Month 1

Month 1 Update

 

Today I had my second post-op appointment with Dr. Shah. The bridge and top of my nose are both still pretty swollen. Unless you had a minor very rhinoplasty procedure, you may feel disappointed with the way your nose looks 4 weeks out since as it won’t be” perfect” yet. But not me. I’m the kind of person who chooses to look on the bright side of things. And when I compare my nose now to pictures of my nose from Day 7, there is an undeniably dramatic change! For one thing, I no longer look like a creature from Avatar. Hahaha! But I know I still have a long way to go since my nose is still kind of plump at the moment.

 

When Dr. Shah first saw me, his first comment was “You’re still very swollen”. I actually appreciated this comment for two reasons. First, it showed how honest he was unlike my primary rhinoplasty surgeon who kept trying to convince me that I looked great after my botched nose job! I’m sure that aside from my first rhinoplasty surgeon, there are many doctors out there who have no problem telling a flat-out lie to their clients for business. Second, his comment assured me that my nose at this point still hasn’t reached the final phase and I wasn’t going to look like this forever. So even if I knew exactly what to expect from my first month post-op, I was still happy to receive some reassurance.

 

I can’t help but compare this visit to my first month appointment with my former rhinoplasty surgeon. Back then, even though I was visibly and extremely swollen, the surgeon actually had the gall to tell me that I looked great and that he might even use me for his “Before and After” pictures. I didn’t say anything but deep inside, I was thinking: “You’ve got to be kidding me. My nose looks like a beak!” Instead, I went home, looked in the mirror and felt like crying. I realize now that my primary surgeon was just telling me what I wanted to hear, and it just makes me appreciate the honesty of Dr. Shah even more. In fact, Dr. Shah was so truthful with me that he even informed me that I will not be photographing well until the third month. Although I do wish it was sooner, I appreciated Dr. Shah’s candid attitude and I was looking forward to my nose improving even more.

 

Anyway, our appointment pretty much went the same way as our Day 7 appointment. Dr. Shah examined my nose, performed a steroid injection and chatted with me for a bit.

 

To be honest, I can’t believe how fast these past few weeks have gone by. I know that this early stage of the recovery can be tough and difficult for women and men who undergo rhinoplasty. After all, I’ve been a rhinoplasty patient myself not once, but twice! This is why I’ve written some articles about the physical and emotional side of my path to recovery, which I’m sure a lot of patients will be able to relate to. I’ve also written down some tips to help rhinoplasty patients get through this challenging stage of the recovery period. My number one advice in these early stages is: do NOT obsess about your nose! If your surgeon performed a lot of work on your nose (like in my case), then it’s normal to expect swelling even at week 4. The good news is that you can still go about your daily business without anyone noticing that you’ve had any surgery done. Sure, my nose is not perfect yet, but the beak nose that looked totally horrible in profile is finally gone! To top it off, I was breathing much better which is something I did not expect at all. Overall, I am happy with where I am right now a month after my revision rhinoplasty surgery. And knowing that things will only get better from here makes me look forward even more to the future!

 

My next follow-up appointment with Dr. Shah will be in 6 weeks (April 6, 2014). By then, the weather will be a lot warmer and most of my swelling would have gone down. Although I won’t be writing an update until then, I will be posting a Month 2 photo of my nose in the Recovery Journey Photo Gallery.