Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

Has anyone here actually dealt with Dr. Raguž over at Holy Spirit? I’m curious about what his approach to anesthesia is like during surgery. Personally, I much prefer local anesthesia if it's an option, but I have my initial consultation scheduled with him next Friday.

Thank God, I made it through the nose and septum surgery, plus the ear stuff.

Right now, my head is pounding, I'm dizzy, and obviously, I can't breathe through my nose at all.
Yesterday, the doctor used some kind of suction tool to pull out the tampons and let me tell you, it hurt like hell...

The worst part is constantly choking because blood keeps draining down my throat, and since I can't eat anything, I'm basically just passing blood in the toilet.

Anyone got advice on what to eat to make this recovery suck a little less?

How long does this usually last? Anyone been through this before?

Man, I honestly don't have much to say about it. I'm still waiting to see how things play out, but
I really hope you pull through quickly and get rid of that pain ASAP!
Hopefully, someone jumps in here with some actual advice.

electricangler32 said:Man... I don't really have anything smart to say. It's all still ahead of me, but
I just want you to recover quickly and get rid of that pain!
Hopefully someone jumps in with some solid advice soon.

Thanks a lot.

Nobody has replied yet.

God, I really hope your surgery and recovery go as smoothly and painlessly as possible.
Just pray to God; He never turns his back on those who reach out to Him when they need it most!

Chris Gonzalez3, have they given you any painkillers yet? That blood clotting process is going to take at least 5 to 7 days—there's just no way around it. You've got to power through, though I know it’s absolutely brutal. If the bleeding gets any heavier, don't wait—get straight back to your surgeon for a checkup.

Anonymous said:Hey. I'm looking to get nose surgery done as soon as possible, so if any girls here have gone through this, please share your experience. I want to know everything. Honestly, my biggest issue is just being terrified—the panic is real. Also, if you can recommend a doctor, let me know, because I have no clue who to go to. Thanks, everyone!

I used to get hit with those kinds of panic attacks.
They brought me into the OR and gave me anesthesia, but I had so much adrenaline pumping through my system that my heart rate hit 150!

Michelle Cook83 said:Chris Gonzalez3, did they give you any pain meds? That blood drainage is going to last at least 5-7 days—you just have to power through it. I know it’s brutal. If the bleeding gets heavy, get back to your surgeon immediately.

I DID, BUT NOTHING ACTUALLY HURTS
IT'S JUST UNCOMFORTABLE. I CAN HARDLY EAT AND I KEEP CHOKING AND COUGHING BECAUSE THE BLOOD IS DRAINING DOWN MY THROAT

It’s definitely not a fun situation.

Don't mention it.
Chris Gonzalez3, did you have your surgery done at a hospital or through a private clinic?
How many nasal tampons did they pack in there?
If you're still stuck in the hospital, how long does a stay typically last?

Here’s a little bit of intel on Dr. Kinčl (it isn't specifically about rhinoplasty, but it definitely touches on aesthetics) that I stumbled upon while Googling some of the big-name plastic surgeons here in the States... honestly, some are top-tier, while others have a pretty lousy reputation.
I remember the first thing I ever read about him—right here on this forum, actually, regarding nose jobs—was negative, and that's really stuck with me. I guess he's the one surgeon I wouldn't even bother booking a consultation with. 🤷
So, if you're looking into his work, or anyone else's for that matter, just Google them and ask around as much as possible before making any final calls.

Alex Moore62 said:Don't swallow that blood; try to spit as much as you can.
You need to eat. Right now, the priority is eating, sleeping, lying down, and resting so you can recover faster.
If your throat is raw from the tube and solid food is out of the question, try liquids or something creamy—soups (not hot! nothing hot or warm, or you'll increase the bleeding—stick to lukewarm tea), pudding, yogurt, or blended food. Blended stuff tastes like crap, but it’ll give you strength, and you need it to heal.
To help with the bleeding, try sucking on an ice cube and pressing it against the roof of your mouth to cool things down.
Hang in there. It sucks, we've all been there, and you'll feel better every single day. 🙂

And stop using all caps—it's rude in digital chats because it looks like you're screaming. 😉

Edit: Are you doing nasal rinses? Using saline or a salt and baking soda solution?

Sorry about the yelling, I didn't mean to shout.🙂
Thanks so much for the advice and the help, you're an 🙂
I could eat, honestly, but I don't know why every time I eat, mucus builds up later and then I start coughing and choking.
So I'd rather not eat at all; breathing is easier than dealing with food right now.
Or when I swallow, it just goes down the wrong pipe.
I try to do the rinses, but it's such a hassle that I don't do it that often.😢

electricangler32 said:Don't mention it.
Chris Gonzalez3, did you have your surgery at a hospital or a private clinic?
How bad were the nasal tampons?
If you're still in the hospital, how long do people usually stay there?

I had my surgery at a private clinic in Dubai with an amazing surgeon.
If anyone needs his info, I'll send it via PM. Honestly, I highly recommend him; he's top-tier.

He really knows his stuff. He did everything possible to make sure things were easier and less painful for me—he knew exactly what needed to be done.

Of course, you can't expect recovery to be easy.

They didn't use traditional tampons; instead, they used some kind of biodegradable fibers that you just vacuum out with a tiny suction tool after two days.
I couldn't have lasted three days with the old-school stuff, lol.

I still have the silicone splints in, which come out on day five post-op.
Then, two days after that, there's the final clearing, and it's basically more of the same.

I was only in the hospital for one day, but honestly, I would've preferred staying longer. It was tough having no one to look after me. It’s hard being alone when you can barely move to get from your bed to the shower or the bathroom.
I just have to say, mental preparation for this surgery is huge.

Mine was scheduled super fast because of work and insurance, so I arrived in a total panic about the anesthesia and the procedure itself. They could barely calm me down—my heart rate hit 150 under anesthesia just from the adrenaline.
To make matters worse, I had an allergic reaction to something in the anesthesia, which was a nightmare.
And once I finally woke up, I couldn't sleep for two days because the adrenaline was still pumping through my system.
I ended up completely exhausted and totally wired during those two days, even though I desperately needed sleep because of mouth breathing, choking, and the pain.

Bottom line: before surgery, stay calm, be prepared, and know exactly what you're getting into.

I seem to have lost my previous thread, so I’m coming back to ask if anyone could tell me a bit more about Dr. Ivan Raguž over at the Holy Spirit hospital in Washington, D.C. All I’ve heard so far is that he’s a relatively young physician, and a few girls I know mentioned they were quite happy with his care. Does anyone else have any actual experiences to share? I’d really appreciate some insight because I have a follow-up appointment scheduled with him in Washington, D.C.

So, I had my nose job about 20 days ago, and honestly? I’m thrilled with the results. I used to have this massive hump that made my whole profile look droopy—now, the profile looks absolutely perfect. There is just one little thing bugging me—and by "little," I mean it's definitely there. Right where the old hump used to be, specifically on the left side, there’s this tiny bump. The right side is perfectly smooth, but the left side has this little protrusion you can feel if you touch it, and you can see it if someone's standing under a bright light. People keep telling me that the nose naturally "shrinks" more over time after surgery, which actually worries me a bit—if the nose is getting smaller, wouldn't that make a bone that isn't quite aligned stand out even more? Does anyone else dealing with something similar? Also, quick question... when did your stitches finally come out? These things are killing me—I can barely hold my head up.

Chris Gonzalez3 said:sorry, I didn't mean to yell🙂
thanks so much for all the advice and help, you're an 🙂
but honestly, I could eat if I wanted to, I just don't know why every single time I have a meal, I end up with this mucus buildup later and then I'm coughing and choking
so I'd rather just skip eating because being able to breathe feels a lot better than having food in my system
or when I try to swallow and it just goes down the wrong pipe
I try rinsing everything out, but even that isn't easy, so I don't do it very often😢

Seeing as you have splints in, it makes perfect sense why there's bleeding—I went through the exact same thing. I didn't have tampons in, and one spot started bleeding, so they had to go in and pack it a bit afterward to get the bleeding under control.

Don't just lie flat; try propping yourself up with some pillows so you can sleep and rest with your head elevated.

Stay away from dairy; it just makes sinus congestion worse. That’s a good rule of thumb in general, not just during these post-op days.

Please, don't play games with your recovery because you really need to eat; it's absolutely vital after surgery! Eating and sleeping—like I said before—need to be your top priorities. Find something that actually tastes good and that you can stomach right now, and just go for it.😉

If you have those splints with breathing tubes, you can rinse things out using a saline solution with a syringe or a spray bottle (you can just pour saline into an old nasal spray bottle, or use something like Sterimar). Just remember that you have to draw everything back toward your throat and spit it out (you aren't supposed to blow your nose or sniff too hard for a while after the procedure, and obviously, you can't really do that with all this stuff in your nose anyway). Rinsing is crucial to keep everything clean so you don't end up with any nasty infections.

After my second surgery, I had to rinse with a strong solution of kitchen salt and baking soda because it was the most effective way to clear everything out. It's basically like rubbing salt in a wound—it hurts more at the moment—but it works. If you want, I can dig through my medical papers to see what the exact ratio was...

Hang in there.🙂

Greetings!

I've been wanting to get my "nose" operated on for quite some time now because of this massive hump... I have a scan scheduled soon to determine if there's a septal deviation, and if so, I’m going to try to tackle the aesthetic side of things at the same time. I was recommended a hospital in St. Louis, but does anyone here actually have experience with their doctors? I'm honestly torn on whether it's smarter to go private instead..

jadewolf12 said:Hi there!

I've been wanting to get my nose fixed for a while now because of this massive hump. I have a scan coming up soon to see if I actually have a deviated septum, and if I do, I’m hoping to tackle the aesthetic side of things at the same time. They recommended a hospital in St. Louis, but does anyone here have any experience with their doctors? I'm honestly torn on whether it makes more sense to go through a private clinic instead.

I haven't dealt with the facilities in St. Louis, but speaking as someone who has personally navigated two surgeries, I would strongly suggest sticking with a major hospital rather than going private—specifically Rebro in Washington, D.C.

Alex Moore62 said:I don't have any firsthand experience with hospitals in St. Louis, but speaking as someone who has personally undergone two surgeries, I would absolutely suggest sticking to a major hospital rather than going private—specifically Rebro in NYC.

Alex Moore62, wouldn't the Holy Spirit hospital be a better option? Personally, people recommended Dr. Raguž over at the Holy Spirit to me. 🤷

Melissa Wright8 said:I had my nose surgery about 20 days ago and I'm actually really happy with it. I had this huge hump that was making my nose look droopy, but now the profile looks perfect. My only worry is that right where the hump used to be—on the middle of my nose—there’s this little bump on the left side. The right side is perfectly smooth, but on the left, there's a lump you can feel if you touch it, and you can see it if there's overhead lighting. People say noses tend to look smaller over time after surgery, which worries me because this is clearly bone that isn't perfectly aligned. If the nose gets smaller, wouldn't that make the bump more noticeable? Has anyone else dealt with this? Also, one more thing... when did your stitches come out? I'm struggling so much with them...

So, who was your surgeon? I'm hoping that hump settles down eventually. Honestly, I think there have been quite a few posts here about similar issues with humps, mostly involving Glumičić's work, so maybe try searching through the forum a bit. 🙂
PS. Just whatever you do, don't follow the random advice people give online, like: "Massage the hump" or "rub this cream on it." Seriously, just ask your surgeon directly what you should be doing! 😉

Rachel Vaughn85 said:So, who was your surgeon? I’m really hoping that little bump eventually settles down. If I recall correctly—and I might be misremembering—there have been quite a few posts here about this exact issue, mostly involving Dr. Glumičić's work, so it might be worth doing a little digging through the archives. 🙂
PS. Just a heads-up: please don't go following random advice from people online—like "massage the bump" or "apply this specific cream"—instead, just stick to what your actual surgeon tells you to do. 😉

Maybe my doctor didn't file that side of my nose down enough, and now there's this bump left behind. During my last follow-ups, he actually had me press on the bump himself—and honestly, he pressed it so hard I practically saw stars from the pain. Ugh. Now, when I try to press it myself, it hurts just as much, and I'm terrified that if I mess with it, I'll end up making the whole thing crooked.

neonhawk78 said:Alex Moore62, honestly, isn't there more comfort in leaning on the Holy Spirit? Personally, I was advised to seek out Dr. Raguž over at the Holy Spirit clinic. 🤷

I’ve never heard anything about the ENT department at the Holy Spirit hospital, so I’m assuming it isn't particularly renowned; if it were actually any good, people in Washington, D.C. would certainly be talking about it. 🤷 It certainly isn't as formidable as Rebro.
I know quite a few people who have undergone procedures at Vinogradska, but I don't actually know anyone who would recommend going to Holy Spirit, so I wouldn't personally suggest it to you. As for Rebro, it’s common knowledge that they are incredibly strong; their ENT department used to be over at Šalat before they moved everything into the newly built Rebro facility.
Personally, I haven't had any great experiences over at Vinogradska, so I wouldn't exactly point anyone in that direction. Having struggled with chronic sinus issues for years, believe me when I say I've cycled through plenty of different ENT specialists. In the end, Dr. Jurlina at Rebro proved to be the most skilled and reliable professional I encountered. After years of bouncing between various clinics and outpatient offices, he was finally the first one to provide thorough diagnostic work and actually pinpointed the right treatment plan—which was crucial since I deal with severe nasal mucosal allergies alongside a significant septal deviation. He eventually ended up performing two surgeries on me, and the care was top-tier.
Before my first surgery, I decided to seek out a second opinion from what I consider to be the premier ENT specialist over at Mercury—I can't recall his name right now, and I'm certainly not digging through my medical files just to find it—and he ended up being in complete agreement with everything Dr. Jurlina had laid out for me. It wasn't that I had any doubts about Dr. Jurlina’s decision; I know him to be an expert whose skill and experience are beyond reproach. It was simply that a friend had opened a door for me to consult with another highly regarded physician, and when life hands you the chance to double-check things like that, why wouldn't you take it?
If it helps with your planning regarding where you'll be staying—the ENT Department over at the Mayo Clinic is located in their new building. The rooms there are doubles with their own private bathrooms, though they do have singles available too. Everything is brand new and actually quite comfortable, which is a nice change of pace.
I had an outpatient procedure at the Holy Spirit hospital, and honestly, the whole experience felt like stepping back in time. Everything there was just ancient. The accommodations were pretty grim—we were crammed into a room with four or five other people, and the bathroom situation was just as bad, with everyone on the ward having to share one cramped, poorly maintained restroom.