Rhinoplasty recovery: What to expect?

I'm thinking about getting rhinoplasty and wanted to pick your brains on a few things... hopefully you guys can give me some insight here
1. How bad is the pain, and how long do I need to stay in the hospital after the procedure?
2. What kind of damage am I looking at in terms of cost?
3. Is there a minimum age requirement for this kind of surgery?

It’s probably eighteen years old, or you'll need parental consent if they're under that age.

Why don't you try throwing these questions at Dr. Barbie instead?

If you’re looking into cosmetic surgery, I might have some insight—a friend of mine went through it recently. She used a private specialist and paid about $1,500—though that’s entirely dependent on the complexity of the procedure, of course. You can head home immediately after waking from anesthesia, but be prepared for the swelling; your eyes, mouth, nose, cheeks... basically your entire face will bruise up. It’s quite an ordeal—but it all settles down after about two months. Everything turns out fine eventually.🙂The bruising and swelling fade away... leaving nothing behind but a perfectly shaped nose.🙂She claims the actual pain isn't the issue—it's just the unpleasantness of waking up from anesthesia... the nausea and all that.
When I ask her if it was worth the trouble... she tells me straight away she’d do it all over again.🙂So, don't let fear hold you back.😉

You just don't see that kind of thing around here.
In my neck of the woods, everyone is just looking for a quick little septum correction...
😁 :my nose, my pride:

driftinglynx76 said:You can head straight home as soon as you wake up from the anesthesia.

Are you absolutely certain about that? I was under the impression that a five-day hospital stay was required.

There’s one thing nobody ever asks about when they're looking into cosmetic surgery: the recovery period.

With just about any procedure, you're looking at a long haul—but with plastic surgery, it drags on even longer.

A nose job takes at least two months because you'll be dealing with bruising... assuming there's bone work involved. If it's just a deviated septum, the recovery is closer to two weeks.

I’m actually looking into getting my septum fixed myself, so I've been doing some digging.

nina69 said:I'm planning on getting rhinoplasty and I'm curious about a few details... hopefully you guys can help me out.
1. Does it hurt, and how long do you have to stay in the hospital after the procedure?
2. What's the cost looking like?
3. Is there a minimum age requirement for the surgery?

Well, honestly, it all depends on the specific procedure they perform and whether they use general anesthesia or just local (though I highly doubt it would be just local).
Both my godmother and a close friend of mine went through this.
They both mentioned that the pain isn't actually the worst part; it's more the sheer discomfort caused by all the gauze and nasal packing used afterward.
They dealt with some swelling and dark circles under their eyes for a few days, and naturally, those internal stitches take quite a bit longer to heal than the surface ones.

In my opinion, your best bet is to sit down for a consultation with the surgeon. They’ll be able to walk you through every single detail personally.

nina69 said:I'm planning to get a nose job and I'm looking for some details... hoping you guys can help me out
1. Does it hurt, and how long do you have to stay in the hospital afterward?
2. How much does it cost?
3. What's the minimum age for the surgery?

Look, I can give you the real deal because I went through this myself just about three months ago. If you truly want this, just go for it—you won't regret it. I only had a minor tweak, so the change is subtle, which is perfect for me, but man, I can't even describe the sense of freedom. I used to dodge cameras and photographers constantly because I hated my profile, but now? I feel so confident, relaxed, and just... happy. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. The whole experience gives you this massive boost in self-esteem; it's like everything just starts going better once you feel good about yourself.

1. Regarding the hospital (private clinic), I stayed for two nights since I don't live in New York City. If you're local, you might be able to head home just a few hours after the procedure for recovery. As for the pain? Honestly, the surgery itself doesn't hurt at all. You won't feel a thing—you just drift off and wake up with a splint on your nose. The procedure usually takes maybe 30 minutes or so, depending on how complex it is, and you'll likely wake up a few hours later. I honestly don't even remember being under anesthesia; when you wake up, you're totally disoriented. You won't know what time it is, what month it is, or what year it is. It felt like I'd been asleep for a month.
By the time I came to, I realized my surgery was at 10:00 AM, and by around 3:00 PM, I was already back in my room watching TV.
As for nausea, I didn't deal with any, but I guess that varies from person to person.

Like I said, there’s no pain, but fair warning: you might end up with some nasty bruising under your eyes. They look pretty terrifying at first, but they were completely gone after 15 days. After that, you're just slightly swollen, but nobody will even notice.

You'll wear a plastic splint for 7 days, and they pull the nasal tampons out on day 2. That's hands down the worst part. It doesn't actually hurt, but it feels incredibly uncomfortable. Some girls I was with found it so gross they actually felt nauseous and couldn't catch their breath... so just a heads-up. Everything else is fine; you just have to grit your teeth through it, but once you see the results, you won't care.

2. The price depends entirely on which doctor you pick, but here’s my advice: don't just go with whoever is the cheapest. It'll end up costing you way more if they mess up and you have to pay for reconstructive surgery. If you're doing this, don't cheap out. Pick a surgeon with tons of experience. I paid about $1,850 total... ($1,600 for the surgery plus $250 for the two days at the facility).

3. As far as the age limit goes, I'm pretty sure it's 18.

Good luck!! 😉

driftinglynx76 said:If you're talking about cosmetic surgery, I can actually help you out there. A close friend of mine went through it. She went to a private specialist and paid about $1,500—though obviously, that depends entirely on what kind of procedure you're looking at and how intense it is. Basically, you can head home right after you wake up from anesthesia. You'll deal with some swelling and bruising around the eyes, mouth, nose, cheeks... basically your whole face... but honestly, that all clears up after about two months... then everything turns out great🙂 The bruises and swelling fade away, and you're just left with a perfect little nose🙂 She mentioned the pain afterward wasn't even that bad; it was mostly just the nasty part of waking up from anesthesia—the nausea and all that mess
When I ask her if it was worth the hassle... she tells me straight up she’d do it all over again without hesitation🙂 So, don't let it scare you too much😉>

Are you sure it takes that long? I used to think it was more like two weeks. It seems like such a minor procedure for someone to be dealing with facial swelling for two whole months

Here’s a photo I dug up online. I don’t want to freak you out, but I definitely didn't want you to be caught off guard like I was... you gotta be ready for this kind of stuff... and honestly, it can get even worse
Personally, I’ve never been one to bruise easily—like, if you pinch me, nothing happens—so I figured I’d breeze right through this without any marks. But then... holy crap. I was actually terrified to look in the mirror. I seriously thought something went wrong during surgery because I looked unlike any other girl I'd seen.

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7...urspostdf9.jpg

This is some girl about four hours post-op. Just a heads up: days two and three are the absolute worst when the bruising really peaks. I looked twice as bad as the girl in this photo, and my eyes were so swollen I could barely even open them... I was basically living on ice packs. But watch out—don't overdo it with the ice, because my doctor warned me it could actually trigger a sinus infection!!

I think it all just comes down to how intense the procedure is. If they have to shave down a lot of bone on the nose, the bruising is way more brutal than if they're just doing minor tweaks like the tip.

Some women don't get any bruising at all, so hey, maybe you'll get lucky too!!

driftinglynx76 said:Your eyes, mouth, nose, cheeks... even your whole head will look swollen and bruised. But honestly, it all clears up after about two months.

not applicable ☕

I went through with a septoplasty to fix my deviated septum. Unfortunately, the external shape of my nose hasn't changed at all... just an aesthetic wash.
I spent seven days in the hospital.
The nasal packing was in for five whole days!!! (Honestly, I felt like I was dying—it’s absolutely maddening having to breathe exclusively through your mouth for five days and five nights straight).
Having the packing removed wasn't actually the scary part.
Waking up from anesthesia didn't really shock me either, though I did vomit twice—mostly just blood that had been trickling down my throat—but my head was clear enough to know exactly where I was, what day it was, and the year... so there was that. 😁
The only real struggle was my throat; it was incredibly sore for five days due to the intubation, which made eating a chore, and being forced to mouth-breathe was driving me absolutely insane... everything else was perfectly fine.
If you find yourself in that situation, the best thing to do is just sleep through those hospital days as much as possible.

As for digestive issues, I didn't deal with any diarrhea whatsoever. Then again, I’ve never really been prone to greasy food or skin breakouts anyway... so perhaps I'm just lucky. 🙂 😬

Here’s the info you requested regarding nose surgery:

It includes some photos as well..

mistybison said:Are you absolutely certain about that? Isn't the standard stay five days?

A friend of mine had her surgery around 1:00 PM—she called me by 5:00... she was already home.🙂

Linda Hernandez15 said:Are you absolutely sure it’s that long? She used to say two weeks—this surgery is far too minor to be dealing with facial swelling for two whole months.

She went through a private specialist—no hospital stay required. I'm certain of that—and she didn't leave her house for two months... all because of the swelling... and that bruising under the eye... even foundation couldn't hide it.
The age limit is 22. Before then, the bone structure is still shifting. That much is certain... since I actually took the time to look into it myself.🙂

I’d do the same thing... I just don't have the guts yet.👎

In my opinion, a procedure like that makes sense if you're looking to fix something that looks similar to what Gerard Depardieu has. Anything beyond that feels totally unnecessary—kind of like those girls I've seen around town who went through with it; you can really tell they had work done because it just looks too artificial, and well, it is plastic surgery after all. I actually went in wanting to get mine fixed once, but the doctor just sent me straight home and told me not to even bring up the idea again. I have a tiny hump, but it's just a minor thing... as the years go by, it bothers me less and less...

boldeagle3 said:I underwent septoplasty surgery. Unfortunately, the external shape of my nose didn't change at all.
I stayed in the hospital for seven days.
I had nasal packing in for five full days!!! (It was absolutely exhausting; breathing through your mouth for five days and nights is incredibly frustrating).
Removing the packing wasn't actually the scary part.
Waking up from anesthesia wasn't much of a shock either, though I did vomit blood twice because it had drained down my throat, but I remained perfectly lucid regarding the date and where I was. 😁
The main issue was a sore throat for five days due to the intubation, which made eating difficult and made mouth-breathing quite irritating, but everything else went smoothly.
The best strategy is to simply sleep through those first few days in the hospital.

This is the exact description my doctor gave me when discussing the possibility of a septoplasty. 😢 The primary difference from cosmetic rhinoplasty is that cosmetic work requires general anesthesia, whereas a septoplasty can technically be done under local anesthesia (though apparently, that is quite unpleasant). It is likely that changing the actual shape of the nose is more painful and involves more bruising. My doctor explained that for a septoplasty, the surgeon works through the nostrils, but for cosmetic changes, they make an incision inside the nostril under the skin and pull it upward—which sounds pretty intense.😢

mistybison said:This is essentially the exact breakdown my doctor gave me if I ever decide to pull the trigger on septoplasty. 😢 The main distinction from a purely cosmetic rhinoplasty is that while a septoplasty can technically be done under local anesthesia—though they warn it’s incredibly unpleasant—an aesthetic procedure requires general anesthesia. I imagine changing the actual shape of the nose would be even more painful and likely involve significant bruising. My doctor mentioned that for a deviated septum, they work through the nostrils, but for a reshape, they have to make an incision inside the nostril, right against the lip, and then essentially 'pull' everything upward... which sounds absolutely gruesome, honestly... 😢

General anesthesia is definitely the way to go.
You just drift off, they wheel you away, perform the surgery, bring you back, and you wake up and it's already over 😁
They did offer me the local option, but there is no way I'm agreeing to that 😉