose used to move when I talked. And at this point there is absolutely no movement anymore. I realize that could change as things heal and my nose becomes less stiff, but I feel pretty confident that it will never be as pronounced as it was before. So I just have to deal with the recovery and be patient.
-I am still very swollen so I'm having a hard time looking at myself head-on because I just do not look like myself. I especially don't like how swollen I am between my eyes. I'm assuming that this will improve over the next couple of weeks and I'll start to get a better idea of what my nose really looks like.
-My nose is still very tender and very firm. I get a lot of itchy sensations, mostly on the tip, but then if I try to itch where it's bothering me, the area just feels numb. So I get no satisfaction from trying to relieve the itch, if that makes sense. I have a similar problem with my upper lip. It's a minor annoyance but one that happens a lot and I'm tired of it.

Overall my list of cons is much longer than the pros. I think I'm realizing that although I'm starting to feel like myself and I'm no longer bedridden like the first few days after surgery, the second week of recovery has it's own set of irritants that must be dealt with.

Funny side note, on day 7 almost right after splint removal I ran into someone who did not know what I had done. I hadn't yet cleaned all the sticky residue off my nose or covered up my bruises, and I knew it was a bit of a gamble to go shopping, but I was too sick of being house-bound to stay inside any longer. Anyways, I think she saw my bruises and puffy face and thought I was a battered wife. When she asked me what was going on with my face, the only thing that came to mind that I could say was, "I had a little work done." Later on I fessed up to her over Facebook because I was kind of concerned she would call the cops to have them check up on me :)