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

It was probably one day in my preteen years that I used a mirror to check out how my hair looked in the back, and that’s when I saw it. My profile. I couldn’t believe my eyes. That was what my nose looked like from the side?! How could people bear to look at me? And now, over 20 years later, I am still thinking those same thoughts, just about every single day.

I do not think my nose is too bad from the front, but the profile kills me. Way too big for my face, with a big ugly bump added for good measure. I wasn’t really able to do anything about it during my twenties. I worked full time and couldn’t get enough time off for recovery. But last year I started working part time, and after having a baby, following a long and painful labor topped off by a c-section, I felt like, if I can get through that, I can get through just about anything. And so, here we are. The timing is finally right to carry out my lifelong dream of having a nose that suits my face.

My pre-op consultation is next week, and my surgery is in three weeks. I am gradually getting more nervous and more excited.

I went to 3 different doctors for consultations. The first 2 were nice enough but I wasn’t satisfied with their level of experience with rhinoplasty. I started feeling like plastic surgeons had to be a "jack of all trades." But if someone is going to mess with my face, I would sure like for them to have a LOT of experience with noses. Finally I went to see Dr. Hubbard in Virginia Beach. He has been doing rhinoplasties at least as long as I have hated my nose (a long time), he has co-authored books on rhinoplasty, and his website is full of before-after pictures. The other doctors I saw couldn’t offer me a single before-after picture of a rhinoplasty they performed. Dr. Hubbard took his time answering my questions. He spent 10 or 15 minutes using a computer program to adjust a picture of my profile so we can start to see the potential "after" results of surgery. The other doctors I saw did not do this. Dr. Hubbard was extremely professional and after the consult I felt extremely confident in his ability to give me a better nose.

I also talked with Dr. Hubbard about a chin augmentation and some minor cheek lipo. I think if I was younger and single, I would have gone for it all. But I consider this decision to be just as important for my husband as it is for me. My husband was concerned that I would really look different if I did all three procedures. So I decided to just go with the rhinoplasty and I’m content with that decision. I’m so incredibly grateful that my husband is supporting me on this. I think I would be very scared if he told me he was going to change something about his face! Deep down he probably is nervous but he knows this is important to me.

I scheduled my surgery with Dr. Hubbard to coincide with our upcoming move to Florida. I’m hoping to be able to hide out between surgery and our departure because one of my biggest concerns is people’s reaction to the change. I am also nervous about my family’s reaction. I have only told my mom, husband and best friend and I am on the fence about telling anyone else. I'm going to get a hair cut before surgery so maybe that will be a distraction.

Today is my pre-op appointment! It's starting to feel like this is really going to happen.

Yesterday (May 21) was my pre-operative consultation. First I had to wait 45 minutes to be seen, which is pretty normal with any doctor visit these days but still frustrating. Then I spent about 30 minutes with a nurse signing forms regarding risks of surgery, pre- and post-operative instructions, etc. She also took more pictures and I paid for the procedure.

I then had to wait another 25 minutes to see Dr. Hubbard. We reviewed the picture he had manipulated during my initial consultation to show the desired outcome for my nose. He examined my nose again while we talked more about my top goals for surgery. As I mentioned before, I do not mind my nose much when I look head on, but I really want a reduction in size from the profile view. Also, the tip of my nose moves when I talk (I will never forget how mortified I was when this was first pointed out to me in 2nd grade). So he is going to try and fix that but he said there is no guarantee it will be completely effective in eliminating the movement.

During my initial consultation, Dr. Hubbard and I discussed the possibility of a chin implant, which I later decided against after talking to my husband. During yesterday’s visit, at one point Dr. Hubbard said my nose is still going to look big after surgery because I’m not getting the chin implant. I’m paying a lot of money to get a smaller nose, so to have your surgeon tell you “you’re still going to have a big nose” is less than desirable. I understand that he is saying my post-operative nose would look even smaller when combined with a chin implant. But the fact is, even without the chin implant, my post-operative nose will be smaller than it currently is, which is my primary goal. I’m not trying to become a beauty queen, I just want a smaller nose. His comment rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall it was a good visit, not a great one. But I am still pleased with my choice of surgeon. Dr. Hubbard is not overly warm but he never made me feel rushed and was happy to answer any questions I had. I trust his experience with rhinoplasty and to me that is more important than his bedside manner.