Rhinoplasty recovery: What to expect?

Brenda Reed3 said:I actually spotted a little mistake right at the very beginning, so I had to go back in for some touch-ups 🙂

Hey there! What kind of "touch-up" are we talking about here—like a tiny follow-up procedure? Please, give me the details! Also, which doctor did you see? I might have missed it when you mentioned them earlier, so let me know.

If you’re asking me, I already paid you 18... $0.00I was actually just about to ask Leon how much that whole ordeal ended up costing him in the end... I mean, did he have to fork over even more cash because of that mistake, or...?

Carol Lopez28 said:If you're asking me, I already paid 18 $0.00. I was actually just wondering how much Leon ended up paying for the whole thing... like, did you have to cough up extra because of that mistake or what?

Thanks. I'm basically just scraping my savings together right now, unless I somehow score it for free through some function... so I'm just curious. 🙂

Don't mention it🙂..I took care of everything for you back when I was in Santa Barbara. But looking at what people are saying, prices seem to vary wildly depending on who you talk to, so you should definitely shop around... I originally went in for cosmetic work, but once I finally came around from the anesthesia and could actually hold a conversation, the surgeon told me he’d performed functional surgery too. I had no idea my airways were even in such bad shape... With private practices, obviously, you're paying full price whether it's just functional or not, but as for the public hospitals, I honestly don't know how they handle those cases...

He didn't actually smooth out my whole nose; there’s still this little bump right on the tip, which made me think I was dealing with a hematoma, but turns out that wasn't it, so he scheduled me for a corrective procedure in six months. Until then, I've basically been walking around looking like a total caricature🙄
I didn't have to pay a dime because I already had a deviated septum, and since he was the one who messed up the first round, the second one was on the house🙂

Dr. Džepina was my surgeon

Charles Hall10—for me, the "touch-up" felt like starting the entire process from square one all over again

Oh man, tell me about it! I’m actually gearing up for my second surgery in a few months myself. It’s been a few years since my first one, and my surgeon warned me that this round is going to be a lot more intense and take way longer. Apparently, while the first one usually wraps up in about an hour, this one could easily stretch to two or three because dealing with cartilage is much more delicate. For the first procedure, they just focused on the nasal bones, but now they need to tackle the septum too, since it feels like my nose has dropped slightly over the years and breathing has become such a struggle lately...

How long did your revision surgery end up taking, and did the doctor go into much detail regarding any specific risks?
By the way, I’ve heard that Dr. Džepina is an absolutely incredible plastic surgeon—I even heard he performs gender reassignment surgeries—but I had no idea he specialized in ENT work as well!

Honestly, I can’t even remember how long the whole thing took; I just know that first time felt way longer, whereas the second time he basically just smoothed out that little bump

Did your nose tip drop after the surgery? 😲 You didn't have a deviation back then, so you weren't forced to fix everything all at once, right? Now I'm actually getting a bit nervous 🙂

He definitely laid out all the risks for me; I mean, with any surgery there are risks and you have to sign a consent form, but he even asked me right before they put me under whether I’d prioritize my health or my looks if things went sideways 😁

He’s a good doctor, though I don't know what happened with him back then 😁 but if for some reason I had to go through this again, I’d pick him in a heartbeat

Ah, yeah, he did a breast augmentation for a friend of mine—she paid her own way, obviously, and they look absolutely stunning

He also handled gender reassignment surgeries over at Rebro, and from what I hear, he's working alongside Glumičić now🙂

Isn't it just appalling that people start asking these kinds of questions when the procedure is practically already underway? Glumicic didn't say a single word to me about potential risks during our consultations. What kind of risks are you even talking about? Ladies, tell me—did you all actually follow through with your pre-op exams properly?

Every single surgery comes with its own set of risks, of course...
To be honest, I’ve always wondered why the first doctor I saw—an ENT at the local hospital—didn't suggest correcting my septum back when I was eighteen. At the time, everything looked pretty standard to me. My nose didn't really drop or anything, but the nasal passage itself is incredibly narrow, which makes breathing a real struggle sometimes, even though the exterior doesn't actually look bad to anyone else.
But now, I'm heading back into the clinic, though this time it's with a top-tier surgeon recommended by a friend of mine who's currently a surgical resident. We're planning on a septorhinoplasty because I still have that tiny little bump right on the bridge of my nose.
Jesse Taylor7, please don't let fear get the best of you. Honestly, the only real danger is the general anesthesia, which is true for any procedure, and then there's the aesthetic risk since how a nose heals can be a bit unpredictable. But you aren't messing with any vital organs here, so nothing truly life-threatening can happen to you.

Of course I made sure to get my checkups done thoroughly—I mean, it’s my own health we're talking about here, right? Who on earth would be careless when it comes to their own wellbeing? 😕
In what sense?

I’ve read accounts suggesting that people can be incredibly reckless when it comes to fasting—stuff like sneaking in pizza or a cigarette right before surgery.
And then, because they couldn't follow protocol, they wake up from anesthesia and immediately start vomiting. Is that really how some people operate?

I misspoke earlier. I wasn't suggesting that they were performing blood draws with total negligence:-).

Maria Diaz79 said:I read somewhere that people get reckless and gorge on food, pizza, or smokes right before surgery. And then they end up throwing up once they wake up because of it.

You can still puke even if you don't eat or drink a thing beforehand. General anesthesia is just brutal... honestly the worst and most dangerous part of the whole thing.

Jesse Taylor7 I’d actually already done my homework on what might happen before the consultation even started, but honestly, it felt pretty good when he brought it up at the last possible second—you know, while I was already lying there on the table and there was absolutely no turning back. 😁

The risks involved are pretty much exactly what Charles Hall10 was getting at regarding anesthesia—even when you're in the best hands, things can still take an unexpected turn. Then there's the issue of setting expectations way too high for how the nose will actually look, which usually leads to disappointment, plus there’s always that nagging possibility of a botched procedure that ends up making breathing even harder than it was before. 🙂
I really hope people take a long, hard look at themselves before they go under the knife, honestly. You’ve got to sit there and truly weigh whether you actually want this, and more importantly, make sure you're mentally prepared for the reality that a brand-new nose isn't some magic wand that's going to fix your entire life or solve all your problems.

The sheer lack of discipline regarding fasting before surgery is honestly kind of ridiculous. It’s almost funny when you think about it—if someone can't manage to go twenty-four hours without snacking, or even half that time without grabbing a drink, they probably shouldn't be stepping foot in an operating room in the first place. If you can't handle a little bit of hunger or thirst, you aren't exactly showing the kind of mental toughness needed to deal with a medical procedure. 🙄

Charles Hall10 It’s entirely possible you didn't have a deviated septum back then, because if you did, a doctor should have stepped in to fix that immediately, but honestly, let's just wipe the slate clean and start from scratch—the most important thing is that everything can be refined and perfected now.
Like you said, if you're moving on to someone better, that's one thing, but honestly? I wouldn't even let myself get caught up with just anyone. 😁

Brenda Reed3 said:No one has ever brought up those broken capillaries before—I honestly thought I was the only one dealing with them. They aren't incredibly obvious, just right at the base of my nose... I kept hoping they would just vanish, but clearly, if they haven't cleared up in a few years, they aren't going anywhere. 😁

So you have them too? 🙂

I don't actually have them—it's just that I've been reading that they can show up after surgery. It makes me nervous; I really don't want to pour all this money into a procedure only to end up with a nose that looks just as bad as before, especially since I'm planning on getting an operation later on. One doctor told me it shouldn't be an issue because the surgery happens beneath the skin layer where the capillaries live, but now I'm stuck wondering what to believe.
Did you actually go through with the nose job? And who was your surgeon?

honestly, they aren't even that noticeable; they don't really change how your nose looks overall 😁i went to check myself, and it’s like maybe half a centimeter at most, which is tiny, but when I start overthinking and staring too hard in the mirror, I swear I can see them 😁

if that's how you're feeling, it might be better to just hold off for a bit and really think it through, or maybe have a deeper dive with your surgeon so they can give you a realistic idea of the final results versus what you actually want... it all comes down to your current anatomy, though I totally get why you're nervous 😉
who are you planning on seeing for the procedure?

yeah, I did, quite a while back, and I already sent an email to Dr. Džepina

Honestly, I’m still torn between Maletic and Boriću—and since there’s absolutely zero chatter about Maletic on the forums, I really have no idea what to expect from him, even if he seems like a decent guy on paper. I’m willing to take the risk, but my one major concern is dealing with those capillaries, lumps, and other nonsense down the road. I mean, what’s the point of paying for these high-end procedures just to end up stuck with a lump anyway?

Brenda Reed3, you claim "fear is normal." Did the sheer terror of your surgery leave you so paralyzed that you actually wanted to run away?

Does anyone happen to know what Glumicic is charging for a nose job? And does anyone have the rates for Boriću-nisam?

Just wanted to chime in here for a moment. Jesse Taylor7, believe me when I say I’m usually a pretty anxious person by nature, and I’ve honestly never even stepped foot in an operating room before this. I don't know any of you, but he instilled such a deep sense of trust in me that going into surgery felt as routine as running an errand... When I finally laid down on the table and the nurse started the anesthesia, the anesthesiologist was right there beside me, gently patting my hair and telling me to just drift off into a beautiful dream... I didn't feel even a shred of fear 🙂..But what about the rest of you??