Best Decision - West Orange, NJ

Hi everyone,

My name is Emily, and I'm 23 years old. I had rhinoplasty done almost a year ago (December 19, 2011 !). Now that I am basically 1 year post op, I feel like i can really share my whole experience in hopes that it will help someone on here.

As per usual, I had always been unhappy with my nose. For awhile I couldn't pinpoint what exact facial feature I disliked, but I knew something was off. Two broken noses later (thanks to competitive cheerleading the first time and a playful bulldog the second time lol) I had really grown to dislike my nose. It had a large bump on the profile view, and from the front it was just as unattractive. By the time I broke my nose a second time at 21 years old, I was positive that I wanted to have a rhinoplasty. Being in college, working on my bachelors degree, I had to schedule my surgery for after graduation. I majored in nursing and clinicals were year round so i could not afford the downtime to recover. So even though I knew I wanted this surgery, I had to wait a year and a half till I graduated.
Day of surgery: I don't get nervous very easily, but this was my first surgery ever so I was a little anxious. my mom and dad drove me down which took about 2 hours. my surgery was scheduled for 8am and I was told to arrive at 6:30. The staff at the surgical center were very nice, my pre-op nurse was kind, and my anestesiologist was great. Before surgery, while waiting in pre-op with my parents, Dr. Joseph came over, talked with all of us, reviewed the surgery plan, and marked my nose. A little bit later the nurse and ansthesiologist accompanied my to the OR and Dr. Joseph was already in their with a very warm and calming demeanor. He reassured me that things were going to be great, he held my hand, and before I knew it, I was awake and in the recovery room. I had no ill effects from the anesthesia. Being my first surgery, I was concerned about that, but I felt great and within two hours of waking up, I was already on my way home. I felt no pain at the surgical center. They may have given me something thru the IV before I awoke, but I remember never feeling any pain while still there. I felt a little loopy and the cast on my nose felt like mild sinus pressure, but that's the most I can complain about. I felt very well cared for, Dr. Joseph himself called me twice during my first week post op; once that first night home and once two days later. Little gestures like that really do mean so much.

First week post-op: I feel very thankful to have had such an amazing recovery. I never felt sick or nauseaus from the anesthesia. I never felt any pain, never took any of the prescription pain killers that Dr. Joseph prescribed. Again, the cast on my nose made it feel like i had sinus pressure but nothing major, and nothing worth taking medicine. Sleep was pretty annoying. being unable to breathe through my nose meant constant dry mouth. And sleeping upright was not comfortable at all. The first week, I ate soft foods, just to be safe. As far as post-op bleeding, I prob changed the drip pad 4-5 times a day for the first 3 days, and then had no need to. The one real negative to my recovery is that I bruised TERRIBLY. I'm fair skinned, and I always have bruised and swelled at every little injury, and this was no different. I looked ridiculous day 2 through 5 after surgery lol. But by the time day 8 rolled around, and it was time to get my cast off, most of the bruising, and a majority of the swelling had gone away.

Cast-removal: Probably the most exciting day of my life. I expected to be extremely swollen, and did not expect to see this perfect new nose. But I was still excited to have the cast off. It was 4 days before New Year's, I had just graduated college, and now I was finally going to have a nose that I was happy with. the cast removal didn't hurt at all. the stitches pinched a little bit when he cut them off. Seeing my nose for the first time was the weirdest experience, I can't really explain. But after seeing the same face in the mirror for 22 years, it was crazy to see something different. I already loved my nose, despite being super swollen and still a little bit bruised. The aestetician gave me a quick demo on concealing my bruises, as well as a little makeup kit to bring home with me. Also, Dr. Joseph scheduled me for a complimentary microderm abrasion one month post op, to help remove the skin on my nose. which btw was so gross after being under a cast for a week.

From there on out, the rest was smooth sailing, my nose slowly, gradually became less swollen, all of my bruising was gone by 2 weeks post op. There was never a time when I was unhappy with the results, even when it was really swollen early on, I still loved my nose, and now that I am more than 11 months post-op I can honestly say it was the best decision I made. I'm so happy with my nose, where there was once a huge hump, is now a delicate curve. And i feel like it still looks natural. I told my close friends before my surgery, but those who didn't known never even noticed that my nose itself is different, they would just notice that I vaguely looked different, which is fine with me as I didn't want the whole world to notice that i had a nose job lol. However vain this sounds, this surgery has given me the chance to be completely happy with my looks and have self-confidence that I had always lacked. Given the timing, 2 days after college graduation, it really made me eager to start applying to jobs, and becoming a nurse, and taking on adulthood with more confidence than I had ever had. I am so glad I chose to do this, and I could not have picked a better surgeon. Dr. Joseph was the right pick for me, I can't say enough nice things about him as a person, and a surgeon.