Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

neondriver15 said:I agree there’s a risk of complications, but not in the way she described it. I mean, "the body remembers"? Is there some kind of "repository" where the body keeps a tally of how many GABA receptors you've blocked and when?😂 I wouldn't go that far. Any substance or compound you put into your system has an effect and needs to be metabolized—that's just basic pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. It carries side effects, sure. But let's be real: local anesthesia carries risks too. In my view, creating this hype that local anesthesia is just a walk in the park while general anesthesia is some terrifying monster is completely baseless (assuming we're talking about healthy people).

Look, that’s how a doctor explained it to me. It might be a bit of a caricature, but I know that every general surgery counts toward the stats, so go ahead and laugh. Neither of us is an anesthesiologist, so we could spend all week arguing over links and Google searches. All I can tell you is that I’ve been through both. There are valid, clear reasons why some doctors prefer doing their procedures under local anesthesia. My general anesthesia experience was almost fine—no pain, no trauma. Honestly, I even cracked a few jokes while drifting off at the table.

Alex Moore62 said:Hold on, hold on—that's you. So, she was blowing her nose after the surgery? Seriously?
Are you kidding me? Seriously—did they really not tell you?!
After the surgery, you’ve got to rinse your nose constantly with saline—we're talking frequent, heavy rinsing—and whatever fluid comes out needs to be drawn up into the back of your throat and spit out. Whatever you do, just don't blow your nose—seriously, avoid that at all costs.
How long did you wait before you started blowing your nose after the surgery? I mean—is there any chance that was actually what caused the deformity?!

My doctor didn't say a single word about avoiding blowing my nose—honestly, he just gave me some pointers on how to hold it properly while I do it. I actually started blowing my nose regularly about two weeks after the surgery. Now I’m just sitting here wondering if I've accidentally set myself up for some kind of complication—fingers crossed everything stays on track. 😢

Alex Moore62 said:I haven't spent much time in Indianapolis, so I can't speak to their facilities. However, having undergone two surgeries myself, my advice is quite firm: stick to the public hospital system rather than going private. Specifically, you should look into Bone in NYC.

thanks!!

cosmicbadger83 said:That’s basically how a doctor explained it to me. It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but hey, every opinion counts if you want to laugh, so go ahead. Neither of us are anesthesiologists, so we could sit here until next week trading links and Google articles. All I can tell you is that I've been through both types, and there are valid reasons why some doctors prefer doing their own procedures under local anesthesia. My local procedure went totally fine—no pain, no trauma. Honestly, I even cracked a few jokes while lying on the table.

Obviously, general anesthesia is way more dangerous and complicated because you lose consciousness and stop breathing on your own. That's clear enough to any healthy person.

For instance, I had some allergies and they had no clue what was happening to me.
And since I was unconscious, of course, I couldn't say a word.😁

Melissa Wright8 said:My doctor didn't even mention anything about not blowing my nose. All he told me was how to hold it while I do it. I actually started blowing my nose regularly just two weeks after the surgery. I really hope nothing goes wrong because of that. 😢

It sounds like you were operated on in Miami too 😂. Honestly, nobody there tells you a single thing; they just don't take you seriously at all. They botch your surgery, leave you stuck in the same hospital bed for five days, and serve you food that’s either boiled or baked with absolutely zero seasoning. Then, they wait until the fifth day just to pull those nasal tampons out before sending you home. And get this—when they’re handing you your discharge papers, they actually roll their eyes at you just because you didn't bring them some kind of gift. 🙄

Melissa Wright8 said:My doctor didn't mention anything about avoiding blowing my nose. He just showed me how to hold it steady while I do it. I actually started blowing my nose regularly just two weeks after the surgery. I really hope this doesn't trigger some kind of complication 😢

Blowing your nose is strictly off-limits following a procedure like this, and it makes me wonder what kind of doctors are out there failing to give patients basic instructions like that.🙄 It’s easy to see why you read so much criticism here regarding poor surgical outcomes; when communication breaks down, things go sideways.

Two weeks post-op and you definitely shouldn't be blowing your nose. At least, that wasn't the case with my surgeon, and he certainly knows his stuff.

That is precisely why I keep stressing that when you're undergoing such a serious cranial procedure, you shouldn't just wander into any random clinic. You need to find a hospital staffed by surgeons who have truly earned their reputation.

Since it's clear that some doctors are more careless than others, it would be wise for a patient to cross-reference information from every possible source. More importantly, you absolutely have to grill your own doctor about the recovery protocols—what is permitted and what isn't once you're discharged. After all, how we manage our own self-care at home plays a massive role in the final result and the overall healing process.

@neonhawk78/">@@neonhawk78, it seems like you haven't spent much time dealing with standard American hospitals or inpatient stays. In these facilities, they generally don't have the luxury of sitting down for a thirty-minute chat with a patient like you might experience at a high-end private boutique clinic; they have a packed schedule of other patients to attend to. Also, it's not a luxury hotel where the linens are changed daily, so there's no reason to be surprised by that. Honestly, you aren't changing your sheets every single day at home either. If you happened to get blood on them, for instance, that's just a routine occurrence for them; they can't be swapping out linens every five minutes. The state of the bedsheets is the least of your concerns in a situation like this.😉

Chris Gonzalez3 said:for instance, I dealt with some allergies and they were completely clueless about what was actually happening to me
and since I was obviously out cold, I couldn't exactly speak up and correct them, 😁

Standard procedure dictates that you have to fill out a multi-page questionnaire before any surgery, which includes specific sections regarding allergies. If you skipped those forms, you really should have made sure to emphasize those critical details during your consultation with the anesthesiologist.

neonhawk78 said:It sounds like you got treated at the same hospital in Miami 😂. Nobody there communicates, nobody takes you seriously, they just botch the surgery and leave you rotting in the same bed for five days. You get food that’s either boiled or baked into flavorless mush, and they wait until day five just to pull the nasal swabs out. Then they kick you out, rolling their eyes while handing you the discharge papers because you didn't bring them a gift. 🙄

Facts! Thank God I moved away from ST, otherwise I'd be looking for a surgeon in Cleveland instead. 🙂

neonhawk78 said:It sounds like you also had surgery in Miami 😂—where nobody tells you anything, nobody takes you seriously, they mess up your procedure, leave you stuck in the same bed for five days, serve you food that’s either boiled or baked without a single grain of salt, wait until day five just to pull those tampons out of your nose, send you home, and then roll their eyes while handing you your discharge papers because you didn't bring them a gift. 🙄

I actually had my surgery in Washington, D.C. The doctor was fantastic—he actually called me every single day for a week or two after the procedure. I’m so happy with the results that I really don't think he missed anything. He gave me specific instructions on how to hold my nose while blowing it, which clearly made all the difference. Every doctor has their own way of doing things and everyone trusts their own physician, so honestly, you should probably just listen to yours. I'm not sure if you guys are talking about public hospitals or private clinics in Miami, but I went to a private specialist in D.C.

I’m not going to go out on a limb and name the specific surgeon who operated on me, but looking through the threads here, I noticed two other women mentioned him. Apparently, both of them had pretty terrible experiences at that same hospital.
:@Alex Moore62, look, surgery isn't exactly a walk in the park, especially when you're young and facing it for the very first time. In my case, blood from my incision leaked all over the sheets after they pulled my IV, and then they refused to change my bedding for five straight days, claiming the ward was out of clean linens. Every single day, I ended up having to change my own bandages and that gauze under my nose because the staff rarely bothered to check on us. They’d only show up if they needed to adjust an IV drip or hand out morning and evening meds; otherwise, I guess even the high school students were the ones checking our temperatures. Since I was the one constantly messing with the gauze under my nose, I realized by the very first day that my skin was completely ruined (even though it was already swollen). Honestly, the whole thing was such a shock to my system, and none of the staff made even the slightest effort to make my stay more bearable. I find it hard to believe that every hospital operates this way!

neonhawk78 said::@Alex Moore62, surgery isn't some minor inconvenience, especially when you're young and navigating the whole ordeal for the first time. In my experience, blood from my nasal area soaked through the sheets after they pulled my IV, and they refused to change the linens for five straight days, claiming the ward had run out of clean supplies. I ended up changing my own bandages and the gauze under my nose every single day because the staff rarely bothered to check in. They’d only show up if they needed to start or stop an infusion, hand out the morning or evening meds, or if some student intern was sent to take our temperatures. Since I was the one constantly messing with that gauze under my nose, I realized by the very first day that the skin there was already completely wrecked, despite the swelling. The whole situation was a massive shock to me, and not a single person on that staff made any effort to make my stay bearable. I refuse to believe this is the standard at every hospital!

No, it's not like that at Bone.
What you're describing sounds completely abnormal; that isn't what proper post-op care looks like for someone who just had sinus surgery—not from the doctors, and certainly not from the nurses.
That said, there are morning and evening rounds every single day, and anything bothering you should have been brought up during those rounds. You specifically should have pointed out that your nose feels crooked now and demanded to know why that happened and how they plan to fix it.
As for the bloody sheets, you probably should have left them visible so they could see the mess during rounds; that would have forced the nurses to react, because the doctors likely wouldn't tolerate that kind of thing (they wouldn't at Bone). Generally speaking, in any hospital, there's a cleanup period every morning before rounds—rooms get aired out and beds are tidied up so everything looks presentable for the doctors, though they aren't necessarily swapping out all the linens then, just straightening things up. I can't speak for how things work at st.

Edit: It's also totally unacceptable that you were dressing your own wounds; I don't understand why you didn't insist that a nurse handle that for you.

Alex Moore62 said:No, things don't work that way at Bone.
What you’re describing just isn't right; that isn't proper post-op care for someone who just had sinus surgery—not from the doctors, and certainly not from the nursing staff.
That said, there are morning and evening rounds every single day, and anything bothering you should have been brought up during those rounds. You especially should have pointed out that your nose looks crooked now and asked why that happened and how they plan to fix it.
As for the bloody bandages, you probably should have left them exposed so they could see them during rounds; then the nurses might have actually reacted, because I doubt the doctors would ever permit something like that (not at Bone, anyway). Otherwise, in any hospital on any ward, there is a tidying up period every morning before rounds—they check the rooms and straighten the beds so everything looks presentable for the doctors (they aren't changing the sheets, just smoothing them out). I don't know how it works over at st.

Edit: It is also completely unacceptable that you're having to re-dress your own wounds. I honestly don't understand why you didn't ask a nurse to do it for you?

Back at Firulama, we had students neatly making the beds every single morning, even though they probably would have begged God if we tried to do it ourselves. For the woman sharing my room, they didn't even remove her IV until two hours after it had run dry. I highly doubt the doctors would hold anyone accountable; they all look out for one another. 🙄
I didn't dare speak up when something felt wrong because my primary doctor wasn't even part of the rounds, and the one guy who did visit us every morning was incredibly arrogant—he used to address all of us by our diagnoses rather than our names. And yeah, the evening rounds weren't even happening every day.

Look, here’s the deal... I spent a month on bed rest due to preeclampsia at the local women's hospital. A check-up lasts all of 30 seconds; if you actually have a question, they just tell you to go find a nurse.
Of course, she’s either too busy or simply doesn't give a damn.
The only reason I ever had clean sheets is because I was staying with a friend who has connections there. Otherwise, you’d be dealing with a mess just like everyone else. When I finally gave birth, yeah, I bled—and not just a little—but don't expect a pristine white sheet when things are bound to get dirty anyway. I was honestly embarrassed to have anyone visit. And as for the staff being rude and unprofessional? Don't even get me started!

electricangler32 said:Look, here's my take... I spent an entire month on bed rest trying to maintain a pregnancy due to preeclampsia at the ST maternity ward. A check-up lasts maybe thirty seconds; if you actually have a question, they just tell you to go talk to the nurse.
And of course, she either doesn't have the time or she simply doesn't give a damn.
The only reason I ended up with clean sheets was because I was staying with a friend who has connections there; otherwise, I would have been covered in stains just like everyone else. When I finally gave birth, obviously I bled—and quite a bit at that—but let’s be real, you aren't going to get a pristine white sheet when things are naturally going to get messy.I felt absolutely mortified whenever anyone came to visit. And don't even get me started on how rude and unprofessional the staff can be!

I felt just as terrible and embarrassed when people came to visit me, because the staining was so obvious that I always found myself spreading the top sheet across the entire bed to hide it.

Look, I’ll be blunt here... I honestly don't know what you all expected, considering you went into the hospital for surgery without even handing over a dime for the procedure. That’s just how things work in America—you PAY if you actually want someone to take care of you. Of course, not everyone is sitting on more than 10 $0.00 extra to drop on this, but maybe don't go getting nose surgery until you've actually saved up the cash. For God's sake, your nose is right in the middle of your face—is it really worth messing around with like this?

Look, I haven't gone under the knife yet, but I fully intend to have the procedure done at a hospital.
They could certainly make a killing off us, but here’s my take:
if they’re going to screw me over—let's assume that happens—then they might as well do it for free. At least then I won't be paying out of pocket for corrective surgery.
But honestly, who’s to say they won't still rip me off even if I pay upfront via $3333?☕

electricangler32 said:Personally, I haven't gone under the knife yet—but when I do, I'm doing it at a hospital.
They could easily make a killing off us, but here’s my logic:
if they’re going to screw me over anyway—let's just assume that happens—then the least they can do is make it free. At that point, I'll pay for the fix myself.
But honestly, who's to say they won't screw me over even if I drop a ton of cash via $3333?☕

It's pretty obvious you haven't had surgery yet—because if you had, you wouldn't be asking to do this twice. I don't really get why you think someone would intentionally mess you up... I mean, a private clinic's whole goal is to fix your nose perfectly; they have zero incentive to ruin your face and tank their own reputation. A little positivity and some actual trust might do you some good.

Melissa Wright8 said:It’s obvious you haven't had surgery before, because if you had, you wouldn't be asking for a second opinion twice. I don't get why you think someone would intentionally screw you over... private clinics want to fix your nose perfectly; they don't want to ruin your face and kill their reputation. A little positivity and trust wouldn't hurt you.

Go back and read the old threads. There are plenty of cases where private doctors absolutely botched it.
I'll believe whoever I want to believe, which means I trust a hospital more than a boutique clinic.
Your "good experience" doesn't mean a damn thing to me!

electricangler32 said:Go back and actually read some of the old threads—there are plenty of examples where private clinics completely messed things up.
Look, I’ll believe who I want to believe—which, in this case, means believing I'm much safer staying in a hospital.
Your "great experience" doesn't mean a thing to me!

Why so arrogant? It's not my business where you go for surgery, so just do whatever you want.

Melissa Wright8 said:Why so arrogant? It’s your life and your surgery. Do whatever you want.

☕