r/Revision_Rhinoplasty

I’m posting this because I genuinely want people who have actually been through rhinoplasty/revision rhinoplasty to talk me out of getting one.

I don’t really need to have surgery. I’m considering rhinoplasty/alarplasty/tipplasty because I feel insecure about my nose, i have a bulbous tip and typica south asian slightly horizontal nostrils and very straight nose, no bumps but not upturned u know and I would look soo much more feminine and objectively pretty with a smaller upturned nose, But at the same time, part of me really wishes I could just accept my nose and never have to go through surgery.

These are some photos of my nose ->

https://www.realself.com/question/delhi-delhi-india-alarplasty-rhinoplasty?rseid=4a5332cad8ba8b37f0489e1b28107bc8&message_id=2d5ebee6ebc441b4b2d069fb5acbdb27&utm_campaign=C_I_T_Digests_UserDigestSubscriptionsDaily_v1_20200128&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email

So for those of you here who have had a rhinoplasty and are now considering or have needed a revision:

• Looking back, do you ever wish you had never gotten the surgery in the first place?
• Did you expect it to improve your confidence, and did it actually?
• What problems or changes did you experience that you weren’t expecting?
• If you could go back to the moment before your first rhinoplasty, what would you tell yourself?
• Did anyone eventually reach a point where they thought, “My original nose was actually fine; I wish I had left it alone”?

I’m specifically looking for the hard truths, if u think i should go ahead with it, let me know that too.

I want to hear from people who have actually lived through the process and can tell me why not getting rhinoplasty might be the better decision.

Basically, convince me to keep my nose. 😭

The photos above show my natural nose, my nose one year after rhinoplasty, and my nose now, 14 years later.

My result looked great during the first year, but my nose has changed over time and seems to get worse each year. The tip now feels hard, narrow, and overly structured. My nose looks pinched, the bridge appears lower, and my profile has developed a scooped shape I never had before. It almost feels as though the structure is collapsing.

My entire nose also feels hard, stiff, and uncomfortable. My natural nose was soft and flexible, and I was able to gently squish or move it. Now my nose barely moves and feels rigid. I miss having a nose that feels natural, not only one that looks natural.

My goal is to restore my natural nose as closely as possible. I want my bridge back, a rounder and thicker tip, more width through the nose, and a softer, less defined appearance.

Has anyone experienced similar changes many years after rhinoplasty? What type of revision work did you need? I would appreciate surgeon recommendations, questions I should ask during consultations, and advice on what to avoid.

I came across this video where Dr. Richard Reish is asked:

“How do you address if a patient did not like their results?”

His answer caught my attention because the question is about a patient being unhappy with their surgical result, but his response turns to screening patients beforehand, including “identifying issues such as body dysmorphia,” and not offering those patients surgery.

This raised a question for me because I was personally present throughout the preoperative process in a case involving Dr. Reish.

There were two separate telehealth appointments before the rhinoplasty, and I was present for both. I was also there on the day of surgery. I did not witness any screening for body dysmorphia during either telehealth appointment.

The medical records produced also do not document a body dysmorphia screening, BDD questionnaire, psychological evaluation, or similar assessment during those preoperative telehealth appointments.

The first documented in-person preoperative examination occurred in the preoperative holding area on the day of surgery, at which point the surgery had already been scheduled and paid for.

So this leaves me with two questions:

If screening for body dysmorphia is supposed to determine whether someone should be offered cosmetic surgery, when and how should that screening actually take place?

And if a patient was considered an appropriate candidate, accepted for surgery, paid for the procedure and was operated on, why does body dysmorphia enter the discussion when the patient later says they are unhappy with the surgical result?

That distinction is what I find troubling about this video.

The two telehealth encounters and the day-of-surgery examination I’m describing are supported by the produced medical records.

 Look closely at what Dr. Richard Reish says in his own video:

“You will never meet the surgeon until actually you are rolling in for surgery.” He says this while warning patients what to look out for when choosing a surgeon. He goes on to advise patients to make sure they are “spending adequate time with the actual surgeon” and says he personally dedicates time to his patients “both before and after surgery.”

I agree with that advice completely.

The problem is that it does not reflect what I personally witnessed with a close friend who underwent rhinoplasty with Dr. Reish. Before surgery, my friend had two short virtual consultations with Dr. Reish. The first time she actually met him in person was the day of her surgery. The in-person interaction before surgery was extremely brief and included taking preoperative photographs before she was taken back for the procedure.

How can a rhinoplasty be properly planned on the day of surgery, when the first in-person meeting with the surgeon is happening that same day

Think about that for a moment.

This is rhinoplasty. Millimeters can permanently change someone’s appearance and function. There should be meaningful time with the surgeon before the day of surgery to examine the patient in person, understand exactly what the patient wants, discuss the surgical plan and make sure everyone is on the same page.

That’s why I find this video so striking. Dr. Reish is now publicly warning prospective patients about essentially the very thing that concerned me about our experience with him..

His advice is good advice: spend adequate time, in person, with the surgeon who is going to operate on your face before the day of surgery.

I just wish that had been our experience.

I never wanted to get a nose job, or three. In 2021, I had a septoplasty (after four broken noses from playing basketball) to fix my breathing. I only said to take the bump off my nose for anything cosmetically, but my nostrils some how came out very uneven from the surgery(towel photo).

I became really insecure about it, so I got a cosmetic revision done just to address the nostrils. Unfortunately I also did not have great results from that procedure, as the surgeon took away way too much cartilage which caused nasal valve collapse and saddle bridge and absolutely wrecked my breathing. So, I just underwent a third revision with rib cartilage to restore my breathing function as it was causing a lot of health issues.

The first photo is my birth nose, second is after the first surgery. The third photo is the night before my third surgery (four years after second revision) and fourth photo is now almost 7 weeks post op from third.

The one thing I told my surgeon was I mainly just wanted to be able to breathe again, and try and improve symmetry if possible. I told him I just wanted it to look like a natural nose. The one thing I did not want was a shorter/stubbier/more upturned nose or a lot of nostril exposure from the front. But I fear that’s exactly what I got 😭 He said the tip should drop over time. I know I’m early in the healing process and I’m trying to give it time and not freak out - thoughts? This whole experience has given me such bad body dysmorphia. I wish I could go back and have never touched my nose.

I’m just over a year post op and I’m noticing that my nose looks really red in some areas and whiter some areas. I also notice a visible bump that’s really oddly shaped (circled, it’s sort of thin). I’m going to schedule an appointment with my surgeon but I’m wondering if anyone has any insight as to whether this is something really serious. I’m nervous.