Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

Does anyone else deal with this—you pop a tiny pimple on your nose and suddenly your whole face swells up like you just went under the knife?🤣 I remember right after getting my braces removed, I had this little breakout near my nose, and Dr. Glušac told me to leave it alone because it might spread to the rest of my nose or something... I honestly thought he was joking at the time, but now looking at this potato-shaped nose of mine, it all makes sense. 😳

stormyharbor2 said:Does anyone else deal with this—where you try to squeeze one little pimple on your nose and suddenly your whole face swells up like you just went under the knife?🤣 I remember right after getting my mold removed, I had a breakout near my nose and Dr. Glušac told me to leave it alone because it might spread to the rest of my nose or something. I thought he was joking at the time, but now it all makes sense... hello, potato nose. *sigh*😳

My nose is relatively fine most of the time, but if I start messing with a pimple, the swelling gets intense. Honestly, though, the absolute worst is those two days before my period hits—I can't even describe how much of a potato my nose turns into. It almost looks twice its actual size (especially the tip). If someone happens to snap a photo of me during those days—like at a wedding or a birthday party—I can barely look at myself when I see how massive my nose looks in the pictures.
Anyone else going through this?

Rebecca Gomez37 said:My nose is actually pretty fine most of the time, but if I press on it, it swells up like crazy... honestly, the absolute worst part is those two days right before my period hits—I can't even begin to describe what this potato-shaped nose turns into. It gets almost twice as thick (especially the tip). If someone happens to snap a photo of me during those days—like at a wedding or a birthday party—I seriously can't even look at myself once I see how massive my nose looks in the pictures.
Does this happen to any of you?

Same thing happens to me, it just swells up on certain days 😁... though I haven't really paid enough attention to track exactly when. 😂

It’s been two months since my surgery, and things have pretty much leveled off now. The top area feels a little swollen, but nothing too crazy. Honestly, the recovery period took a solid month—I basically went into full hibernation mode just hanging out at home. As far as the procedure itself goes, it wasn't scary at all; the first two days were a bit rough, but everything else has been great. 🙂

restlessjackal112, Chris Reed4—which hospital did you guys end up at for the surgery?

Chris Reed4 said:It’s been two months since the surgery, and everything seems to have settled into place now; the top looks just a little swollen, but nothing crazy. Recovery took a solid month, really—I basically went into total hibernation at home. Honestly, the surgery itself wasn't scary at all; those first two days were rough, but after that, everything was great. 🙂

Wait, an entire month stuck at home? Why on earth did it take that long?

Can I pretty much count on being able to head out after about a week or ten days following the surgery? Just asking because I've got classes and work stuff to figure out...

If you aren't dealing with an excessive amount of bruising—like, if your entire face isn't drastically blue and swollen—you should be able to pull it off in about ten days with just a little bit of concealer.

@Megan Moore76/">@@Megan Moore76 - I actually saw Dr. Đanić up in Pittsburgh.

Megan Moore76 said:restlessjackal112, Chris Reed4—which doctor did you guys go to for your surgeries?

Megan Moore76—here’s the link I was talking about:

Take a look at my previous post 🙂

Since skin tone plays such a big role with bruising, if you have lighter skin, the recovery process can definitely feel a lot longer. It's almost like how certain colors show shadows more easily than others! I actually shared a room with a girl who had her surgery on the exact same day as me (right after mine), and she barely had any bruising at all.

Thanks. So, are you happy with how it turned out? What exactly did he do—lift the bridge, narrow it, get rid of the hump..?

urbanowl13 said:Can I reasonably expect to be back out and about just seven to ten days after the surgery? I’m trying to figure out my schedule regarding work and some classes...

As for me—right after they took the molds off—I walked straight out the door WITHOUT even touching any foundation, and honestly, nobody even suspected I’d been through surgery.

Sophia Young73 said:I went outside right after they took the molds out without even wearing any foundation—and honestly, nobody even realized I'd had surgery.

Wow. 😲 I was wearing literal layers of makeup... sure, it might smudge, but that's still better than people noticing I'm a blonde.

brightcanyon45 said:Has anyone actually gone to see Dr. Klapan for an outpatient visit? I'm trying to get a feel for the cost.

Is it seriously possible that nobody here has ever been to him? 🙂

urbanowl13 said:Can I realistically expect to be back on my feet and out of the house within a week to ten days after the surgery? I'm asking because of work commitments and some university stuff...

I'd say you probably can, though it really depends on the specific procedure; just be prepared that you might need to use a bit of concealer to hide any bruising around your eyes.

Chris Reed4 said:It’s been two months since the surgery, and everything has finally settled into place; the tip is slightly swollen, but it isn't a major issue. Recovery took a solid month, during which I basically went into hibernation at home. The procedure itself wasn't nearly as terrifying as people make it out to be—the first two days are the hard part, but after that, everything was smooth sailing. 🙂

So, are you actually happy with how your nose turned out?

So, after thinking about it forever, lurking on forums, researching doctors, and all that, I finally decided to get my nose fixed. And I did it. Two weeks ago. Honestly, the surgery itself didn't hurt at all—not during, not after, not even when they took out the packing. Absolutely zero pain. The bruising under my eyes cleared up after ten days, though I could pretty much hide it with a little concealer by day five. I was so incredibly happy with how smoothly everything was going. When the cast came off, I felt like I was on top of the world. But today is day 14, and I’m not feeling quite so great... I actually ended up complaining to the doctor today that my nose looks like it's growing, haha. I felt so ridiculous saying that... The tip, which was the part I was most worried about, is sticking out. Okay, I get it—the bridge looks slimmer now that the swelling is down, but the tip hasn't caught up yet. I understand the logic, but I still feel like I'm in a hole. Another thing: I can't laugh the way I used to, and I miss that so much!! WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO LAUGH AGAIN? HOW LONG DOES THIS LAST!!! And worst of all, I just don't feel like myself... it's like my whole facial structure has changed... My eyes, which are my favorite feature, just look different now... I look in the mirror and I see someone else. I thought maybe I was just overthinking it, but even my hairstylist mentioned it the second she saw me today... I'm totally spiraling because of this... I mean, the nose itself is fine, the tip is just a bit prominent right now, but I guess it'll be okay once the healing is fully done... but MY EYES, will they ever go back to looking the way they did?????!!!!! Please, guys, tell me, has anyone else dealt with this... maybe once everything settles, things will return to normal... I feel so weird because even though the nose is actually nice, I'm still struggling!!!

When I took my mold off, my nose was so flat that nobody had anything like it; it looked way too straight to be natural 😂 but that only lasted about two days because the mold basically "constricts" the nose.
After seven days, I actually thought my nose was growing, but I figured it's just because when you first take the mold off, it looks totally unnatural since the mold was holding everything in place to let the bones heal in peace. Once you remove it, the nose starts to "swell" back into its natural state, and the tip stays feeling stiff for about a month—you'll honestly think your nose is going to fall off if you try to do any contouring ☕. But that’s probably happening because your surgeon likely lifted the tip slightly; when they fix a hump, the nose ends up looking much longer, so they lift it a bit to compensate (unless you're someone like Blanka Vlašić or one of those other Glumicic patients who specifically ask for it or have the doctor overdo it). It lifts it just enough so your nose doesn't look like it's touching your 🙄

And once they lift the nose, they adjust it by moving some tissue around and securing it with sutures so everything heals cleanly. That's probably why you might have little suture ends that shouldn't really be visible even though they're practically inside the nose at the tip—you might feel them with your finger.

As for the change in looks, the nose is the centerpiece of the face, so everything else depends on it. Maybe your old nose helped emphasize your eyes or cheekbones, whereas this smaller one doesn't do that, but it gives you a more feminine face.

Anyway, even two months after surgery, my nose still hurts if I mess with it (thank God for Mitisers 😠), but it's not stiff anymore. It's as flexible as it was before the operation, it's just that specific "pain" when I press on it.

Ugh, I don't even know what to think anymore... I guess because my nose isn't flexible yet, my whole face just feels kind of stiff, if that makes any sense :-) I'm trying to stay positive, though. I have to believe everything will heal up perfectly and that I'll be able to give a real, genuine laugh again soon... ufff 😕

Dancy, I actually went through the exact same thing... My eyes looked absolutely terrible at first. When I’d take photos and try to compare them to my old ones, I didn't even recognize myself—it wasn't really about my nose, but my eyes; I just looked completely distorted. It got to the point where my husband would actually stop in his tracks when he saw me and tell me how I didn't even look like myself anymore. For me, though, the eyes weren't the main stressor; it was my nose tip. It felt huge, and I was terrified it wouldn't settle down because the tip had always been an issue for me. I kept worrying that maybe they hadn't just reshaped it, but actually shrunk the whole nose too much... Anyway, I'm nearly three months post-op now. My eyes finally started looking normal around the two-month mark, and now, in this third month, the tip is finally starting to deflate quite noticeably. I'm not even worried anymore; I'm just waiting for that tip to settle a bit more so everything looks perfect. 😍

I know how incredibly hard it is to stay positive during those early stages, but once you see how everything eventually settles into place over time, it becomes almost fascinating to watch the transformation as you start looking better and better every day. 😁

Ugh, I feel a little better now... though honestly, I thought I was doing fine until my hairstylist mentioned I looked a bit off... and here I am thinking I've always been pretty, maybe just carrying a little extra weight lately 🙂
And then there's the tip... that was a real issue for me too, it felt a bit too long... now it's almost the same, just looks a little more lifted.. and some people say the profile looks okay, and from the front it does too 🙂
I have to explain how it's still swollen, even if you can't tell from the outside, and how everything is going to deflate eventually, blah blah blah....
Gosh, it would have been so much better if I hadn't said anything to anyone....
And it really bugs me that I can't even smile properly; my upper lip kind of pulls inward when I laugh... it looks terrible....
Ashley Gomez, did you deal with issues with your upper lip and smiling? When is that going to resolve?