Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

Just wanted to pick your brains on something...
It’s been about ten days since my surgery, and my nose just won't stop running. Plus, there's this nagging ache right where the stitches were. How are you guys handling the blowing? Is it possible I'm being too aggressive with it? I'm not really squeezing hard or anything, just blowing quite frequently... and honestly, my nose looks even bigger than before; I'm guessing the swelling hasn't even peaked yet.
And what's the deal with the miteser? I've got miteser all over my face from the miteser... and my eyes are stinging. Probably because of the nose situation...

Kate Taylor59 said:...but instead, I wanted to ask you all...
I’m about ten days out from surgery, and my nose just won't stop running. Plus, there's this persistent little ache right where the stitches are... how are you guys handling the blowing? Could I be doing it too "hard"? I mean, I’m not squeezing my nose shut or anything... I just blow quite a bit... and honestly, my nose looks even bigger than before, probably just because the swelling hasn't gone down yet...
And what about the miteser?? I have miteser all over my face from the miteser... and my eyes are stinging... probably because of my nose...

I definitely felt a stinging sensation near my stitch sites whenever I blew my nose. Now, I'm just waiting for the scabs to form so I can peel them off. What a lady, 😬 I don't use miteser, but my nose is constantly peeling and the skin feels so rough that I find myself picking at it all the time.

I actually took my new nose out for its first big debut in town today! It’s a little puffy, but I'm basically walking on clouds because of how proud I am. 😍

rustygardener172 said:Honey, if memory serves me right, blowing your nose like that isn't exactly recommended... I mean, why would you even do that?! Nasal irrigation? Sure. But aggressive blowing? No.
It’s a completely different story when you saturate the nasal passages with saline and then gently clear out the blood—that's fine. But just blowing hard on a dry nose and straining like that... don't do it.

My doctor told me it was fine, provided I didn't get too forceful about it.🤷

rustygardener172 said:Honey, if I remember correctly, blowing your nose like that isn't exactly recommended... I have no idea why people do it?! Rinsing is fine, sure, but aggressive blowing? No.
It's a completely different story when you soak your nose with saline first and then blow—then she might catch a little blood—but just blowing hard on a dry nose and straining like that... don't do it.

I used to do that. 😳

Kate Taylor59 said:So, my doctor gave me the green light, but there's a massive catch: absolutely nothing aggressive. Like, zero intensity allowed. He basically told me to take it easy and stay far away from anything that pushes my limits. 🤷

Look, if your nose is constantly leaking and stinging like that, it’s pretty obvious you aren't feeling great. It’s still an open wound, basically. It makes total sense that it hurts like hell if you keep blowing it dry and aggravating it.

Look, take it from me... I honestly don't see what the big deal is. If you need something, just get up, walk into a CVS or Walgreens, and spend the money. It’s really not that deep. $6.75A standard 16.9 oz bottle of saline solution is... $3.25Look, honestly, a needle and syringe cost next to nothing at CVS. If you’re trying to clear out your sinuses and feel like your head is actually going to explode, here’s the move: fill a syringe up with some saline solution, attach a nasal tip, and let it sit in there for a second. Then, just plug the other nostril with your finger—and I mean just resting your finger over the opening, don't go jamming it in or squeezing the tip too hard—and blow. It clears everything out. Just repeat the process for the other side. You aren't going to hurt yourself doing this; if anything, it’s probably the only thing that’ll actually help.
Man, I remember when I went through this—it was intense. I’m talking literal chunks of blood and mucus just coming out. It sounds gross, I know, but honestly? It cleans everything out so damn well.

I tend to follow that same routine, though I only use a saline spray, and honestly, I haven't really had much luck getting anything out—it just seems like the saline ends up coming right back out instead.

Ashley Gomez said:That’s basically what I do, except I just use a saline spray, but I can never really clear anything out—it just feels like the saline is being pushed right back out.

Honestly, I have no clue. 🤷 Do you breathe in at the exact moment you're spraying? You probably should... try to get it to go as deep as possible...
I started off using Sterimar spray and it was actually pretty great for a bit... but $33, it only lasts a couple of days before 🙄... so I eventually switched over to using saline and a syringe. I still do it every single day. It feels amazing to do that after I've been out and about... especially if I've been stuck in some smoky room or somewhere dusty... I swear, every time I see how much gunk comes out of my nose, it totally blows my mind. 😂

I don't know... personally, I didn't see any blood or even a hint of spotting when I woke up, and nothing since. Honestly, it feels totally fine, almost like I wasn't even under the knife 😂 except for the fact that I've got some "packing material" inside me. I keep rinsing everything out with saline constantly, but I can breathe through my nose just fine without having to pre-moisten it first...

Hey girls, here is my old nose.
It’s not like you couldn't find me in real life, but I just can't bring myself to post a full face shot on a forum like this. My head is tilted slightly in the photo, and if I were to upload a complete picture, people would immediately notice from my facial features—specifically my lips—that my nose had been crooked before.
Basically, the bone was off by a few millimeters, there were two bumps making it look wider, and the tip had that potato shape.

Now, here is the new one:


The bone is straightened, those bumps are smoothed out, and the tip is smaller. Since straightening the bone naturally makes the nose look longer, the surgeon actually shortened it a little so it wouldn't hang too low over my lip.
The main issue right now—which is supposedly just temporary—is my nostrils. Can you see them in the last photo? One sits higher while the other is lower. I have to wait until they remove the stitches before the higher nostril can finally relax and settle. Honestly, the asymmetry looks way more obvious in the photo than it does in person, and I have no idea why that is.
If things don't balance out within twelve months, I am going back under the knife, but I'll be seeing a different surgeon, of course.
But everyone keeps telling me not to get ahead of myself, so I guess I'll just have to be patient.
To be perfectly clear, I actually think this nose looks much prettier than my old one did.
Plus, I'm still quite swollen, and the doctor mentioned that once the swelling goes down, the nose should look even slimmer.
Starting Thursday, I'm heading to lymphatic drainage sessions, which is supposed to help speed up the whole recovery process.

Why on earth are we only getting links instead of actual photos? 😕

Sophia Booth35 said:


Girls, this is my old nose.
It’s not like you can't find me in real life, but I'm just not comfortable posting my whole face on a forum. My head was tilted slightly in the shot. Plus, if I posted a full photo, people would probably notice from my lips that my nose had been crooked before.
Basically, the bone was off by a few millimeters, there were two bumps making it look wider, and the tip was bulbous.

Now, the new one:


The bone is straight, the bumps are smoothed out, and the tip is smaller. When you straighten the bone, the nose naturally looks longer, so they shortened it a bit so it wouldn't hang too low over my lip.
The main issue—which is supposedly just temporary—is my nostrils. You can see it in the last photo. One is higher, the other is lower. I have to wait for the stitches to come out before the higher nostril can relax and settle. That asymmetry actually looks more obvious in the photo than it does in person. I'm not sure why.
If it doesn't resolve itself within 12 months, I guess I'll go back for surgery. But with a different doctor, of course.
Everyone keeps telling me not to jump the gun, so I'll try to be patient.
To be fair, I actually think this nose looks better than my old one.
And since I'm still swollen, the doctor mentioned the bridge should look narrower soon.
Starting Thursday, I'm going for lymphatic drainage; apparently, that helps speed up the recovery.

Honestly, I think my nose looks gorgeous, especially the profile.😍

Sophia Booth35 said:


Ladies, this is my old nose.
It’s not that I can’t be found in real life, but I'm not putting my whole face on a forum. My head was tilted slightly in the shots. If I posted a full photo, you'd see from my face—specifically my lips—that my nose had been crooked.
Basically, the bone was off by a few millimeters, there were two bumps widening the bridge, and the tip was bulbous.

Now, the new one:


Straightened bone, smoothed out bumps, smaller tip. When you straighten the bone, the nose automatically looks longer, so I had it shortened slightly so it wouldn't hang over my lip.
The issue right now—which is supposedly just temporary—is the nostrils. Look at the last photo. One is higher, the other is lower. I have to wait for the sutures to dissolve so the higher nostril can relax and settle. That asymmetry looks more obvious in the photo than it does in person. I don't know why.
If this doesn't resolve within 12 months, I'm going back under the knife. But with a different doctor, obviously.
Everyone tells me not to get ahead of myself, so I'll be patient.
To be clear, I actually prefer this nose over my old one.
Plus, I'm still swollen, and the doctor mentioned the nose should look narrower once it settles.
Starting Thursday, I'm doing lymphatic drainage to help speed up the recovery.

The profile looks beautiful, but don't take this the wrong way—it doesn't look great from the front... the main thing is that you're happy.🙂

Yeah, the profile looks absolutely fantastic. Woo-hoo!
And look, I’m fully aware that things might not go perfectly right from the jump. I’ll just be sitting tight and waiting patiently.

It's absolutely wonderful!

Sophia Booth35 said:


Ladies, here is my old nose.
It’s not that you couldn't find me in real life if you really wanted to, but I just can't bring myself to post a full face shot on a forum. My head is tilted slightly in the photo, anyway. Plus, if I posted a clear shot, people would immediately notice from my facial features—specifically my lips—that my nose had been crooked before.
Basically, the bone was off by a few millimeters, there were two bumps making it look wider, and the tip had that bulbous, potato-like shape.

Now, the new one:


The bone is straight, those bumps are smoothed out, and the tip is smaller. When you straighten the bone, the nose tends to look longer automatically, so to prevent it from drooping over my lip, we shortened it just a tiny bit.
The main issue right now—which is supposedly just temporary—is my nostrils. You can see it in the last photo. One sits higher than the other. I have to wait for the stitches to dissolve so the higher nostril can relax and settle. Honestly, the asymmetry looks way more obvious in the photo than it does in person; I have no idea why that is.
If things don't settle down within 12 months, I’m heading back into surgery. But I'll be seeing a different doctor, of course.
Everyone keeps telling me not to get ahead of myself, so I’m going to try to be patient.
To be perfectly clear, I actually think this nose looks much prettier than my old one.
And since I'm still quite swollen, my doctor mentioned that the nose should eventually look even narrower.
Starting Thursday, I'm beginning lymphatic drainage massage; apparently, that helps speed up the whole recovery process.

Your nose looks amazing!! 🙂 Your little "button" nose is so cute, and yeah, definitely don't rush to judgment. Everything is so incredibly fresh right now and you can clearly tell there's still swelling... it will all settle into place eventually.😉))

Alright, here’s a little look at my nose too...

This is what the old nose looked like from the side, profile view

http://a4.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/i...cd91dc8f/l.png

And this is my sad, crooked nose from the front—showing it both with the bump and without 😁 honestly, you can't even tell which version is worse 🙂))

http://a3.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/i...ac874aa2/l.png

Now, here is the new nose from the front

http://a2.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/i...e419a64e/l.png The photo quality isn't great, but you can see it's straight now and the bump is gone... (you might need to lean back from your screen to really see it, haha)

And here's the profile shot

http://a2.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/i...46bc2121/l.png

The first photo was taken the day they removed the cast, the last one is from about a week ago, and the middle one is somewhere in between. It’s been nearly a month since the surgery, and I’m really happy with it! Even though I loved how it looked most on the day the cast came off—since that old bump from my accident popped up a bit again afterward—overall, it turned out great 🙂)... It’s not tiny, but it looks perfectly normal 🙂) weeeeee

Maria Hall92, you really did a killer job "fixing" him up!
It’s not that my nose is actually small, but since the photos are all shot at different scales, I guess that might be why it looks that way.

Sophia Booth35 said:Maria Hall92, you totally nailed that "edit"!
It’s not that my nose is small, but since the photos are all different sizes, maybe that's just how it's coming across.

Thanks! 🙂 ..Honestly, compared to mine, yours is practically tiny. I still have this nagging feeling that my nose looks bigger in person than it does in pictures, but everyone tells me I'm just being crazy... I guess that perception is just stuck in my head now... hopefully!😛

Those nose clips you have are actually quite impressive 😍😍😍😍

Kate Taylor59 said:I wonder if you can stay overnight at Dr. Davor Dzepina's place, probably an option...
As for the price, it'll likely be a bit cheaper....
I totally recommend Davor Dzepina, I even dreamed about him last night, haha I'm just obsessed with this guy 😛

Haha, glad you're happy with everything! 👍 Just a couple more things: how long was it between your first consultation and the actual surgery (hopefully not more than a month) and did you go under general anesthesia or just local? thanks 🙂

I'm planning to set up a consultation with Davor Dzepina tomorrow. He seems like the best bet since he's an ENT. I've seen way too many bad reviews for Ostojić, and Glušac, who was my first choice, is just way too far away.