Went to have my nose feminised this weekend. It's taken me over 14 months to get to the operating table thanks to the way our UK NHS works. Surgeon explained what he was going to do to get the result I wanted so I signed and was duly put to sleep.
When he came to see me the next day he told me that he had only done half the job and that I needed another operation when the swelling has gone down in about 3 months!
He had cut back the septum and narrowed and cut back the bridge but has left the nostrils wide as natural for the next op.
This is just one more example of how the NHS wastes time and money as other surgeons seems to do a one-step nose-job.

One small excuse he has is that I had apparently broken my nose in a crash years ago and it was slightly out of line but hardly noticeable as until he mentioned it at first assessment I never knew as I'd been unconscious for a few days after the crash.

Interesting Rose, I had something like 8 procedures including the rhinoplasty done during one visit when I had my sinus and nose job back in May. I know he did my nostrils because I needed to use a Q-tip to clean out inside the nostrils because nothing larger would fit, lol. Could the real reason be that the Ryder Cup was going on this weekend, lol? I hope the swelling goes down quickly for you and that the followup surgery goes well.
Hugs,
Marsha

I had FFS in 2007. I had 12 separate procedures and the Rhinoplasty is the only one that gives me any problems. Running nose, stuffed nose. Constantly. It looks good, but it is trouble.

Z

Zoe, did you have a FFS surgeon (F.A.C.S.) or an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon do your nose? Many people warned me about having a plastic surgeon(F.A.C.S.) do my nose. I was told they tend to be clueless on the function of the sinuses and that they only care about the visual appearance. My nose surgeon is an E.N.T. and I couldn't be happier with both the appearance and the fact that I can now breathe through my nose. I had the deviated septum problem and other issues that allowed the nasal passages to collapse when I inhaled deeply so some sort of man made pieces were added to strengthen the passages and also a piece to shape the tip.

My nose doctor was telling me how he will get these women who come to him with a magazine photo of someone and insist they want the nose in the picture when their face shape is nothing like the one in the picture. He said you can't tell them anything, that's what they want.

Hugs,
Marsha

That is an interesting bit of information, Marsha. ENT, I will remember that.

Wendy, not to say that the plastic surgeons are not good at what they do, just that they are not necessarily learned in the fine workings of areas such as the sinuses. If a problem already exists, known or not, a plastic surgeon might not recognize it and therefore the problem could remain or be worsened by the change.
Hugs,
Marsha

I went to one of the big boys...Dr. Zukowski in Chicago. He overall did a truly wonderful job. I was passing at about 80% before and haven't been "sirred" since. He isn't really a guy who does the extensive bony work, but if you need soft tissue work (I needed a TON of soft tissue work) he is "The Man." He will pick you up from your hotel in his giant white Range Rover pimp-mobile and take you to his offices himself.

An interesting little tiny story: I had my FFS on February 13, 2007, in Chicago. When I was brought to Dr. Z's offices, it was about 6:30 AM. I didn't get put under until almost 9. I was out for about five hours, and it took a little more than an hour to get me up and awake enough to dress myself and dump my bod in a wheelchair. When we got back outside it was about 4 PM and it had snowed the whole time I was in there. When we left, the flurries had turned into over a foot of new snow. The effect was pretty neat when it seemed to me that I was JUST out there!! When my nurse (the VERY cool Lisa) was wheeling me back into the hotel, she saw a two-foot snow drift in front of the hotel's front door. She yelled to me "OK Zoey!! I'm gonna ram it!!" If I wouldn't have been so zapped on twelve different kinds of pain killers, I would have laughed.

Z

There is no doubt Dr. Zukowski is a top rated FFS surgeon and I know from your pictures he does great work. If someone is specifically after FFS surgery, especially if they plan on having numerous procedures, you want a surgeon such as Dr. Zukowski.

My surgery was related to only my nose and sinus area of which I was in surgery for a full 3 hours. I was at the hospital at 5:30a.m., surgery started right around 7a.m., and it was 12:30p.m. I was able to head home. When I came home it was a bright sunny spring afternoon. I couldn't ask for more, lol.

I would definitely recommend an ENT skilled in plastic surgery if you have any breathing issues and want a nose job. As easy as that might sound, few ENT's do plastic. Reading about other's experiences online it is common to have an ENT take care of the breathing issues and then have another surgeon take care of the plastic. I believe I was the first TS patient for my surgeon, but I was amazed when I first met him how much he knew about FFS for TGs.

Hugs,
Marsha

My surgeon is a nose specialist rather than plastic surgeon so I have to assume what he did was in my best interests but it just seems so odd when practically no-one else has a 2 stage op.

Update at 2.5 days. eyes are very puffed up and itching in corners but I can't get in to clean them properly.
upper lip beginning to shrink back to size and the awful black bruise inside it is fading.
Tip of nose seems twice as big as it was before but he's supposed to have cut some of the cartilage out.
I had a dropping septum which he seemed to think was unnatural but its a family trait on my mother's side so now he's cut that off and my nose is straight across it does look quite different.
had low level headache all day which might be a anaesthetic follow on but still no proper pain at all.

Good luck Rose,
I had my nose work done by a plastic surgeon, he did a wonderful job, in about 04, it was a one time operation. Now my chin, had to be done three times before I got what I wanted, everyone seems to be a little different with results, and recovery as I was told it is not an exact science....good luck..I do so like the results of surgery but the recovery, that's a whole another question...huggs...Tammy

32 days on and front of nose still hard and swollen with internal lumps/scabs?

The annoying stitch in septum has still not dissolved and had been a bit infected so I attacked it last night and now its looking clean and less inflamed but goodness knows when the stich will dissolve and fall out.

Celebs having face work must have better surgery or aftercare to be back in public in just a week or two?

The cool weather makes nose breathing very painful after a few minutes so I'm reduced to walking round town breathing through my mouth.

My nose doctor used some dissolving stitches along with ones that were not dissolving. I'm trying to remember if it was at 1 or 3 weeks he removed the non dissolving ones. I believe they were in the septum. I remember he cut one set and you could feel him pull it out. It felt like it must have been the size of a boat anchor rope, lol. Then he snipped the ones in the other nostril and when he pulled it felt like he was pulling my nose off my face. Turns out he did not cut all the way through the stitch, lol.

As for the swelling, if you search online, you will find it takes 6 months to a year for the swelling to completely go down. The swelling gradually decreases from the top down towards the tip. Fortunately I had minimal swelling and a week after surgery nobody could tell I had had surgery although my nose was swollen. As for the celebrities, you need to remember they have professional makeup people at their disposal who know how to hide any blemishes. Also, I have read that many will go off on a holiday for a month and have this kind of stuff done, so you just never see the early stages.

Best wishes on quick healing.

Hugs,
Marsha

Hi Rose,
I hope things go well for you, and the infection gets under control. Did you call the doctor, about this? He possibly might want to prescribe some antibiotic's.
I have to pretty much ditto what Marsha said, about the stitches. It was about 7-8 yrs ago when I had my nose done, my memory seems to put the non- dissolving stitches being taken out around 1-2 wks, and no infection. That can complicate things and make healing a slower process.
I also had a very tender nose for a while, and had to be very careful with it. The doctor even cautioned me about this and told me if I have any type of mishap, to call him immediately.
If it was not for the fact I had the joy of two slightly black eyes, I could of gone out without notice, but sadly, no makeup would cover my beautifully darkened pipers. I seem to be prone to this, even with other facial work that I had done. Hummm, seems that they even turned black when I had my chin done????????
I loved the results, so all I did was think of the out come versus the pain and facial distractions.
Good luck....Tammy