Rhinoplasty - White Plains - White Plains, NY

Ever since I was in high-school, I had issues with my appearance. I started working out and swimming/running to improve my appearance. This had a great affect on my body, but my nose always brought my confidence back down.

I would also try to avoid my friends taking pictures and hated the way my face looked from certain angles. I would even avoid looking at my shadow because my nose was so pointy. Everything looked great from the front and when I looked to my right, but when I looked to my left and directly at my profile from either side, the hump was clearly visible and the tip drooped when I smiled.

I had my consultation with Robert Ciardullo on 7/29. The office is like a blast from the past and his operating room is not very modern, but he and his receptionist, Bobbie, were very friendly.

Mr. Ciardullo started by telling me what he thinks I should have done to my nose. Our agreement was mutual over the hump removal and raising the tip, but he also suggested possibly having my nostrils reduced. After going over the cost, I scheduled the operation for 8/29 (today.)

I could not eat or drink anything after midnight on the 28th. On the 29th, I was nervous but anxious to get the surgery over with. I went to his office and first met with the nurse, Eileen, and the anesthesiologist (I forget his name.) I read many reviews on here about how nice and friendly this team was which made me skeptical, but I can truly say they were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Eileen and the anesthesiologist joked about how they were going to adopt me because I was so handsome haha; it felt like we were one big family. I can definitely say that these two helped calm me down and made me feel at ease with the procedure.

Eileen had me change into a gown (I got to keep my shorts on but had to take my shirt off) and Robert took before photos of me. We went over what he was going to do and asked me about the nostril tuck. I never had an issue with my nostrils and I did not want them to be too small. He told me I could skip it and do it at a later time if I would like. He looked at my nose one last time from above (I leaned my head back) and he noticed that my nose was actually crooked! It veered to the left and my friend confirmed this. (This could be why I felt like two different people from two different angles. Time for surgery...

Eileen and the anesthesiologist made me very comfortable with small talk before the anesthesiologist put the IV in my arm. He gave me a tiny bit as a "test" and the next thing I remember, I am in the recovery room with my best friend. I couldn't tell if the surgery already happened, but I assumed so. I was very dazed and needed to urinate right away, so another nurse (can't remember her name; Eileen was helping another patient in the operating room.) helped me walk to the bathroom. After resting for another 30 minutes, I was ready to leave.

Eileen told me she would call me a couple hours after the surgery to see how I was feeling and she did, but I missed the call. My nose felt very clogged/stuffy and I had to change the mesh under my nose a few times due to bleeding. I took the mesh out from under my nose so I could breathe through my nose and taste food; I will put a new one on before bed so I do not get blood on the sheets. My throat was also very sore; I believe they had a tube down it so I could breathe. Swallowing food was hard a few hours after surgery, but it is starting to feel better already. I am going to post a few pics; some of how I looked before and my current state with the cast. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I will post more photos once I have the cast removed and the swelling goes down.

I put my "Was it worth it?" rating as Not Sure since the cast is still on and I have not seen the final product.

Thanks for reading!