Laura's Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty Recovery - After Surgery

That night it was very hard to sleep. I had to prop up my head on about 5 pillows and I could only sleep on my back. By the next morning my nose had stopped bleeding. My headache was gone too. But the bruising around my eyes had gotten much worse. I could see under the cast that my bridge was extremely swollen and the tip looked enormous. But, still that awful hump was gone. The next few days I existed solely on popcicles and breath mints. That Monday I had my first of many post op appointments. I had to drive myself and that was pretty embarrassing. The doctor checked me out and said that everything looked great. We set up my appointment to get the cast removed for Friday (7 days after my surgery). That week my nose got bumped a few times by my kids and the cast got filthy. Once I had to go to the grocery store and I had to take my daughter to preschool. Yes, it was embarrassing. But a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.

Friday morning I was almost as excited as I had been surgery day. I actually got there an hour early in the hopes they could squeeze me in. While I was waiting I spoke with a woman who was there for her pre-op appointment for a rhinoplasty. She looked sort of sick looking at my battered face. LOL. I told her I looked 100 times worse then I felt. Finally I was called in. He checked up my nostrils and then it was time to remove the cast! Like I said before, my doctor is a no-nonsense guy, and he proceeded to rip the cast off. I can honestly say that was the most painful part of the surgery. But it only hurt for a second and he handed me a mirror. I looked at my profile and my heart fell. The hump was gone, but my nose was way too straight and it was huge! Plus my tip was sticking up too high and you could see up my nose. My doctor however looked extremely pleased and so did the nurse. It looked so weird!

I said 'It's swollen right??" And he told me that yes, it was very much swollen. I went home and stared at my nose for about an hour. I also reread the booklet he had given me about disappointment immediately after plastic surgery and how normal it was. I felt a tiny bit better. Over the next three weeks my bruising faded to green, then yellow and then by about the 17th day it was completely gone. The swelling had gone down a bit, but it was still really straight and the tip was still big. Over the next few months the swelling got better and better and around the fifth month I saw the biggest change in my nose. The bridge had settled down and had a very nice, slight curve to it (no ski slopes here) and the tip finally gotten smaller. It became much more defined and I finally saw what I great nose I now had!

Well, as of writing this, its been over a year now and I am fairly confident in saying that I now have the final product. It's just lovely and I couldn't be happier with it. It took a long time and tons of patience but I really do have the nose of my dreams now. But better then that my self esteem really soared. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Olesen for what he's done for me. Spring of last year was a great time for me. Not only did I get a great nose, but 2 months after my surgery I found out I was pregnant with my third child! My daughter Erica just turned 6 months old and she's perfectly beautiful.

I only told 7 people about the surgery and so far they are the only 7 that have ever said anything about it. Either other people really do not notice stuff like noses, or they are just too polite to say anything. And I don't even think about my nose anymore. Its really freeing not to obsess over my appearance 24 hours a day. I only wish I had gotten it done in high school. It would have saved me a lot of grief. I can honestly say that besides my children, having the rhinoplasty operation was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. If you are considering it, please remember that it is not something to go into lightly. It is a serious and complicated surgical procedure that will change a feature of your face permanently. Research the procedure, make sure you know what you are getting into. And find yourself a qualified BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON. Find your surgeon at the 'American Board of Plastic Surgery.' If s/he isn't there, I suggest you keep looking. Thanks for reading this and good luck to all of you!!!

- The End! -

Laura is a patient of R. Merrel Olesen, M.D., La Jolla, CA

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