Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

Hi there!
I have a quick question for anyone who has had nose surgery at a hospital in the area—maybe somewhere like the Mayo Clinic?
I've dealt with breathing issues since I was a kid, mostly due to allergies, but there are times when my nose just feels completely blocked. I’m thinking about getting checked out to see if I have a deviated septum—my nose is also a bit prominent with a bump on it, and honestly, it feels a little out of proportion with my face... it's been bothering me for a long time, and I'm just feeling a bit lost on what to do next 🤔 .My question is—for those of you who have actually gone through this—where did you have the best experience? Were you happy with the results, both in terms of breathing and how it looks aesthetically? 🕺

brightbadger16 said:Hey there.
I have a question for anyone who’s had nose surgery at a hospital in Chicago...
I've dealt with nose issues since I was a kid. Mostly allergy-related, but there are times when breathing just gets difficult. I want to go in and see if I actually have a deviated septum. My nose is also quite prominent with a bump on it, so if there is a deviation, I’d love to fix the aesthetics too. It looks way too big for my face and the bump isn't helping. It's been bothering me for a long time and I'm honestly at a loss with it 🤔 .My question is (for those of you who've been through it), where did you have the best experience? Were you happy with both the health results and how it looks?? 🕺

I haven't gone under the knife myself, but I have an appointment scheduled for September. Every time I see the surgeon, they ask if I'm still struggling with allergies. Apparently, you have to try managing the allergies first. If nothing seems to help, then they start the actual surgical evaluations to see if you're even a candidate for the procedure.

Michelle Carter52 said:I haven't had my surgery yet—it’s scheduled for September—but every time I see my surgeon, he asks if I have any allergy issues. Apparently, you have to get those sorted out first, and if nothing seems to work, then they move forward with the pre-op screenings to see if you're actually a candidate for the procedure.

Aha, so that's how the process works... Well, I suppose everyone has to start somewhere. I really need to get on top of this—those allergies can be such a nightmare, I guess.

Michelle Carter52 said:Was the whole thing with the bruising intense? How long did it take before you didn't look like you'd been in a street fight? 😁 I’m hoping my bruises don't last more than two weeks, at least until they turn yellow. Heh.

The worst part for me is my phobia of needles—or needles in veins. I have no idea how I'll handle this. Every time I go for blood work, I start shaking and turning pale. Now I know they need to insert a catheter, and I'm dreading seeing how that goes. Haha.

Five days is plenty for sinus issues. It's barely noticeable—maybe a slightly swollen nose, but I'm not sure how much visible bruising usually comes from cosmetic surgery.
They give you a sedative. You won't feel a thing; you'll be asleep before you even realize what's happening.

brightbadger16 said:So, that's how it works, I guess. Well, you have to start somewhere. I need to get on top of this, because honestly, these allergies can really make life miserable.

Doctors usually start with the smallest possible issues first. They'll probably keep digging until they hit something that actually requires surgery. Personally, I don't really deal with allergies, but when my doctor was checking me out, he wasn't quite sure if I needed an operation yet. He sent me for a nasal CT scan, and once he saw what was going on inside, he confirmed it. I guess if you actually have allergy problems, they’ll definitely try to fix those before jumping to anything else. 🙂

boldnomad45 said:Man, I’ve been dealing with sinus issues for five days now and I can't tell what's actually going on. My nose feels a little swollen, maybe, but I don't know. I guess it's hard to say how much visible bruising usually shows up after cosmetic surgery.
You take a little pill and the fear just fades away. I guess you'll be asleep before you even realize what's happening.

Thanks for getting back to me. I feel a little better now, I guess. To be honest, needles scare the hell out of me more than anything else. 😁

Linda Cox2 said:Has anyone actually been to see Glumcic lately?

So, I'm actually heading in for my surgery next week. They gave me a call saying a slot opened up—probably someone else bailed at the last minute, I guess. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty nervous about 🙂

Does anyone know what kind of meds they give you beforehand? Like, something to help take the edge off?

Ashley Bishop43 said:I’m heading in for surgery next week. They called to say a slot opened up—someone likely canceled at the last minute. I’m feeling a bit 🙂

What kind of pill do they give you? Something to take the edge off?

What are the rates over at Glumicic?

For some quick cash $5933.

Ashley Bishop43 said:For cash $5933.

How long is the wait for surgery?😉

Maybe give it 2-3 months...

Hey everyone. Did some digging through this thread. As far as breathing goes, I think my nose is fine—one nostril is just slightly narrower than the other, so it gets stuffy occasionally. My real issue is the snoring, and honestly, I have no clue what’s causing it. I already went for a checkup at the Mayo Clinic; my GP gave me a referral, and they basically told me my nasal passages are clear enough. They just gave me some drops and called it a day. But the snoring hasn't stopped, and I'm stuck. It feels stupid to keep cycling through my doctor, then the Mayo Clinic, only to get the same answer every single time. The thing is, I have a bump on my nose and it’s crooked, so maybe it makes sense to just fix everything at once. Problem is, I don't have the cash for a private surgeon right now. Does anyone know if you can actually get this handled at a hospital? Like, can you just call a department and ask for a rhinoplasty—both for the looks and the breathing—and they'll charge you something like $1667 (just guessing)? Even then, it'd be cheaper than going private. Basically, is it possible to request surgery at a hospital without them recommending it first?

Hannah Booth2 said:Hey everyone. I've been digging through this thread a bit. Regarding my breathing, I think my nose is mostly fine—one nostril is just slightly more congested than the other since they aren't symmetrical—but the snoring is still an issue and I can't figure out why. I already went for a checkup at the Mayo Clinic. My GP gave me a referral, and the specialists there basically told me my nasal passages are clear enough. They just gave me some drops and said everything looks okay. Still, I'm snoring, and I don't know what to do. It feels silly to keep going back to the GP just to get another referral to the Mayo Clinic only to hear the same thing. The thing is, I have a bump on my nose and it's crooked, so maybe it's better to just fix everything at once. I don't have the cash for a private surgeon right now, though, so I'm wondering if it's possible to get it done at a public hospital? Like, could you just call them up and ask for a rhinoplasty for both aesthetic reasons and breathing issues, and they'd charge you something like $1667 (just guessing)? That would be cheaper than going private. Is it actually possible to request surgery at a hospital without their initial recommendation?

No. In a public hospital, you can only get surgery if your condition is severe enough to make you a candidate. That only happens if it's medically necessary, and then they might tackle the aesthetics while they're at it. Anything else you've heard is probably just rumors. I guess if you have a really thick connection, anything is possible. 😁

And as for getting a consultation with a doctor or a surgeon at the hospital, you won't get anywhere without a referral from your primary care physician.

Michelle Carter52 said:Nah, you aren't getting surgery at a public hospital unless you're actually sick enough to need it for medical reasons. If they do anything aesthetic, it's just a side effect of fixing a real problem. Anything else you've heard is just rumors—unless you have some heavy-duty connections, then anything goes, I guess. 😁

And good luck even getting an appointment with a surgeon at the hospital without a referral from your primary care doctor first.

So basically, zero chance. It's private clinics or nothing. Not worth fighting the doctors over.

Hannah Booth2 said:Hi everyone. I’ve been digging through this thread. Regarding my breathing, my nose seems fine, though one nostril is slightly more congested than the other—just a structural thing, I guess. My main issue now is snoring, and I have no clue what's causing it. I already went for an exam at the Mayo Clinic; my GP gave me a referral, and they basically told me my nasal passages are clear enough. They just prescribed some drops and called it a day. Still, the snoring persists, and honestly, I’m tired of the runaround. Going back to the GP, then back to Mayo, just to hear the same thing... it feels pointless. The thing is, I have a bump and my nose is crooked, so maybe it's better to fix everything at once. However, I don't have the cash for a private specialist right now. Is it even possible to get this handled at a hospital? Like, can you just call the billing department and request a rhinoplasty for both aesthetic reasons and breathing issues, and they charge you something like $1667 (just guessing here)? Presumably less than a private clinic. Can you actually request surgery at a hospital without their initial recommendation?

Did you go to your appointment with sinus imaging results in hand?

Can someone give me an answer here? If I don't live in the city and have to travel, can I just call ahead to schedule surgery for maybe 3 months out? Then just show up 2 weeks before the actual date for the consultation, everything being settled and my test results ready to go? Thanks.

Megan Sanchez27 said:Can someone please help me out here? If I don't live in the local area and have to travel, can I schedule an operation for, say, three months from now over the phone? Could I then just show up two weeks before the surgery date for my consultation and to go over all my test results? Thanks!

Actually, no—the surgeon is the one who determines if you're actually a candidate for surgery, not the patient.

Hannah Booth2 said:Hi everyone! I've been doing a bit of digging through this thread. Regarding my breathing, I think my nose is mostly fine—one nostril is just a little more congested than the other since they aren't perfectly symmetrical—but my main issue right now is snoring, and I'm really not sure what's causing it. I already went in for an exam at the Mayo Clinic; my primary care doctor gave me a referral, and the specialists there basically told me that my nasal passages are clear (meaning air flows through just fine). They just gave me some nasal drops and said everything looks okay. However, I'm still snoring and I'm feeling a bit lost. It feels silly to keep cycling through my GP, then back to the Mayo Clinic, only to end up with the same answer. The thing is, I have a bump and my nose is a bit crooked, so it might be better to just fix everything all at once. Since I don't have the budget for a private surgeon right now, I was wondering if it's possible to get this handled at a hospital? Like, can you just call a department and ask for a rhinoplasty to fix both the aesthetics and the breathing, and they'll charge you something like $1667 (just throwing out a number)? It would likely be cheaper than going private. Basically, is it possible to request surgery at a hospital without them being the ones to recommend it first?

What did they actually suggest as a next step? I'm sure they noted a follow-up appointment somewhere.

If you were at the General Clinic, your doctor can actually refer you directly to a specialist ENT clinic.

boldnomad45 said:Did you end up going to your appointment with those sinus scans?

Honestly, an X-ray for sinuses isn't really worth much—it won't clearly show if there's a deviated septum or anything significant. A CT scan is usually what a specialist will actually order if they need to see what's going on.

There are so many different reasons why someone might be snoring, so it really needs to be looked at from every angle.

Can someone please tell me (or just DM me) a bit more about what secondary nose surgery is actually like?

Basically, I already had my initial procedure done at the Mayo Clinic, but I’m still dealing with some issues with one of my nostrils—plus, a little bump has popped up lately.

Betty Edwards22 said:There’s no point in getting an sinus X-ray. It won't tell you anything. A scan can show if there's a deviated septum, but a CT is only ordered when a specialist actually deems it necessary.

There are various reasons why someone might snore, and we need to look at the whole picture before jumping to conclusions.

The scan showed a deviated septum. They’ve already scheduled me for surgery.