Posts by rustygardener172

Just thought I’d pop in and give you guys a little update... finally went in for my follow-up this weekend. It’s been almost five months since the surgery. My doctor seems pretty happy with how things are looking. He did mention that the tip of my nose is still a tiny bit swollen. Apparently, even the bone structure itself is still a bit puffy, but he says that'll settle down soon and my nose will look even slimmer once it does. Also, my nasal conchae are still pretty swollen—one side definitely more than the other. He wants me to keep rinsing with saline solution every single morning through the summer, mostly so I can get back to doing plenty of scuba diving 😁

nimbleharbor14 said:I've got my septoplasty scheduled for March 14th at the local hospital, so I was wondering (for anyone who's actually gone through this) how old my test results can be? Like, the EKG, blood work, urine, APTT... I want to get everything done now so they don't turn me away when I show up. Thanks!

Honestly, just get everything done a few days before the surgery. In my case, I had my blood drawn on Monday, and the surgery was that Friday. The results were ready by Wednesday, and I even gave my doctor a call to run them by him. They didn't even make me do an EKG because the doc told me he’d just handle that right there at the clinic before they wheeled me in.

Rebecca Gomez37 said:Wait, what hammer???
When they perform an osteotomy, they aren't just swinging tools around; they use scalpels to open up the sides of the nasal pyramid to reshape it—making it narrower or whatever shape you or the surgeon decides on.
And if someone claims they just want a little bit of that hump filed down, the doctors usually just rasp it away.
That’s how most hospital surgeons handle it (if you actually ask them to smooth out the bump), but there is zero chance they’re going to throw an osteotomy in there on the fly.

Did you miss the quotation marks? I wasn't literally sitting here thinking the doctor pulls out a sledgehammer and starts bashing my face... I just don't know all the fancy medical jargon for the specific tools they use mid-surgery. One thing I am absolutely certain of, though, is that Glušac isn't just sanding down bumps because he's worried about leaving behind a bunch of tiny little imperfections... he uses "something" that allows him to take the whole hump off in one go, and then he shows you the result after the surgery. I still have mine sitting at home somewhere. 😁

Kate Taylor59 said:By the way... why are they still hitting things with a small hammer? Isn't it all about "stripping" the surface now?

The word on the street is that using a little hammer is actually better than stripping it down... apparently, if you go too hard with the stripping process, you might end up with these annoying little bumps or imperfections. Plus, you supposedly need that "hammering" action to actually break through the bone... no amount of stripping is going to snap a bone, after all.😁

wearyotter112 said:Okay, look... since you're from down south, can you give me the real scoop? Why didn't you stick with Glušac for the surgery? I’ve been torn between him and Zambell, and now I'm just totally lost. Have you actually dealt with him? Being from Makarska, I haven't heard anything great about his work, even though a bunch of girls around here seem to be raving about him.??

The grass is always greener in the neighbor's yard 😁

Kate Taylor59 said:Does anyone actually know if Zambelli does closed techniques too? Or is he strictly an open surgery guy like what he was doing over at the rehab center?
Honestly, now I’m freaking out about the anesthesia part... I legit almost lost it reading horror stories about what happened to some people. They were given general anesthesia, but it didn't take properly, so they could feel everything—except they couldn't do anything because they were still knocked out... :O Seriously, imagine if that happens to you. And since I'm such a massive hypochondriac, all this stress is probably going straight to my heart. Just my luck, right? Always the one dealing with all the crap.

Look, you've been dropping questions about Zambelli for days now and nobody's answering—not because we're trying to ghost you, but because honestly, we probably just don't know. It's pretty obvious that none of the folks active on this forum lately have actually been under his knife. Have you even scrolled through his entire website? I bet you'll find most of the answers you're looking for right there.
If you really want peace of mind, your best bet is to just give him a call and schedule a consultation. That way, you can get direct answers to every single one of your concerns.

wearyotter112 said:Hey everyone... I'm still stuck in this endless loop of trying to decide which surgeon to go to for my revision surgery, and honestly, this whole search has thrown a massive curveball at me. I sent out emails to a bunch of doctors asking the exact same thing: how much time should pass before getting a second procedure? It’s been almost four months since my last one. And what did I get? Well, Zambelli and Glušac both got back to me, but they gave me completely opposite advice. According to Glušac, I could jump right back in for surgery now, but Zambelli thinks I shouldn't even think about it for another year until everything settles down. I am totally lost right now!!! Has anyone else dealt with this kind of conflicting info before???

Hahaha, okay, you actually just cracked me up. 😂
That sounds exactly like something the "all-knowing" Glušac would say. 😁
But honestly, they probably both gave you the right answer from their own perspectives. My guess? You *could* technically go under the knife immediately, but it's way smarter to wait a full year because your nose needs that time to heal and actually settle into its final shape after the first round. If you rush it, you won't even know what the actual issues are because things are still swelling or shifting. Waiting a year lets you see the final result so you can pinpoint exactly what you want changed. Even though I think Glušac is a total legend, 😁in this specific situation, I’d definitely lean toward Zambelli’s side of things. Let your nose fully recover from the first surgery before putting it through more trauma. What's the rush, right? 😕

Kate Taylor59 said:Seriously, go check out that post from Suzuki! 😲😲 😲

It’s been a long time... honestly, it’s kind of ugly to admit, but those situations are rare as hell. All you can really do is cross your fingers and hope you don't end up in that mess. 😁

Laura Wright2 said:Hey there... I’m scheduled for surgery in three weeks and I've been scrolling through this place reading all sorts of stuff I had no clue about..😲
I just wanted to ask about those compresses people mention you can pick up at CVS—can you start using them right after the procedure, or do you have to wait until the mold/dressing comes off???? And how long are you supposed to leave them on your face... did they actually help you guys??
And sorry if I sound like a total newbie since I haven't read everything from the very beginning 🤷

Those are the gel-filled ones. They're pretty cheap, maybe like $5 or $6. You just keep them in the fridge so they stay chilled. You definitely want to use them immediately after surgery—it's a must! They're a lifesaver for keeping the swelling and bruising down. You just hold them on for a few minutes, pop them back in the fridge, and repeat throughout the day. Honestly, the more you do it, the better. I tried to be super diligent with mine even though it felt like such a chore 😁

jadedriver0 said:Hey girl, I totally missed your question earlier, my bad.🙂 😉Basically, those drains are there to help prevent any weird bumps from forming—usually right in the lower part of the nose. You know what I mean, when someone gets surgery and ends up with a nose that looks flat on top but then just bulges out at the tip? I don't even know how to describe it properly...🤣

I’ve actually got that bulge right now. Is it just going to go away on its own without a drain? Like, does having the drain make it heal faster... or if I don't have one, am I just looking at a much longer wait?

Carol Diaz31 said:As if I have any luck—I’ll probably be recovering way longer than you will. 😂
I had blood drawn yesterday for my upcoming surgery, and my arm is already bruised like crazy. If this is what a simple blood draw does, I can only imagine what I'm going to look like after the actual operation. 😲😲😲

Seriously, my arms bruise up every single time too. Either you got stuck by a nurse who needs more practice, or you just have those stubborn, tricky veins... whatever it is. But honestly, how fast you bounce back from surgery doesn't really have much to do with how easy your veins are to hit. 😁 Just hang in there!

It takes about a year for your nose to fully bounce back after surgery (and if you’re talking about sinus issues, you're looking at closer to two years... assuming you aren't constantly blasting your face with nasal sprays)... so honestly, why wouldn't you keep up with the massages? 😁 It’s not going to hurt anything; if anything, it should actually help things along. 😁 The whole point of massaging the nose is to make sure the skin doesn't get stuck or adhere to the underlying structure—you know, because of all that extra skin movement from reshaping and resizing the nose—plus, the massage helps move the swelling out faster so you don't look like a balloon forever. That’s my take on it, anyway... though I'm sure jadedriver0 knows more than I do since she actually went through those lymphatic drainage sessions... personally, I'm just winging it here. She asked, but we’re still waiting on an answer... come on, jadedriver0... it's time. 😁

Elizabeth Collins5 said:Man, I am seriously jealous of how fast you bounce back. 😉

Honestly, I’ve always been one of those people who heals at lightning speed—I guess my body is just built differently. Like, every single piercing I’ve ever gotten looked totally settled from day one, like it had been there for years... I remember one time during a piercing session, the guy actually asked me if I even had blood in my veins. 😁 So, naturally, I was expecting to be a little less bruised after this... but nope, not even a little bit. 😁 Still, even though I looked like absolute hell, I actually felt pretty great right after the surgery. 😁

stormyharbor2 said:😳 I ended up washing my hair twice in those first few days. Seriously. I mean, couldn't you have just managed to get it done in the shower or something?🤷

So, I finally caved and washed my hair after a few days... and yeah, I did that whole awkward thing where you're hunched over the sink like a gargoyle just to get it done. Honestly, sometimes it feels like more work than it's worth. 😁

Kate Taylor59 said:Has anyone else heard about this?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/nose-surgery

So, he was featured on some major news magazine... apparently he spent eleven whole hours operating on some woman. Like, ELEVEN hours! OMG. I was actually lying right there on the operating table—the anesthesiologist was literally getting me ready—and the TV was turned on just as that segment came on. You wouldn't believe the looks and the comments from the surgical team in the room at that moment...🤣

jadedriver0 said:It’s not even about the price for me. It’s those absolute freaks parading around like they're something special. I don't get the appeal when everyone can see they aren't even yours. Honestly, it's just stupid to go through with something like that right before giving birth—that's what my ex did, and her skin basically split on her breasts and they ended up looking totally saggy and ruined 🤮, just pathetic 😢. And she didn't even breastfeed, so imagine if she had. Not to mention how her husband, mother-in-law, and all our friends looked at her with such judgment because of it.

Nah, definitely not... just kidding. I actually like mine and they serve me just fine 😁 If I end up having kids and put on a ton of weight... then maybe I'll give it some thought 😁

Kate Taylor59 said:😲 were you seriously breathing through your mouth the whole time? 👎👎👎

They pulled my tampons out the next day, just like pretty much everyone else at those private clinics.

I only had the tampons in for one day... once they pulled them out (and put the mold in at the same time), I could finally breathe through my nose for a few hours, but then it just clogged right back up. I was using some nasal drops my doctor recommended, but my nose was so stuffed that the second I stood up, everything would just leak out... honestly, even now, I have zero clue what the point of those drops even was! 😁 After four days, I went back for a follow-up—cleaning out my nose, getting the mold removed, putting on the tape... and again, I could breathe! But then, a few hours later, it felt blocked all over again... so for the next four days, I was basically "breathing" through this half-open airway until my next check-up where they cleaned me out and took the tape off... that's when things actually started feeling somewhat normal (so, about nine days post-op). Before that, I wasn't really breathing; I was more like gasping through gills. 😁 For those first three or four days, I was definitely strictly mouth-breathing.

jadedriver0 said:Just a little bit.🙄😛😁And hey, once you've crossed that line, there's no turning back, right? No regrets.😁But honestly? I wouldn't do it again. Not a chance.🤣

Not even a tiny bit left in the tank... though 🙂 maybe just a little, hahahahahaha

But seriously, where am I even supposed to go for lymphatic drainage? Like, some random boutique spa or a high-end salon in the city?... honestly, I don't just trust anyone with my body. And how often am I actually looking at doing this? How many sessions does it take to see any kind of difference?

Kate Taylor59 said:Three weeks??? Seriously? This girl told me hers stopped after just two days....

Two days?! Yeah, right. No way in hell! The only way that makes sense is if she left her tampon in for five days straight and then finally felt relief two days after taking it out...but even then, we're talking seven days, not two. You’re definitely looking at about ten days...maybe even a week or two. Heck, even jadedriver0 mentioned it could take three weeks.