Posts by steelangler88

rustygardener172 said:How long has it been since the surgery?

A month

Haha, thanks Maria Hall92! 🙂
Honestly, I’ve become such a klutz—I’m actually terrified of bumping into someone on the sidewalk because my balance is just so off right now.😂

And a quick heads-up for everyone: please don't put ice directly on your eyes... I had a terrible time because I wasn't pressing ice against them; I was just lightly dabbing a "frozen" piece of gauze over the area. Just soak a cloth in cold water and gently pat it over your cheeks and under your eyes—that should do the trick.😉 Anyway, swelling is what it is. It’ll go down when it’s ready to go down.

cut it out, man...... 🙂

Maria Hall92 said:Ugh, that sounds pretty rough... :( So, let me get this straight—you went to a private clinic first, only to have them basically outsource the fix to the public hospital?

Exactly.
It took three different doctors three whole hours just to get me sorted out. Honestly, when they finally told me what they actually found, I was beyond shocked. This one guy didn’t just fail to do his job—he caused me massive damage. And yet, apparently, plenty of other women have seen him and walked away perfectly happy. Now I'm left wondering: how on earth is it possible that he messed me up this badly while everyone else thinks everything is "perfect"? I might have actually believed the hype if it weren't for the fact that my bone shifted—so, in a weird way, I’m actually glad they caught the mess he made inside me and finally fixed it. But I am still absolutely livid. Not only did he screw me over (and by the way, my breathing was actually worse after the first surgery than it was before), but then he had the nerve to gaslight me. He basically treated me like I was losing my mind, insisting, "It's all in your head, this was top-tier work."🙄 It’s even more fascinating how everything he claimed was "impossible"—all those things he insisted were just "in his head"—gave the doctors over at Johns Hopkins plenty of ammunition to try and "fix" him.🙏

The irony of the whole situation is that I actually paid HIM—for that first surgery—a whopping 12k. $0.00The second one was free for me, too. But hey, that’s just how they get you when you're young and naive!

Five days of tampons? Give me a break. I’ve had two surgeries—after the first one, I only had them in for a single day. After this second one, I didn't even deal with them at all. Plus, my whole nose feels completely reshaped now; they actually straightened out my septum this time (which they totally missed during the first surgery), among other things. 😕 I was treated at a public hospital under my insurance, and honestly, I’m way more satisfied with the results. Even though this procedure was much longer and more intense than the first, the doctors and the nursing staff were great to me, and the recovery was actually much easier than what I experienced at the private clinic. So, yeah, that's my take.

Elizabeth Anderson25 said:My main issue is this bump inside my left nostril—it makes breathing a nightmare. I haven't been able to breathe through the left side at all for about two years now; I'm stuck using just the right side. Out of all the decongestant sprays out there, only Afrin or similar stuff works, but those are terrible for the nasal lining if you use them long-term. I ended up using them for months straight because trying to fall asleep with my mouth wide open is nearly impossible. I saw an ENT, and he told me surgery is the only way. Because of this blockage, I’ve noticed my left ear feels about 40% muffled too. On the outside, I also have a bump—nothing huge, but noticeable. I asked the doctor if he could fix the external shape during the procedure, and he said that shouldn't be a problem. Since it's medically necessary, my insurance should cover it, so it'll be free. I just want to breathe normally again, and honestly, I'd be so happy if I didn't have to hide my profile behind my hair or keep it in a ponytail all the time. I'm terrified of the surgery, though. What is it like waking up? Will it be unbearable for those first five days when you can't breathe through your nose at all? Can I actually sleep? And what about bruising or dark circles under the eyes? How long does recovery really take? Has anyone here gone through this who can answer these questions? 😢(((

Most of us have been there.😁

I was in almost the exact same boat—couldn't breathe through the left side at all, deviated septum, tiny bumps, and a million other things, right?🙂 I ended up having two surgeries... As for the nose itself, it won't actually hurt; seriously, I haven't heard a single person say their nose was painful. Now, as for how you feel when you wake up—that really depends on how you handle anesthesia. Personally, I get super nauseous every time, but most people feel fine. The bruising and dark circles usually last about a week, but it's nothing major; you can easily head out for a bit after a week, or even sooner if you feel up to it. I was already walking around town by day three with my splints in.😁 If they are straightening your septum, there's a chance they might just use internal splints instead of packing, which makes things much easier. I've done both versions (first one had packing, second had splints), so I know.😁 It's really not that bad. The hardest part will likely be sleeping on your back (if you aren't used to it)—at least, that was the struggle for me. You have nothing to worry about.👍

My skin has basically fused to the bridge of my nose. Has anyone else dealt with this?? Honestly, I think it’s been an issue since my first surgery—I’ve always had this little "fleck" there—but now, following the second procedure, it’s exactly the same as before... It's confusing because the bone is displaced again, and they used an open technique this time... What am I supposed to do about this?😕I really want to fix this because it's so noticeable; it looks like hyperpigmentation, but I suspect it's actually just the skin being stuck down, which might be why that area looks so much darker...🤷

Don't even sweat it!! Give it a week and you'll feel like a whole new person—as long as everything turns out right!😉

Yeah, tell me about it—I didn't have anything going on the first day either... then by day two, my eyelids were bruised blue, and by evening, the area between my eyes was so swollen I could barely keep them 😂 half-open. It was terrifying—honestly, I was praying to God that if it swelled one millimeter more, my eyes would just pop out and the splint would fly off into the wall from the pressure 😁
Meanwhile, I’m making absolutely zero progress... I don't know, my nose looks massive right now, and apparently, having experience from my first surgery doesn't actually help much since I still have no clue what the final result is even going to look like... 😲

Maria Hall92 said:Hey everyone, I’m back from my surgery... just wanted to give you the rundown on how it went. First, I had another sit-down with the doctor to finalize the plan. He decided to go with an endonasal approach because he thinks he can get better results than open surgery, which would have been way more complicated. After that, I went with my sister to get a sedative shot in the hip to help me relax, then they did another exam—this time with the senior surgeon too. They spent quite a while looking me over, debating what to do, and kept bringing up the possibility of an open procedure (I was already stressing out about the needle; honestly, at that point, I felt like they might just amputate my leg 😁). It really feels like my nose is a mess; it seemed like they weren't entirely sure how to handle it or if they'd succeed... anyway, after that, I lay down on the table, my sister packed my nasal passages with soaked gauze—anesthetic or whatever—and they started the IV with something that made me feel drowsy (but didn't actually knock me out). Then came the unpleasant part: the local anesthetic inside the nose. I felt it hitting several spots internally, and it was pretty uncomfortable because of the stinging; I definitely had tears running down my face. I just lay there for a few minutes waiting for it to kick in. I kept my eyes squeezed shut the whole time, and then I heard the doctor say, "Let's go" (OH MY GOD)... I heard everything clearly. I wasn't asleep at all. I was just groggy and keeping my eyes shut, but I heard every single sound. I could have opened my eyes, but I didn't think that was a smart move—I didn't want to accidentally see anything, God forbid!!!... I'm not even sure which exact technique they used now... I felt some scraping, heard him mention needing to work laterally, and then I heard the cut to remove the bump, followed by the sensation of thread being pulled through, and then... the hammer 😁 hahahahahah oh man... I actually felt and heard him tapping me with the hammer hhahaha, maybe two or three times. Seriously people, I felt and heard it all. But I have to say, IT ISN'T BAD and for anyone who's scared, you don't need to fear the locally enhanced anesthesia or any of the stuff I mentioned (except the local part, which is bearable) IT DOESN'T HURT... After the surgery, you just rest for a bit, lie down, and you can head home. You can walk around, I don't feel dizzy or nauseous, I'm hungry, my nose doesn't hurt at all, my head doesn't hurt, and I don't feel exhausted or worn out... So, don't avoid it altogether, because you won't deal with all those things. I don't even have bad bruising; it's barely visible in the corners of my eyes. All in all, everything went great with Dr. Tončić.
Just waiting to see if he managed to fix my ugly nose 🙂. If so, I'll definitely recommend him
.

Oh my god...!! 🙂
Props to you, I would have absolutely lost it.... fingers crossed that the nose turns out amazing! 👍

Hmm... I had a septoplasty done (just this once), but they didn't use tampons—just internal splints. Then, after my first surgery, they actually used tampons (only for it to turn out that they hadn't even touched the septum at all)... so I don't really get the logic behind it.
By the way, my nose keeps getting bigger; at this rate, I'll be able to eclipse the sun soon.🙂

My first doctor painted me a total picture of sunshine and rainbows, but the second one straight up told me not to hold my breath😁 guess which one actually gave me the real story?😛

On another note, I’m pretty sure that lump on my right side has shrunk!!! ugh, if it would just DISAPPEAR, that would be freaking AMAZING!!!!!😍

though I probably shouldn't get my hopes up too early🙄

It’s honestly better when they admit they can't make promises—it beats those people who swear up and down they'll fix things, only to deliver absolutely nothing (or just total garbage)... take my first experience with an OP, for example...
🙄

Yeah, I’ve got grafts everywhere and my incision is wide open. But honestly? It still looks bizarre to me—I really don't think it's going to "settle down" enough to actually flatten out. It’s been a month already and it still looks MASSIVE! I’m just totally lost at this point.😢

What new hospital??
Well, I was just over at Naranđin's department myself😁 and on that very same day, she performed surgery on some guy—and let me tell you, he turned out great!! Clearly, I'm just cursed. I've tried twice now, two different doctors, and absolutely nothing. To be fair, this second one was easily the best specialist I could find. But man, what a headache—he's so stubborn about doing things his own way! Just my luck.🙂

Honestly, guys, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind because of this nose shape.😁
I mean, seriously! After the first surgery, I was left with a lump on the left side, and then after the second one, there's a lump on the right! So now what? I wanted to ask if there's any chance these lumps aren't actually lumps but just swelling that might go down—but based on my experience, I already know they won't!😢

AAAAA!!!!
The bottom line: don't get nose surgery.🙏

Thanks

Well, it's finally done.🙂
Right now everything is just super swollen—purple eyelids and all that—BUT it looks like she actually pulled it off. Now I just have to be patient for 2 or 3 weeks to let the swelling go down so we can see the final result.
🙏

Dr. Uglešić. I’m really hoping everything turns out okay so I can finally stop obsessing over this. Honestly, my nose doesn't look half bad after everything—it just needs some "minor touch-ups." I’m praying they actually stay minor, because I am so mentally exhausted from overthinking this that I’ve been putting it off for two years now. They’ll be using grafts since I have two indentations, but I just hope I don't end up with the exact same issues that drove me to the first surgery in the first place.😁
Basically, I'll check back in with my impressions—fingers crossed for good news! Sending luck to everyone else venturing into this, hoping you all manage to avoid complications like mine...

😁
REVISION!
I am 100,000% more terrified than I was the first time—wish me luck... 🙂