Wanted a New Nose for As Long As I Can Remember... - White Plains, NY

Ever since I was little I have been teased relentlessly for my nose. In high school I was called the wicked witch of the west and I would literally fight back tears on a daily basis. I'm sick of people making fun of me for my nose and I just want a small normal nose that won't be the brunt of anymore jokes. I asked my parents about the surgery for before college and my dad was super against it. My mom supported it bc she understood how insecure it made me but she couldn't pay for it for me. Well, I'm graduating college in 3 weeks and I have scheduled a rhinoplasty with Dr. C for June 7th and I couldn't be more excited. I have waited my whole life for this and I just knew after meeting with Dr. C that this would be a good decision. My only concern right now is family and friends noticing because the only people who know I'm getting this done are my mom and my boyfriend. Anyone have thoughts or experiences with this? Let me know!

So I'm one month away from my surgery! As it gets closer it has become all I can think about! I'm super excited but I'm also getting nervous bc I have really thin skin on my nose. Dr. C addressed this and said it means the surgery will take longer and require him to be more precise. Anyone who also has thin skinned noses and had a rhinoplasty please comment and share your experiences! Eeeep despite the anxiety I still can't wait!!

So my surgery is tomorrow! I'm super nervous but excited at the same time. Dr. Ciardullo told me at my pre-op appt that my tip is going to be rather complicated which made me worry more but I still have faith in him. I truly believe any change will be an improvement. He also said he's doing 4 rhinoplasty surgeries tomorrow including mine...so the man is obviously very trusted and experienced with noses. Any last minute advice?! I've been taking Vitamin C with bioflavonoids three times a day for the past two weeks as well as arnica Montana tablets and pineapple & papaya enzymes from trader joes since yesterday. I'll be updating my results with pics for any future rhinoplasty patients of his. Wish me luck, friends!

So I just got home from surgery! I'm currently laying in bed with my sweet little puppy & I wanted to update everyone on how it went in case anyone was curious! Pre Surgery: I live an hour away from Dr. Ciardullos office but there's always traffic. So to be safe, my mom & I booked a hotel for last night that was 10 min from the office. It was a great idea! We hungout, watched movies, and ordered room service and then didn't have to worry about waking up early and sitting in traffic! When I got to the office I was brought in back to change, vitals taken and then talked with Dr C one more time about what would be done and then met the anesthesiologist. I told them I was nervous (bc I was literally shaking I was so scared haha) and they were very relaxing and reassuring. The anesthesiologist was super comforting and made it much less nerve wracking for me since I've never had surgery ever!! After talking to them they brought me to the operating room, laid me down and started talking to me about my future dreams to be a surgeon and last thing I remember I was talking about my boyfriend and how he's at work yet super excited to hear from me and then boom. I was out. Post-Op: I remember waking up briefly and the nurse was telling me she was putting Chapstick on my lips. A little while later I came to again with an ice pack on my eyes and the worlds worst dry mouth ever. That is not a joke. I thought I had mentally prepared for the dryness but I litterally thought I would choke and stop breathing bc of how dry it was...So naturally the first words I uttered was "water" haha. After that my mom came& I talked to the nurses and doctors a little more before hitting the road! The bumps on the road were terrible and every bump made my nose bleed more. By the time I got home my drip pad was dripping (gross I know, but true). Changing it was probably the scariest part haha. But I got a peak at my nose and it already looks great... now I can't wait Til Wednesday when the cast is removed!! So, as of right now I'm in bed watching tv and my mom just made me a smoothie! I have minor throbbing pains throughout my nose so I will probably take a pain med before bed but other than that I'm doing great! Woohoo

So when I was being put under anesthesia I was first given a "trial dose" that basically just makes you woozy before the real deal but when he injected it I had this overwhelming taste and smell of grapes! Did this happen to anyone else?! Or did you taste/smell something different? I'm just curious because it was so fascinating!

So these past few days have been really rough for me. I have had absolutely no appetite so I've been forcing myself to consume a liquid diet consisting of smoothies, ensure shakes, Gatorade and chicken broth. Yesterday I was feeling better until the evening when I had so much pressure from the swelling that I decided to take some Tylenol. I guess liquids weren't a good enough base for Tylenol bc I was up sick all night and still feeling queasy this morning. I fought being sick though because I was too scared to attempt to puke with this cast on and all congested. I ended up having a terrible anxiety attack and shaking uncontrollably through the night. So I'm hoping that's the worst of it and it's all smooth sailing from here... but who knows! On the bright side, my bruises are yellow and basically gone & my right nostril has opened a little and I can get air through it. Pic of the bruising attached!

So I got a mouth infection after my last update that left me with blisters on my tongue. That was truly awful!! My tongue is still all messed up and giving off this stranger acidic/bitter taste as it heals but it's not as bad as it was two days ago. Luckily my nose has been great! No pain, no bleeding or oozing, no bruising, and decreased swelling! I go in on Wednesday for my cast removal and I cannot wait! My skin is so oily that the tape came undone on one side already. I used a little tape that they gave me to secure it back to my face so that it lasts until my post op appt. This has been quite a stressful recovery but I'm so happy it's almost over! Will update again when the cast comes off! :)

Hey friends! I got my cast off today and the stitches removed. The stitches pinched and burned like crazy!! The cast removal itself wasn't too bad just a lot of uncomfortable pressure. Unfortunately, my cast had started to loosen two day ago and wasn't on too tight so the swelling had already begun. Dr. C applied pressure before these photos to try and minimize the swelling a little for the full effect but this is the best we could get. You all should know that I absolutely love it even as swollen as it apparently is! It's straight, perfect from the front and looks like my nose just more delicate! He did a fantastic job. My only concern (& his) is that my right nostril looked slightly collapsed so I'm going back in two weeks for him to check it. He's pretty sure it's swelling but better safe than sorry... not that there would be much he could do at this point! Haha. So after the stressful week of recovery, I love my results! I will be going out to my cousins birthday dinner tonight and spending the next two weeks worrying about this damn nostril hahaha If anyone has any questions about the process and wants more details, feel free to message me!

So my appointment with Dr C for a checkup has been moved to July 13 bc I had some school things to take care of but so far so good. My nose is healing well. The swelling is different every day but I expected it so I'm really not sweating it. My right nostril is smaller than the left and sometimes I have trouble breathing through it but I'm trying not to worry about it and just attribute it to swelling haha. I snapped and uploaded a few pics when swelling was really minimal to show anyone who was curious how awesome it looks on those good days. Also, for anyone that was nervous about telling friends and family like I was, no one noticed! Not sure if that's an insult or I should be relieved haha but family, friends, best friends, boyfriends family, no one noticed they all said I looked skinnier or my hair looked longer or I looked tanner (LOL). So don't sweat that friends! Hope everyone on here is doing well and having successful recoveries and outcomes! :)

Things are going great. I still occasionally have a lot of swelling in the tip still because Dr C did the most work there & said it could take over a year to completely settle down but other than that it's perfect! So natural looking. I bartend part time now while I'm in class and I have had so many people stop me and tell me they just thought I should know that I have a perfect nose. Can't even explain how good that made me feel bc I had never once been complimented on my nose before this surgery. Also had a photographer give me his card bc he said my face was so proportionate and he loved all of my features. Such a confidence booster haha. So yea, I'm pretty happy with my decision to get this done!!

Photos from the front view and other angle bc I really only posted pictures of my right side profile haha