Update on my rhinoplasty, 3 years later
I hadn't planned to do any more posts about my nose, but I've gotten a couple of messages asking about it lately, wondering how the nose job is holding up.
And since I like to do posts that cover what you guys want to know about, well, here we are.
Wait, you got a nose job?
Kind of.
If you're new here, you probably need a little back story!
In late 2016, I got a functional rhinoplasty, done by a plastic surgeon/ENT.
But I got a referral to him from a regular ENT, and I'd initially gone to see the ENT because I realized that I was getting almost no air through one of my nostrils.
The ENT thought a dual specialty plastic surgeon/ENT could best serve my breathing needs while also making sure my nose didn't turn into a visual disaster.
And that is how the Frugal Girl ended up in a fancy plastic surgery office.
Insurance covered the whole thing because of it being a functional rhinoplasty, so it cost me very little out of pocket, mercifully.
I liked my nose. It just wasn't working.
My nose had gotten broken in a car accident long ago, and even though it was kind of crooked, I liked my former nose, and I didn't want to change my looks.
I just wanted to breathe!
But it's hard to make a nose work properly without also changing the look of it.
How are the results, 3 years in?
My nose is still working great!
My breathing is so much better than it was before.
I used to always have to breathe through my mouth, and now I can keep my mouth shut and still get enough air in.
So great!
At this point, I've mostly gotten used to the way my new nose looks.
It was really hard at first; I underestimated how disconcerting it is to have something change on your face and I felt sad about it for a while.
Plus, at first the new nose is awfully swollen and stiff, so you don't really have a good idea of the final look for quite some time.
(Here's how my nose looked after I got the splints out. Not gross; it's all cleaned up.)
My nose basically felt like it was made of bone for a good six months or so, especially at the tip.
I'd say that now, the tip is about 80% as flexible as a normal nose, and my nostrils feel completely normal.
I do still feel like my nose is a little bit more sensitive than it used to be; if it gets bumped hard, I experience more pain than I would have before.
But it's not like I get punched in the nose on the regular, so this is not a huge deal.
What does your nose look like now?
First, here's a photo from the day before my surgery.
And here's what my nose looks like now.
And here's a non-smiling view, because smiling does move my nose a lot.
Do you think the surgery was worth it?
Definitely.
The recovery wasn't really fun, but it was most certainly not the worst thing I've been through.
(Tonsil removal, I'm looking at you!)
And the long-term benefits from the surgery have been totally worth the short-term pain and adjustment.
This post has a link to pictures of me with a puffy face and a nasal cast, in case you are curious about what that looks like.
And this post gives a pretty thorough run-down of the the recovery was like along with lots of photos of my nose (I wrote it 5.5 months after the surgery.)
Can you get your nose pierced again after this surgery?
I used to have nose ring, which had to be taken out for surgery (my nostrils got quite rearranged during surgery.)
My nose surgeon did not recommend me ever getting any nose jewelry in the future because of the possibility of it messing up my cartilage grafts.
I trust him to know what's what, so my post-surgery nose will remain unadorned.
Breathing is what is most important!
Any advice for someone considering the surgery?
Consider a plastic surgeon
I am really, really grateful that my ENT sent me to an ENT/plastic surgeon, and I'd definitely suggest that you ask about this option.
If your surgery is pretty simple (just fixing a septum), then I could see an ENT being fine. But my surgery involved bone-breaking plus reshaping of my nostrils, using cartilage grafts.
Obviously, that changes the look of the nose, and it's nice to be in the hands of someone who works on making good-looking noses.
Try breathing strips to see what proper breathing is like
I did not even realize how poor my breathing was until I tried using breathing strips at night.
They're just adhesive strips that you apply to the outside of your nose, and for me, they mimicked what would happen if my nose bones were straight enough to allow air to get through.
Once I tried the strips, I made an appointment with the ENT right away because I wanted to breathe like that every night!
In summation:
My experience with functional rhinoplasty has been very good, and the upsides far outweigh the downsides.
I give it a big thumbs up, and if you are having breathing issues like me, I'd definitely recommend getting in to see an ENT.
I wish I'd gone to get my nose looked at much earlier because I spent 18 years with poor breathing and I did not need to do that!
Any other nose questions?
Drop them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.
Nice coincidence. I had wondered just the other day how this had shaken out. Glad it is for the best!
I think a casual observer might not even notice the change in your nose. You still look like you, and for that, I think you have the plastic surgeon to thank. I think it is definitely worth it to go the route you did. Breathing poorly, especially at night, is no joke. I'm glad to hear you have had no further issues with your nose.
This reminds me of people who have lid-lifts due to vision issues. My oldest sister is one of them -- we siblings all have hooded eyes, and hers were drooping so much, they were starting to affect her field of vision. She had them lifted at a doctor's suggestion, for that reason alone, and is delighted to have a greater field of vision again. A friend of mine is about to have the same thing, for the same reason. Neither of these women have ever been the anti-aging or vain type -- they just want to see fully, but they felt using the plastic surgeon was well worth it. My sister's eyes look totally natural and age appropriate, just not droopy anymore.
Yes, I think it's just that changes on your own face feel so very significant! I probably wouldn't notice on anyone else either.
My dad had the eyelid surgery too because his eyelids were getting in the way of his vision. It helped so much!
3 years already! Wow! Time flies...
Thanks for the honesty in your update. I never noticed much difference in your appearance till I looked at the side-by-side pictures. Was it your right nostril that you couldn't breathe through? Good for you for having the surgery! I had Lasik done several years ago, which could be construed as a cosmetic surgery, and I admit it WAS nice to get married without having to wear glasses (contacts no longer worked for me) but the biggest advantage from my standpoint is to get out of bed without fumbling for glasses! Or walking in from outdoors without my lenses fogging up! Amazing!
It was my left nostril, but it probably is backwards in the photos because they are selfies!
However, neither nostril was working super fabulously, due to the crooked bones up higher in my nose.
LASIK! I loved it! In my early 40s I felt I could finally afford it, and had fantastic results. Being able to see, read, drive, use computer, etc. without glasses or contacts was so wonderful. Not having to pay for glasses/contacts over and over ! Looking and feeling better!
BUT, around 50, most of us get “presbyopia”, a normal part of aging, and I am no exception. There is no surgery for it, so back to glasses... bifocals and now trifocals. Moral of my story: get LASIK as young as possible, so you can enjoy more years without glasses.
If I had understood this, I would have scrimped and found a way years earlier. Same with allergy shots!
It's funny I was just thinking about your nose and whether you were going to re pierce your nose. I am glad your nose is working well.
I have a similar story. Do you have any trouble with the incision sites in the nasal cavities? That they are more likely to get irritated, or bleed/scab? My surgery was decades ago, and I still have this issue occasionally. Wondered whether it is just me.
I don't know how much of an incision I had inside in my cavities. I know my nose was mainly cut at the bottom in the middle of my nostrils and then kind of...peeled back? to access the upper nasal bones.
The inside of my nose does still feel slightly more sensitive to cold air, though.
I had a septoplasty with a nasal (bone) spur removal in 2015. Where they removed the spur still gets wildly out of sorts in the winter with cold, dry air. Saline spray helps. When it’s really bad I put a dab of Neosporin in my nose.
How? How is it three whole years since this happened?
Feels like only months ago
Anyway, I’m glad the long term has been good for you. That’s all anyone can hope for xx
When do you think the tip of your nose became soft again? I’m 6 months post op, and my tip is still very stiff. Thank you!
My nose was definitely still stiff six months in! I'd say it took a whole year to become fairly soft again.
Thank you for getting back to me! It's really nice to be able to ask someone who has gone through the process. I feel with the tip being stiff, my smile doesn't look natural and my nose feels foreign to my face.
Oh yeah, my smile definitely felt weird for a while.
And mentally adjusting to the look of my new nose took a while too, especially because I had surgery for functional reasons. I liked my old nose! But the shape of it had to change so I could breathe, and the new shape took me time to get comfortable with.
Hang in there!
Thank you so much, I'm trying! 🙂
Hi, thank you for sharing. I just had a septorhinoplasty and I have been feeling so sad because I miss the appearance of my old nose. No one really notices a difference but I feel it so it’s nice to know I’m not alone in feeling weirded out by a shift in my appearance. And it makes me hopeful that I will get used to it too.
Yep, if you are like me, you will adjust in time. I pretty much never think about my new nose now!
No questions. Just want to tell you you're a lovely person!
Aww, thank you!