Rhinoplasty: Experiences and recovery tips?

I already mentioned this to you in a PM, but I’m just going to say it publicly now—how is it even possible to shave a direct curve without a file when we're talking about bone?😕

Hey, rustygardener172 and Aaron Perez14—what kind of noses did you guys have before?
Was the surgery just for looks, or did you actually need it for breathing issues too? Sorry if you already posted this somewhere, I totally missed it. 🙂As for me, I'm strictly interested in the aesthetics. I gotta admit, you two really piqued my curiosity regarding Dr. Glušac.

I really hope you managed to catch my reply in your inbox. Once I get around to taking some pictures, I’ll be sure to send them over so you can see exactly what Dr. Glušac was able to achieve—honestly, the results are nothing short of incredible. And let me tell you, once you see those little bumps have completely vanished, it gives you such an amazing sense of relief!

Emily Sanchez87 said:I hope you got my PM... once I take some pictures, I'll send them over so you can see what Dr. Glušac did. Honestly, it’s incredible—especially seeing those little bumps are finally gone. It feels amazing!

Got it. Waiting on those pics!🎉

redridge15 said:Yeah, thank God, I feel like I really lucked out.
Everything went fine for me personally—no complaints at all. But the two girls who came after me? They didn't have nearly as much luck.
Dr. Glušac gets featured in the local papers (like the ones everyone in Miami picks up), and of course, he gets the whole page—acting like he's the absolute best, fixing everyone else's mistakes and all that. Meanwhile, the girl he operated on had already gone back for a correction at Zambellia, and the second one is looking for a surgeon right now because she doesn't even know who to trust. At least, that's what I know since I know both of them.

But here's the part that actually shocked me... again, I'm saying this for myself, I had zero issues or complaints, but how can a doctor who claims to be the best in the US—someone who thinks nobody else measures up (those of us who've been in his chair know exactly what I mean)—make a mistake that even a rookie shouldn't make? And that mistake is forgetting the gauze in someone's nose after surgery
The poor girl had gauze stuck in her nose for two weeks. She's on antibiotics now and should be okay, but she's totally traumatized.

So how am I supposed to praise this guy now? I used to, sure, but there's no way I'm recommending him to anyone ever again. My own experience was great—I just wanted him to touch up my upper lip a bit, he gave me the price and everything... but no way in hell am I going back to him. Not even if he did it for free!

😢 How deep do they actually put those nasal tampons? This sounds awful.

God bless everyone,
I’m heading in for surgery this Tuesday, and honestly, my nose is a total disaster—on a scale of 1 to 5, I’m sitting at a solid 4. Between three different traumas, a deviated septum, that weird half-Greek shape, a bump, and just being way too big and wide... it's a mess. I decided to go with Dr. Glušac in Malibu; he seems like a decent guy, and we actually took the time to sit down and have a real conversation about it.
He went out of his way to reassure me that everything is going to be fine, telling me that first I'll finally be able to breathe like a normal human being, and then, once that's settled, "the thing"—the nose itself—is going to look a hell of a lot better. I kind of find myself trusting him.
I really hope I made the right call here. It feels like the most important thing is that he’s an expert
ORLG specialist first and foremost, and everything else is secondary...

I'll check back in once I see the results.

So you suddenly stumble upon this thread right when we've started talking about it—and specifically right before your surgery?🤷

Honestly, I had my surgery with Dr. Glušac last night, and by this morning, as soon as he started his rounds, I went straight in to have those nasal tampons removed. I have to tell you, that was the one thing I was absolutely dreading; I’d spent so much time reading horror stories online about how painful and unbearable it is, and I was just terrified. But I am telling you from the bottom of my heart, it wasn't anything at all! There wasn't even a hint of pain, not even when he was clearing out my nose. I truly thought that would be the hardest part of the entire correction process, but he knows exactly how to handle everything—he has this perfect technique where he just pulls them out so smoothly. I honestly don't know how he does it, but I am just so incredibly eager to get back to work and show off my new nose. IN MY EYES, DR. GLUŠAC IS A TOTAL GENIUS!

Emily Sanchez87 said:Girls, Dr. Glušac operated on me last night, and first thing this morning when he started working, I went straight in to have my nasal tampons removed. The doctor pulls them out himself personally, and honestly, that was what I was most terrified of because I'd read such horrible things about it. But I don't know how to explain it, I'm telling you truly, it didn't hurt at all—not even when he was clearing my nose! I thought that would be the hardest part of the whole correction, but he knows exactly how to handle it... I just can't get over it. I seriously can't wait to get back to work with my new nose. IN MY EYES, DR. GLUŠAC IS A TOTAL GENIUS!

As for me, I don't really have a hump, just more of a potato shape—wide tip, longer... and I think the issue is in my cartilage rather than the bony part where you guys had your humps.
Now I'm wondering—after watching a video of a surgery by Glusca on YouTube, what does that mean for my case??!!
So, ladies, did the hump just disappear and that's it? Or do you end up with a narrower, slightly shorter, more lifted nose??!!

Kate Lee43..., I’m not entirely sure if you had a chance to read my response via private message, but I felt it was important to elaborate right here on this thread—specifically regarding my nose. To give you the full picture, it used to be quite wide and slightly upturned, so much so that Dr. Glušac actually remarked that it had a more prominent, ethnic look to it—you know, the kind of feature often seen in certain diverse heritages. It was also quite long, with two distinct bumps on either side between my eyes, though they were very pronounced. Dr. Glušac explained that this was largely due to my skin being incredibly thin. Well, my dear ladies, let me tell you: those bumps are completely gone, it isn't wide anymore, and it doesn't look long at all! Honestly, I am just beyond thrilled with Dr. Glušac's work; I have several close friends who went to other surgeons and ended up feeling quite dissatisfied with their results. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention—the doctor emphasized to me that my old nose was a "true masculine" feature. I hope I've managed to cover everything for you now. If anyone is curious and wants to see the results for themselves, please feel free to reach out via Skype; I truly don't mind sharing my face with you. I'm only here because I want to make your decision easier and ensure you know you'll be in safe hands. I’m heading back to work tomorrow, so I won't have as much free time to chat, but both rustygardener172 and I have been completely sincere with you—we just want you to be as happy with your outcome as we are.

Megan Moore76 said:So, what kind of noses were you guys rocking before (rustygardener172 and Aaron Perez14)? Did you go under the knife strictly for the looks, or was it also about being able to actually breathe? Sorry if you’ve already covered this somewhere, I must have missed it.
For me, honestly, I'm only looking at the aesthetics. I gotta admit, you guys really piqued my interest when you mentioned Dr. Glušac 🙂.

So, here goes my first post on this forum 😁 everything is laid out 🙂

rustygardener172 said:Hey everyone!
I've been lurking here for a while now... I've read pretty much every single post in this thread. They've helped me out a ton, though some parts were a bit discouraging too 😁 It shouldn't be hard to guess why I'm popping up... obviously, because I'm planning to get nose surgery myself 👍 I'm not even slightly scared of the surgery, let alone the recovery... My only real issue is finding a specialist who can actually deliver the results I want. I've had one surgery before through Medicare... I can't remember exactly which year it was, but I know I was watching an England-USA game from my hospital bed—the one we won thanks to a lucky break, which I'm sure the guys on this forum will remember... 😁 My nose isn't big or bumpy, it's just crooked. Back in the hospital, I had surgery to fix a deviated septum because I could barely breathe. After that, breathing was fine, but they didn't fix the shape... in fact, it's the opposite; as the years go by, it's getting more and more crooked... at this rate, my nose tip is going to merge with my earlobe 🤣 and my breathing is just getting worse and worse... I've been doing some digging online... the type of procedure I need is called rhinoseptoplasty. On Dr. John Smith's website, it says this is the "most demanding type of rhinoplasty" because it covers everything—both aesthetic and functional aspects.
To make a long story short... my question is: since I'm based in San Diego... before I even decide to book a first consultation... do you know which of the doctors mentioned actually respond to emails? I was thinking of sending over a few photos and using their replies to decide which one to see for a consultation. Reading through all your posts, I've "narrowed down" my choices to Bastajić, John Smith, and Tony Stark... even Glumičić and Dr. Glušac haven't totally fallen off my list yet. So you see why I put "narrowed" in quotes... it's not exactly a tiny selection 😕 🤷
Thanks in advance for any help!

stormyharbor2 said:So, you just happened to stumble upon this thread right when we started discussing it, and wouldn't you know it, just moments before your surgery?🤷

Look, man—I’ve been reading up on this and following other people's experiences for a while now, and I finally decided to chime in once I made my call on the procedure. Is there a problem with that?

William Robinson49 said:What kind of surgery? I’ve been reading up on this and following other people's experiences, then reached out once I decided to go through with the procedure. Are you dealing with any issues right now?

Lol, now it looks like I'm attacking everyone here. Chill out. 😁

No offense intended—I just tend to be skeptical of first-time posters who drop an ad immediately. Let's just say I have a bit of an aversion to that... but fine, I'll take your word for it that you're actually headed in for surgery. Good luck!

stormyharbor2 said:lol, now I’m coming off like I’m attacking everyone here. Everyone just needs to chill out. 😁

No offense intended, but I’ve always been pretty skeptical of first-time posters who drop an ad the second they join. Let's just say I have a bit of a distaste for that kind of thing, but fine, I'll take your word for it that you're heading in for surgery. Good luck!

Okay, look, I honestly have no clue which part of my post you took as some kind of advertisement.
How on earth am I supposed to be pitching a product when I haven't even had the surgery yet?

If everything goes smoothly—and I really hope it does—I’ll definitely post about it and share my thoughts with everyone, but strictly based on my own actual experience.

William Robinson49 Asks:
Hey everyone, God bless.
So, I’m heading in for surgery this Tuesday, and honestly, my nose is a total disaster—on a scale of 1 to 5, I’m sitting at a solid 4. It’s been a nightmare. Between three different traumas, a deviated septum, that weird semi-Greek shape, a bump, and just being way too big and wide... it's a mess. I decided to go with Dr. Glušac out in Malibu. He seems like a decent guy; we actually sat down and had a real conversation about everything for a while.
He swore to me that everything was going to be fine—that first I’d finally be able to breathe like a normal human being again, and then, eventually, "it"—you know, my nose—would look way better. Honestly? Somehow, I actually believe him.
I really hope I made the right call here. Something tells me the first thing on the agenda is going to be all about the doctor.
And then there's nothing left... just the aftermath.

I'll hit you guys up once I have the results in hand.

I think you absolutely nailed it with that choice!! Seriously, top-tier decision making right there. 👍

William Robinson49, I am honestly so thrilled to hear you’ve decided to go with Dr. Glušac. Please, please do reach out and give us an update once you're through with your surgery; hearing about your experience would be such a huge help to all the other women here who are still feeling stuck trying to pick the right specialist. And don't you worry one bit—the entire medical staff is absolutely wonderful, and Dr. Glušac is truly a master of his craft! 🙏

Hey, I got your PM, Aaron Perez14—can't wait to see those photos!! 🙂 It’s honestly awesome that you’re so hyped about Dr. Glušac. People rarely walk away that happy with a doctor—or their work, for that matter. 😍

As for me, I’ve got this drooping nose situation, and if you feel the bridge at the start, it feels like the bone is actually broken. I can breathe fine through one nostril, but the other one is always acting up—I have no clue if it's because of that cracked bone or what... It doesn't make breathing impossible, so I never even bothered going in for an exam. 😢
Anyway, I just dumped all that mess on you... 🙄 But I wanted to ask—has anyone dealt with something similar? If you have a drooping nose, do they actually have to cut the muscle above the lip too? And is the recovery a nightmare? I've been reading stuff here about how some girls ended up with totally weird mouths and smiles for ages after the procedure..:/

Gregory Barnes5..., I sent you a private message, but I also wanted to let all the other ladies know that Dr. Glušac and the tip of the nose are handled using a closed technique. For my part, I don't feel any pain at the very tip of my nose whatsoever—unlike some people who mention they've lost sensation in that area entirely. Everything feels perfectly normal to me. 😂

Alright, I've sent those photos over via DM to everyone who asked... fingers crossed they actually landed in your inbox. 🙂 Honestly, I am absolutely obsessed with how my new glasses turned out!! 😍 Hopefully you guys dig them as much as I do 😬

Yeah, just for the brace photos. 👋

So, here’s my update. I had my surgery yesterday with Dr. Glušac down in Malibu—we didn't wrap things up until about 10:00 PM, and I actually ended up dozing off in the office for an hour or two while the doctor was finishing up another patient. After midnight, he dropped me off at the hotel (staying at the Osojeva, which is a top-tier spot) and walked his wife through everything, gave her some ice, and kept a close eye on things...
I didn't get much sleep, honestly, but I felt totally fine by morning. My eyes are looking a bit bruised, but the swelling isn't too bad. Around 10:00 AM, the doctor picked me up from the hotel and took me back to the clinic to have those sponge tampons removed. It doesn't hurt at all, though it is a little uncomfortable. To be honest, the entire surgical process is painless—you don't really feel any actual pain. Once the tampons were out and everything was cleaned up, I headed back to the hotel to grab my gear, settled the bill, and was back home in San Diego by 2:00 PM (about a two-hour drive, totally smooth sailing).
The only thing bothering me right now is a tiny bit of bleeding coming from my right nostril—just a slow trickle—but I assume that's perfectly normal. I'm just using the drops and some paraffin oil.
On Sunday morning, I’m heading back in to have the cast removed, and then that's it...
That's when I'll finally see the results, and I'm really hoping for the best. My wife caught a quick glimpse before the cast went on, but everything was still pretty swollen back then since the tampons kind of stretch the nostrils out. The bumps are already gone, so we'll see how the rest looks on Sunday.

As far as the doctor goes, his approach is great—very laid back and relaxing. That works for me. I suppose some people might prefer something more formal, but you can tell just by how he carries himself that he really knows his stuff...
Still, I can't wait for Sunday to roll around.

All in all, it was expensive, sure, but nothing hurts. For me, the worst part was honestly just the needle going into my vein for the anesthesia; everything else was fine—just a few awkward moments, but zero pain.

Hopefully, this helps anyone out there who is still on the fence...