After Rhinoplasty

After Rhinoplasty

I can hardly believe it, but it's been six - yes six! - years since I had Rhinoplasty. I almost forget that it ever happened. I was having a chat with a new friend who told me she had gone for botox and lip fillers, when I remembered that "oh yeah, I got my nose done". 

And I've never looked back. 

It feels like the right nose for my face - just a few little tweaks that gave me the exact results I wanted - "my nose but nicer". I don't have that horrible fear looking at pictures, hoping that someone has taken a picture from the right angle so that my nose doesn't look huge. 

I no longer check my emails, but I hope the blog has been helpful for you all. 

Love, 

Sam xo

Six months after Rhinoplasty

It's been six months since I had my nose job and I'm so happy with the decision -  it feels like I now have the right nose for my face. No-one noticed the difference either, which is what I hoped for. I think this highlights that it was a bigger deal for me than anyone else. So, for anyone struggling with something about their appearance that they don't like - chin up. No-one notices!

My nose has got neater and more refined over the last six months, although there wasn't too much swelling to begin with. At a total of £3,600, the surgery was expensive, but for me it was worth every penny. I feel happier and much more confident

Take care xx

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One Month After Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty Recover: How to Minimise Bruising

What does Rhinoplasty Involve?

I recently had my six week check-up, at which I asked what the surgery actually involved. I didn't want to know all the gory details beforehand, as I probably wouldn't have gone through with it. 

The doctor cut away cartilage and a small section of bone from the bridge of my nose. I asked him if he had rasped it, but he said that he didn't as he doesn't think it gives a great result. He also cut away two 4mm sections from either side of the tip to refine it and a small section from the cartilage/septum between my nostrils to lift the nose.

I'm still delighted with the results. My surgeon said that the nose will reduce even further in size over the next six months and asked me to come back then for a final check up.

On another note, my mum recently had surgery to reduce the lining of her nose (medical, not cosmetic). She was quite ill after coming round from general anaesthetic and her face was swollen for a few days. I was completely fine after the anaesthetic, but it just shows that it affects everyone differently.

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Six Months after Rhinoplasty
About the Medication, Stitches and Splint

One Month After Rhinoplasty

I still absolutely love my nose. It is the best decision I have ever made and worth every penny. I'm still so excited when I catch a glimpse of it! No-one has noticed that I had surgery, but that's what I was hoping for. 

I met the work girls for lunch straight after having the splint removed and they didn't notice. They couldn't believe it when I told them and I had to show them before and after pictures before they would believe me. 

It was a little sensitive to touch in the first week, but that has largely passed and the dissolvable stitches came out after about a week. I've been so lucky in avoiding pain and discomfort.

Sam xx

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Rhinoplasty Recovery: A Nose Bleed

It's now only two days until the splint is removed and I'm very excited! I hope it's OK - not too different, but not too similar either. 

I had a small nose bleed yesterday; nothing major, but it was unexpected. You should try to keep your head elevated for the first few days after surgery, but I've gone back to sleeping normally. Maybe that has put too much pressure on my nose. 

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Rhinoplasty Recovery: Day Seven

Today I'm almost completely back to normal. I can eat, sleep and chat like before. 

My friends came round to the house on day 5 and I was out of steam by midnight. My friend, who didn't know about the surgery, looked so shocked to see me with plasters all over my face. She didn't believe me when I told her I'd had a nose job. All three friends were great about it and couldn't believe how well I looked. They were expecting black eyes and swelling, but nope.

The stitches seem to be made of a cotton-like material and they aren't as scary as I first thought. The tip of my nose isn't as sensitive, although either side of the bridge is still tender and I'm worried that the swelling won't go down. At this point I could leave the house, but I don't want people asking too many questions. I answered the door to the postman and he was shocked and worried about the splint, thinking that I'd been in an accident! 

I stopped taking Cocodamol on Day 3 as I suspected that they were making me feel quite ill. Other than one dose of paracetemol for a headache, which may or may not have been related to the surgery, I haven't taken any pain relief and have felt fine.

Three more days until I have the splint removed. I'm planning on meeting some friends from work for lunch afterwards, so that it's not so daunting going back to the office next week.

xx

Rhinoplasty - Medication, Stitches and Splint

Day four is much better than day three. I think it was more to do with the medication than the surgery. Voltarol is used to relieve pain and inflammation and my nurse advised me to discontinue use if I experienced any stomach upset or heartburn. I noticed both on the evening of day two and it continued into day three, so I stopped taking them. Yesterday, thirst, drowsiness and headache were added to the mix. My nose also felt very swollen and straining against the splint. From my reading prior to the operation, a few people said that they experienced the most pain on days two and three, so if this is all I get I'm grateful.

Today I've experienced no pain and no bruising. I can flare my nostrils a little, although it does feel a bit tight. Some people have reported numbness in the nose following the operation. It does feel a little different, like it's coming round from pins and needles. Have a look at my blog post on how to minimise bruising after Rhinoplasty. 

Stitches 
My stitches are dissolvable, which means they're made from natural  or synthetic material that the body can break down over time. The stitch will either fall out or will be removed by the doctor once the wound is closed.

I have a little portable torch and had a look at the inside of the nostril. You can see where quite a large incision was made on the septum in both nostrils. The stitches look pretty sturdy, which made me think that there is no way they will dissolve by themselves. I'll let you know. It also made me think what an amazing feat Closed Rhinoplasty is. How does the surgeon do so much work from inside your nose, leaving such small scars behind?

Splint
This is made of Plaster of Paris material, moulded round the nose. It runs from between my eyes to just above the tip of my nose and it is attached with plasters. The plasters will be sore to remove - as plasters usually are - but the splint should just lift off.

Rhinoplasty Recovery: Day Three. Urgh!

I'm not feeling so good today. I feel like ass.

No pain, just a bit of nausea, drowsiness and a headache. Urgh!

I've heard before that Day 3's supposed to be the worst so I'll update you properly tomorrow. 

Rhinoplasty Recovery - day two

By 10.30 am on day two, I had already eaten two breakfasts and four glasses of water. I was famished and so thirsty! 

I slept the whole night, from about 11.30pm to 7am. The nurse recommended sleeping almost upright,  propped up on pillows, which I thought would be uncomfortable, but it wasn't so bad. Although to be fair, I rarely wake up at 7am and if I do, it's very reluctantly. Maybe this is an unexpected side effect of my new nose? Oh dear.

Last night, I noticed that my nose and surrounding area had started to swell. My splint and plasters were very tight. It was painless - just uncomfortable. I had also avoided bruises, although the inner corners of my eye sockets felt a little tender if I put pressure on them. The plasters were uncomfortable too: I was very aware of them on my face and hated to think what my skin looked like underneath. However this was all entirely superficial. I experienced minimal pain and I'm so surprised and grateful for this. Check out my blog post on how to minimise bruising after a nose job.  

The light bleeding from my nose stopped so I removed the gauze covering my nostrils. You can get quite a good idea of the shape and I like what I see so far, but I'm still nervous about seeing the results. My biggest concern is that the doctor removed 4mm of cartilage on either side of the tip of my nose. I hope it doesn't look too pinched or piggy.

Should I have Rhinoplasty?

Hello Everyone. 

After years of deliberating, I had a nose job this  morning (23 March 2010). It was a scary decision, so I hope to get some time over the next few weeks and months to give you an insight into my experience of the surgery and recovery.

I've wanted Rhinoplasty since I started secondary school at eleven years old. My nose always seemed a little too big for my face. Sometimes I thought, "what am I thinking? It's fine" and at other times I would spend hours putting pressure on the bump to try to reduce it. The problem was largely my profile: I had a bump on the bridge of my nose and the tip was too large.

After starting my first job and clearing some debt from University, I started saving, although for nothing in particular. When Christmas came round in 2009, I had some savings and decided to book a consultation. The consultation was booked for January and cost £100.

I met with the doctor who would be carrying out the surgery and we discussed the procedure, the risks and my expectations. I explained what I wanted ("my nose, but nicer"), we discussed what I saw as the problem areas and the doctor explained that we could reduce the bump, refine the tip and lift the nose slightly.

In hindsight, I probably should have booked a few more consultations at different clinics, but I guess the fee put me off. However I had a great feeling about the doctor and the clinic. He is registered with the 'British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons' (BAPRAS) - http://www.bapras.org.uk/ - specialises in Rhinoplasty and understood what I wanted. The fee for my procedure - Closed Rhinoplasty - was £3,500.

I took some time to mull over my decision and then about a week later I booked in for surgery on 23rd March, 2010.

And now I'm feeling a bit sleepy after surgery, so I'm off for a quick snooze before updating you on Day one!

xx