RHINOPLASTY

[KELSEY/ MINNESOTA]

I AM 32 YEARS OLD AND AM CONSIDERING RHINOPLASTY..I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO GO THRU MORE SURGERIES AND PRETTY MUCH THOUGHT THAT BY HAVING RHINOPLASTY I WAS ADMITTING THAT I DIDN'T LIKE HOW I LOOKED. I KNOW THAT I WOULD BE HAPPY WITH THE END RESULT, I JUST NEED SOME ENCOURAGEMENT AND I AM ALSO WONDERING ABOUT INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS..I HAVE THIS FEAR THAT IT IS SO PAINFUL....ANY STORIES OR INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED....THANK YOU

[Matt in Illinois]

I had the rhinoplasty/septoplasty done when I was 15. I think you should go for it. I know how it is to struggle between accepting yourself as you are and sometimes desiring to make any improvements possible. But my doctor reassured me that this was the normal "final stage" of my corrective surgeries. And he was right, it has made a big difference in terms of my overall appearance. My nose went from flat and kind of smashed to one side to having a much better shape and symmetry.


As far as pain, I recall that prior to the surgery I was warned that I would suffer a lot of pain (because they have to grind the bone in your nose and between your eyes), but it wasn't that bad. They gave me morphine the day after I had it done, but after that I never took anything for pain. I was very swollen for about 3 weeks, and I had two black eyes and I remember thinking "they made me a MONSTER!" but after the swelling went down I was a lot happier with my look.


Another thing to keep in mind is that while they have you under they can make slight revisions to your lip or scar, which is nice. I had that done at the same time.


Society sometimes makes fun of "nose jobs" but its not like you are Michael Jackson here. You will love the end result. There's a lot of bone and cartilage in your nose, and by just rearranging it a little your side and front profile image can really improve.


As a person, I'm sure you are not in need of any improvement, but if you feel better about yourself by doing this, then I say do it.


At the time my insurance covered the procedure.


Hope this helps!


-Matt

[concerned]

You should make sure that if you undergo surgery that you have it done by a specialist. Not just a plastic surgeon but one that specializes in cleft lip noses. If you need advice, feel free to email me your phone number and I will call you with names of docs in your area. My email is rsrosenblum@hotmail.com. Talk to you soon.