POSTED UNDER Rhinoplasty Reviews
8 Weeks Down
UPDATED FROM dreamit
2 months post
6 Weeks, Doctor Follow-Up
dreamitDecember 8, 2014
WORTH IT$8,500
This past weekend I had my second follow-up with Dr. Grigoryants. I was surprised to find that he addressed many of my concerns upfront, before I even had a chance to mention them. I'm not always sure I come away "understanding" every detail, as he speaks very quickly. It's not rushed at all, and he does take the time to answer every question, but I find it easier to just put my faith in the process rather than trying to know everything.
He did mention that my smile/top lip should still feel stiff, and hasn't fully recovered. Although I've become a bit more comfortable with my philtrum since my last post, it was really nice to hear that it will improve even more. Best of all, he brought this up on his own, which made me feel like it's definitely a normal part of the healing process.
I think what took me aback the most was the amount of swelling still present. I was expecting to hear that my nose was all but done in that department, but Dr. G explained that most everything below the eye level was still quite swollen (including the tip). This was both exciting and scary, as I'm pretty happy with my result as it is, and only want change if it's improvement.
Dr. G explained that the tip will move back, closer towards my face, and the columella (I think?) would drop a little in this process. The thought of anything "drooping" or dropping made me queasy, but he assured me that this is a positive thing and will look good. I guess that's something to look forward to, then.
The picture comes from Dr. G's computer, where he lined up my Before pic with an After we took that day. I already knew I loved the profile, but seeing a side-by-side comparison really brings the improvements into stark relief. I was especially surprised by my upper lip, which Dr. G explained has less tension pulling up on it. It actually appears MORE raised than before and probably improves my upper lip distance over what it was before.
He did mention that my smile/top lip should still feel stiff, and hasn't fully recovered. Although I've become a bit more comfortable with my philtrum since my last post, it was really nice to hear that it will improve even more. Best of all, he brought this up on his own, which made me feel like it's definitely a normal part of the healing process.
I think what took me aback the most was the amount of swelling still present. I was expecting to hear that my nose was all but done in that department, but Dr. G explained that most everything below the eye level was still quite swollen (including the tip). This was both exciting and scary, as I'm pretty happy with my result as it is, and only want change if it's improvement.
Dr. G explained that the tip will move back, closer towards my face, and the columella (I think?) would drop a little in this process. The thought of anything "drooping" or dropping made me queasy, but he assured me that this is a positive thing and will look good. I guess that's something to look forward to, then.
The picture comes from Dr. G's computer, where he lined up my Before pic with an After we took that day. I already knew I loved the profile, but seeing a side-by-side comparison really brings the improvements into stark relief. I was especially surprised by my upper lip, which Dr. G explained has less tension pulling up on it. It actually appears MORE raised than before and probably improves my upper lip distance over what it was before.
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UPDATED FROM dreamit
27 days post
Long upper lip?
dreamitNovember 17, 2014
Not much new to report for now -- I'll update again when I'm 6-8 weeks out. I'm still pretty happy with the results. If there are a few things I don't love (projected tip, somewhat hourglass-shaped bridge), I still have to remember that my new nose is MUCH, MUCH better than my old one, and I don't regret the surgery or my choice of surgeon at all.
The thing I'm really struggling with now is my seemingly elongated upper lip/philtrum. I know that the measurements are probably the same (it's about the size of a penny), but I still feel like the overall look is droopy and unattractively long. I'm hoping and praying that there's still some swelling involved, but at 4 weeks post, I feel like that's unlikely.
Does anyone have any experiences to share with this? My smile still isn't "normal" (I hope), so maybe it'll get better when that improves? Again, I know this isn't a direct result of my rhinoplasty, it's just a shift in balance in my face that wasn't as noticable before.
The thing I'm really struggling with now is my seemingly elongated upper lip/philtrum. I know that the measurements are probably the same (it's about the size of a penny), but I still feel like the overall look is droopy and unattractively long. I'm hoping and praying that there's still some swelling involved, but at 4 weeks post, I feel like that's unlikely.
Does anyone have any experiences to share with this? My smile still isn't "normal" (I hope), so maybe it'll get better when that improves? Again, I know this isn't a direct result of my rhinoplasty, it's just a shift in balance in my face that wasn't as noticable before.
Replies (5)
November 17, 2014
Your smile should definitely get back to normal, and yes the changes are going to look more extreme to you because you are used to what you had before. I think it looks great from the pictures, give yourself a little more time to see some changes :)
November 17, 2014
its happened to me and my smile never went back to normal (im 14 months post op) but i dont want to scare you because im probably just unlucky. Because my nose was deprojected and the muscle cut it pushed my lip down and made my top lip longer. If i hadve know that that would be the trade off i wouldnt of bothered. As a female it doesnt look attractive, but your lip looks fine, doesnt look out of proportion. You are very early in recovery and it will improve at about the 6 month mark once swelling has gone :)
November 18, 2014
It looks like your tip is dropping nicely. When I first saw you after photo-the first one, I was a little worried because it did make you upper lip look more elongated. You more recent photo you posted looks so much better and I am sure it will continue to! That is my worry for my face too, I don't want to have a long upper lip;-) Looking good!
November 18, 2014
Perhaps it's not your lip that's gotten longer, as you've said it's still about the same length, but it just appears longer because your nose is different in relation to it? Did your nose droop a bit before surgery? Or perhaps it just visually distracted from the rest of the face. Either way, looks good! Try not to worry. You're doing a really good job at being positive!
November 18, 2014
Do you know if your doctor cut the depressor septi muscle? This is done to prevent tip drooping with in movement (smiling, etc.), so if drooping was one of your gripes pre-surgery, that might have been part of the plan. I've heard people say their smile was awkward and immobile for a few months after surgery but then recovered to normalcy, so maybe you just need to give it more time. As other posters have mentioned, this perceived distance could also be a product of deprojecting and shortening the nose, which creates a new distance relationship with features. Either way, I think you look really great and appreciate your updates!
UPDATED FROM dreamit
18 days post
Almost Three Weeks Post!
dreamitNovember 9, 2014
Sorry for the slightly blurry selfie, but I wanted to put up something to show you guys the progression, and I find it hard to take those perfect "before and after" angles by myself (don't want to ask anyone since it might seem a bit strange haha).
I'm still very happy overall, and as the swelling goes down, I can really see how my new nose fits within the context of my face as a whole. Today was the first day where I had some feeling in my top lip, and that's making a huge difference. It was very droopy before, hanging below my teeth and making my top lip look exaggeratedly long. I know things still haven't healed completely yet, since I still have that weird chipmunk smile where it looks as if you're sucking in your teeth. I'm really excited to see how it looks once my smile comes back.
As for the nose itself--while not perfect, it is an absolutely stunning and natural result. There is some stark irregularity to the nostrils in size and shape, and the bridge is not entirely straight horizontally, but overall I feel these are things that will resolve with time, and don't detract much from the aesthetic whole. As we all know, perfection is impossible, and I feel very lucky to have this nose as it is.
I still have a lot of congestion and obstructed breathing, which is most problematic when climbing the stairs or sleeping. I get severe dry mouth from all the mouth breathing I'm doing, but this is also improving a little each day. This third week has shown the most improvement by far, and I can't wait to be 6-8 weeks out!
I'm still very happy overall, and as the swelling goes down, I can really see how my new nose fits within the context of my face as a whole. Today was the first day where I had some feeling in my top lip, and that's making a huge difference. It was very droopy before, hanging below my teeth and making my top lip look exaggeratedly long. I know things still haven't healed completely yet, since I still have that weird chipmunk smile where it looks as if you're sucking in your teeth. I'm really excited to see how it looks once my smile comes back.
As for the nose itself--while not perfect, it is an absolutely stunning and natural result. There is some stark irregularity to the nostrils in size and shape, and the bridge is not entirely straight horizontally, but overall I feel these are things that will resolve with time, and don't detract much from the aesthetic whole. As we all know, perfection is impossible, and I feel very lucky to have this nose as it is.
I still have a lot of congestion and obstructed breathing, which is most problematic when climbing the stairs or sleeping. I get severe dry mouth from all the mouth breathing I'm doing, but this is also improving a little each day. This third week has shown the most improvement by far, and I can't wait to be 6-8 weeks out!
Replies (3)
November 11, 2014
Great result! Do you still have any bruising?
November 17, 2014
Thank you! And for bruising -- you mean like around the eyes? I think that's mostly cleared up now
November 11, 2014
This is a very refined result that brings harmony to your features. Thank you for sharing and I hope you continue to update! Congrats~
November 15, 2014
You look cute with your new nose. Like the result! :)
Replies (3)