25 Y.o. Rhinoplasty April 2014 - White Plains, NY

I went to see Dr. C for consult in December 2013. He was the 2nd doctor I saw for a rhino consult and I am SO glad I chose him. He spent a lot of time with me, answered a lot of questions that I had. Although he did not do the facial imaging a lot of surgeons do, we pretty much had the same vision for what I wanted to do with my nose. So it was me going with my gut and trusting that he would do a good job. I had a really wide bridge and a thick tip, my nose was way too big for my face. He suggested shaving down my bridge slightly, obviously slimming the bridge to make it more narrow, reducing the tip and also doing a nostril tuck. When I heard the nostril tuck I was immediately turned off. I wanted a new nose, but I wanted it to fit my face and still look like me (if that makes sense).

Gave it a lot of thought and scheduled my sugurgy for April about a two or three weeks after my consult. I decided to go with him based on reviews and my gut. I took the vitamin C with bioflavanoids for about a month. Fast forward to the day of surgery and I was so so so nervous. Dr. Spencer and the nurse made me feel so comfortable. I had a last minute talk with Dr. Ciardullo and went over what he was going to do. I told him I wanted the nose to fit my face - I have big eyes, and a cookie cutter nose would not fit my features. I was afraid of my nose being TOO small. We talked about the nostril tuck and I said, I trusted him and left that up to him - if he thought I needed it, he could do it. I went into the surgical suite, and woke up what felt like a minute later. I was really groggy and felt like I got hit in the face with a shovel. My throat was really dry and irritated. The nurse was there when I awoke and said "your nose looks beautiful!". I went into the bathroom and noticed I had bruising on my eyes (already). I went home about 10 minutes after I woke up.

Recovery: ICE ICE ICE. They suggest icing for 48 hours after surgery. DO IT, it really helps. The first day wasn't so bad. It was weird breathing through my mouth. I bought a humidifier to help with the dry air. I drank smoothies and watched TV all day. Day 3 was my only bad day. I had a dull headache and got nauseous and threw up. I was worried about throwing up because I had stitches holding my nostrils in place, as well as internal sutures. My bruising was SO bad. My face was really swollen, my eyes, cheeks, everything. I looked like a pig/chipmunk. The 4th day I could barely open one of my eyes and the bruising had spread. But all in all, it wasn't bad. Sleeping upright was the hardest part. I was surprised at how little pain I was in considering he had to break my nose (and I had a "bad break" - I guess it was hard for them to break my nose). Got my cast off after a week.

Cast Removal: Now after all the reviews on here, I prepared myself to not love what I saw right away, and I told him that. I was nervous and so anxious. When he took my cast off and gave me the mirror, I was SO happy with what I saw. It was literally perfect. I still looked like me (but with a perfect new nose). I did break out, but I didn't care, my nose looked flawless. Took a couple pictures quickly before the swelling set in...and it set in. But even with my swollen nose, it still looked great. Its been exactly 4 weeks since my surgery and I couldn't be happier. My nose is still sensitive, especially the tip, but it gets better everyday. My bruising took a while to disappear, probably about 15 days. After that I didn't need any make-up.

I am so happy with my decision to have the procedure done, after probably 6 years of wanting it. And I am even happier that I went with Dr. Ciardullo as my surgeon. He truly is an artist.