Bellevue RHINOPLASTY: EXPERIENCE...

I had rhinoplasty done a couple years ago. Here’s what I can share:

Why rhinoplasty? 
I’ve been self conscious about my nose for a long time. I’ve also been dysphoric about my face in general. When I started my transition, I knew I wanted breast augmentation but I wasn’t yet sure I wanted FFS (facial feminization surgery.) My wife suggested I consider a rhinoplasty because she knew how much my nose bothered me. A decade as a semi-professional fighter and martial arts instructor had left its mark on my nose and I’d long felt it was one of the most masculine parts of my face. So… on the idea that there was an economy of scale involved in having my top surgery done at the same time as my nose (and there is one) I went looking for a surgeon to do both.

How did I find my surgeon?
I did a lot of research, I called and emailed several surgeons who had good looking results and patient reviews…  I started at the top of the list of doctors that could do rhinoplasty.

I chose a doctor based on a) patient reviews, b) lack of malpractice / medical disciplinary actions c) rapport with the surgeon and d) confidence in the surgeon’s approach to my case.

One thing that the surgeon I selected did that other doctors hadn’t done was to discuss how rhinoplasty could improve my breathing and how she would not only address the cosmetic need for rhinoplasty but would make sure my nose was more functional as well. That was pretty special to me.

What I wanted: 
My nose took a beating in martial arts…

I didn’t realize how badly visible it was until a surgeon started describing the impacts which had caused the most notable damage. I wanted that ‘fixed’. I also wanted my nose ‘feminized.’ The surgeon who did my rhinoplasty and I talked about the angle of the tip as well as the overall size of my nose. We also talked about the collapsed nasal passages that were constricting my breathing and the deviated septum.

My nose was kind of a mess. I never asked for a ‘perfect nose’ … just repair of the damage and enhancing of my nose. I point this out because my nose still isn’t straight. And that’s fine. A perfectly straight nose wasn’t a goal to begin with, it wasn’t a priority so when I talk about my rhinoplasty it’s important to me that people understand what I was trying to achieve and what I wasn’t.

How does it feel? 

Feels like a nose. It took a few months for me to get total sensation back… for a while I couldn’t feel the tip of my nose at all. Swelling takes a while to go down. The first week when my nose would get clogged with dried blood on a regular basis was a whole lot less than fun but it’s not like I get frequent nosebleeds post op… just healing being what it was.

If I press on the ridge of my nose, I can feel where cartilage was planed down to reduce the size of my nose, there are some bumps there but they’re very, very small and visibly you can’t see them. Seriously though… it feels like a nose.

The one big difference is that I breathe through it a whole lot better. I didn’t realize how constricted my breathing was until my surgeon demonstrated what kind of change she would be working to create… and since I’ve recovered, it’s been a lot easier to breathe. Huge win for me.

How much did it cost? 

I did my rhinoplasty in tandem with my breast augmentation and combined they were around $15,000 USD. Individually the rhinoplasty would have been around $9,500 and the BA around $8,000 so you can see the savings.

Was it worth it?
I like to think so. I’ve gone from something that was a pummeled reminder of the past to something that feels like it fits on my face. I am very happy! I really am. I breathe better and feel better!

(source: quora)