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My nose looks better then I ever dreamed it could

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My Decision

Tired of people staring at my nose - in the mall, in stores, even in the car waiting for the light to change, I finally decided to have something done about it...

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My Consultation

My plastic surgeon is Dr. R. Merrel Olesen and he is very talented. He looked at my nose and determined that it was very straight, very thinned skinned and no problems with my septum. He said my nose was an ideal one to work on. He explained the procedure and told me it was one of his specialties- which I already knew and that he felt very confident he could give me a wonderful result. His staff are all incredible. They had a lot to do with me picking him as my doctor as well and just about every one of them has had Dr. Olesen work on them and they all look wonderful. Dr. Olesen also did a computer image picture of what my ‘after’ may look like. He explained that of course it isn't exact, but it would give me an idea of what he was planning for me. That was a lot of fun. Seeing myself with a ‘nice’ profile really helped me to know that I was making the right decision. And although my nose doesn't look exactly like the picture (it looks much better and of course more natural) it really does have the ‘idea’ of my new nose.

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My Procedure

Two weeks before my surgery I had a ‘pre op’ appt. They did blood work, weighed me, took my blood pressure and I am sure some other things that I no longer remember. They asked me lots of medical history questions and gave me very specific instructions on what I needed to do, or not do (like smoke or take aspirin because it can inhibit the bodies ability to stop bleeding) before my upcoming surgery. One of the nurses sat down with me and explained the entire procedure and answered any questions that I had. She then gave me my prescriptions and some booklets about the surgery and what to expect in the healing process. I was also told to wash my face with antibacterial soap the night before and morning of surgery. My surgery was scheduled for 7 am April 20, 2000. My mom came down to drive me to and from the surgery and look after me. My husband had to stay home with our two small children. He was very worried about me, I remember how sad his face was as we drove away. Poor guy! I was so nervous in the car that I was afraid I might throw up. I had never felt so nervous and yet so excited at the same time. It almost felt like a dream. I was finally going to have a ‘nice’ nose! After what seemed like the longest car ride in the world we got to my doctor's office. I didn't even have to wait! They showed me into the pre-op room to change. I had to wear a gown, paper slippers and something that looked like a shower cap. Nothing else. I remember the room being very cold, so on top of that and my nervousness I was shaking pretty hard. Hard enough that the nurse remarked on it. The nurse stayed with me in there and told me about her own plastic surgery experiences. She was very nice. Then my doctor came in with the pictures he had taken at my consult. We went over what he was planning to do again, then he went out to speak to my mother. The anesthesiologist came in and explained what he was going to do. I would be under a local with sedation. I knew that meant that I wouldn't be completely asleep and I was actually pretty scared about that. Needlessly so, as I found out. Then it was time to go! This was the first surgery I had ever had and I was scared. I remember thinking that I must be crazy to be doing this on purpose. Letting someone operate on my face! But there was no turning back! I walked into the very brightly lit operating room and lay down on the table. Which was more like a very comfortable, small bed. Then my IV was put into my arm. The anesthesiologist injected three medications and then said he would be putting in the sedative. That’s pretty much the last thing I remembered. I do know that I heard some sounds and that I was aware of someone holding my hand. They said that I opened my eyes a bit but I don't remember that at all. It was sort of like a dream and I honestly thought it hadn't even started yet when I woke up in the recovery room. Then I noticed I had a bad headache and I couldn't breath through my nose. The nurse was saying my name and telling me how beautifully I did. The anesthesiologist came in too to say how great I did as well and that he saw my nose before the cast went on and that he was amazed at how great it looked and that I would be very pleased. My surgery had lasted one hour. It was a closed procedure. He filed down my bridge to make it smaller and get rid of the hump. No bones were broken. He also made incisions inside my nostrils to make the tip of my nose shorter and more ‘upturned’. Not at all piggish- just perky- it’s perfect. Anyway, apparently while still in a haze the doctor had spoken to me as well, but I don't remember that either. The nurse gave me something for my headache and after about an hour it was time to go home. She had to help me into the button-up dress I had brought with me and since I was cold I put my sweats back on too. How attractive. A dress and sweats with a big white cast on my face. LOL. Luckily I didn't have to back out through the lobby or anything. The nurse had already gathered up my belongings and given them to my mother while I was resting. Right in the recovery room there was a door that led out into a driveway and my mom was waiting for me their in her car. The drive home was pretty horrible. I still had a headache and I felt kind of sick from the blood I had swallowed during surgery. Plus having pretty much everyone who passed by our car staring at me was no fun either. Oh well- at the time I was so out of it I could have cared less. I made my mom stop half way home and get me a drink so I could take some of my pain medication. By the time we got home my headache was pretty much gone and since my pain medication was Darvocet, I wasn't feeling too much of anything at all. I had no packing so I had a ‘drip pad’ or ‘diaper’ taped under my nose to catch all the lovely assortment of fluids that were pretty much streaming out of my nose. I had to change that every hour. I slept the first day away and there was no way I could eat. I felt too yucky. That was the worst day- although I can honestly say that except for that headache, I never had any real pain. The next day I felt better, but I looked AWFUL. I had two black eyes and the area around my cast was black and blue too. My lips were very swollen and so was my face. After telling you that you'd think I would stay home right? If I was smart-yes. But I get bored very quickly so me, my kids and my mom went to the mall! Yup- cast and all. I actually did scare a couple of small children. After about 20 minutes of walking around I knew I had made a terrible mistake. My cast got very tight because I had made my swelling worse and I felt dizzy. So back home we went. After that I didn't leave the house except to visit my plastic surgeon. I made sure to use my ice pack as much as possible and take my antibiotics. I did still use my pain medication because it helped me to sleep much better then the sleeping pills I was prescribed did. But otherwise Tylenol would have been sufficient for discomfort if I had any. One week after my surgery I had my cast removed. It was not love at first site. Although I could see I no longer had a hump, my bridge seemed too big still and almost too straight. And my tip didn't look any smaller at all, if anything it looked bigger! But I had done lots of reading prior to surgery and I knew it would be swollen and that being disappointed at first is very common. But I still couldn't help but be a little freaked out. Especially since it didn't ‘feel’ swollen. It was so hard it felt like bone underneath, not swollen tissue.

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The Weeks After

Well, I shouldn't have worried. By the end of the second week I could see some changes and by the end of the month I was starting to like what I saw! My nose was very very tender to the touch for about 2 months. And I had dissolvable stitches that would pick the worst times to hang out of my nose as they would fall out. Kleenex is a must at all times for awhile. I would say that in the first 5 months I saw the most rapid changes. Some days it would be more swollen then others. Some days I would like the way it looked better then others, depending on how swollen it was. Rhinoplasty takes A LOT of patience and it seems like that most people expect to see instant results. People need to realize that the surgery causes huge trauma to the nose and it will show the affects for awhile. But even the worst days (self esteem-wise) after my surgery, were better then the best days before it.

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Epilogue

It took me a good 6 months to see what would be my final result. And now almost a year after my surgery I can say, without hesitation, it was the best decision I have ever made for myself. My nose looks better then I ever dreamed it would or could. Looking at my before and after picture makes me very happy! I look a million times better, but more importantly I feel a trillion times better. I think that everyone has a part of their body that they don't like and nobody is perfect. But to have that part of your body on your face for all to see really stinks. And the fact that people don't hesitate to remark on it makes it worse. And to not have to worry about that anymore is such a huge weight off my shoulders! I feel so good about myself now. I can sit at a stoplight with my hair up and not worry that the person in the car next to mine is staring at my nose. And my nose is very natural looking, so people who didn't know me before have no idea that I had it done. And the funniest part is that even some people who did know me before, but don't know about the surgery haven't even noticed! Which is crazy because my profile is very different now. I have come to find out, by talking to other rhinoplasty patients, this is the way it is for pretty much everybody. Nobody ever seems to notice. I guess I learned that people aren't looking at us as closely as we think they are. Don't get me wrong- although I was tired of feeling like people were staring at me, I didn't do it for the approval of others. In the long run, who cares what other people have to say. I did it for me! I just wanted to know what it was like to have confidence in myself. I was happy in all other aspects of my life except that one. And since I knew there was something I could do about it, I did everything in my power to get it done. And since I knew I would only have one shot at it, I had to do it right. That’s why I worked so hard to make sure I was getting a very good, reputable doctor. I have no regrets, although there is one thing I wish I could have done differently- I wish I had done this long ago!

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