SOCIAL MEDIA

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

My Septorhinoplasty Experience

I am documenting my septorhinoplasty surgery. This is how I felt, what I went through and my results. I wanted to document this journey as I researched a lot about the surgery and the recovery prior to having surgery myself. I found a few blogs out there, but definitely not enough. So this is my experience.

Thursday August 9th

Thursday morning I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. This part sucked since I wasn't able to eat after midnight. But after Rory and the girls left for the day, I watched some tv, showered and hung out with my dog. My dad picked me up just before 9 am and we headed to the hospital. I snapped a few selfies (which I am awful at taking) in the parking lot to show the befores. We checked in at 9:30 am and waited.
septorhinoplasty before photos

septorhinoplasty before photos

septorhinoplasty before photos

Not long later, I was brought back to a "room". I changed into a blow up warming gown, put on some non-slip socks and waited for the nurse to put in my IV. She gave me a numbing shot first, so I barely felt the IV go in. Then my dad and I just waited and watched tv.
pre-op surgery
Pre-surgery. Happy, nervous and excited.

The doctor came in to check on me and go over my procedure. Then the anesthesiologist came in to talk about the drugs he would be administering. I told him I get pretty nauseous after surgery, so he made sure to account for that. He gave me something to relax me and then they took me back to the operating room.

I remember sliding over to the operating table and having my arms stabilized by my sides (so they wouldn't get in the way of surgery). Then I was given some oxygen and I was out.

My surgery lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes and it was a dozy. It was way worse then they thought it would be. My septum was so crooked in many places and I had a bone spur that was so big. This was the first big fix. It is the reason why I was not getting much oxygen through that side of the nose. He fixed my deviated septum, removed the bone spur, shaved my dorsal hump, broke my nose to straighten it out, put cartilage from the bridge of my nose outwards towards my sinuses, put cartilage in tip of my nose to build it up (I had nothing in my tip at all), put other cartilage around my nostrils to widen them a bit and ground up cartilage to put on the bridge of my nose so it wouldn't slope too much.

I woke up in pain and my nurse gave me medicine to help with that. After laying in recovery for awhile with an ice pack, my doctor came to see me to make sure I was doing ok. Then they moved me to the other recovery area. The nurse helped dress me and then I drank some apple juice and hung out until my dad and Rory came back to get discharge and at-home instructions.

The drive home sucked because I thought I was going to be sick, but I never threw up. Thank you nausea patch and zofran. I settled into our recliner and laid there while watching tv and going in and out of sleep. It was hard to sleep since I was in a lot of pain.
septorhinoplasty surgery

septorhinoplasty surgery
Gorgeous right?

Around 6 pm, I had to change my nose pad, so Rory thought it would be a good idea to wash my hair since I had iodine and other surgery stuff all in it. I got in the bath tub, put a towel over my face and Rory washed my hair using the hand sprayer for the shower. Those things are amazing for surgery recovery. I didn't get any water near my face and it felt great to "get clean".

I ate a banana, a chocolate protein drink and a pack of fruit snacks. That was all I could manage to eat without hurting or getting sick.

I slept in the recliner that night, but I didn't sleep well. I couldn't get comfortable and had trouble breathing (as you might expect).

23 comments :

  1. Bless your heart, you've been through the ringer!! But you'll feel and breathe so much better!! Hope recovery is still going great!

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    1. Thank you Andrea! I have been feeling pretty rough since surgery, but making progress everyday!

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  2. Oh mercy.... your poor face. The bruises. I can imagine the pain.
    I wish Zofran helped me with nausea.. it makes me even MORE nauseated. Wonderful.
    Hopefully you're feeling better with each day!

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  3. Sorry to hear it was worse than you expected. Hope you have a speedy recover!

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  4. Oh Danielle, I'm so sorry you are going through this and it was worse than expected. You are so brave. I am such a baby when it comes to these things. That was so sweet Rory washed your hair. Those detachable shower heads are a lifesaver. I remember being so thankful after delivering the boys that we have one. I hope each day you are feeling better and please let me know if you need anything <3 Sierra Beautifully Candid

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    1. I feel like I usually do well with pain, but this one has been rough. I cried a lot on Friday wondering why I went through with it. This surgery is no joke. Rory has been pretty amazing through this. Thank you so much Sierra. It means a lot!

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  5. Holy cow that surgery sounds like so much. Pain pills are the worst with the nausea. What a sweet hubby to wash your hair like that. Wishing you continued recovery and I hope this brings you relief!

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    1. It was really bad. I am still pretty weak, feeling blah and recovering by the day. I way overdid it yesterday going back to work and then the girls school meet and greet. My face swelled big time. But I am taking it easy today. Thank you so much Missy!

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    2. You have been so unbelievably brave! Sounds like you have had great care, and that you are healing really well. If I'd been in the US I would have sent you flowers and a card! In fact, I will message you about that xx

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  6. Oh man friend! Hoping for a super speedy recovery!

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  7. I remember that ride home nausea from when I had surgery, it sucked. I sure hope you're recovering well!

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  8. OH my! That looks so painful. I pray that the healing is quick and the pain goes away!

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  9. Oh wow, it really was a doozy! Hope you're feeling better soon.

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  10. Just seeing your afters makes me hurt!!! I hope that recovery is going well for you and that the pain subsides quickly!

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  11. Oh my goodness, girl, that was so much more involved than I thought it would be. I sure hope you feel better really soon. I can't even imagine the amount of pain you must be in.

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  12. Thank you for sharing this! Your bravery to go through with it is inspiring. I'm still at the point where I'm too scared to even book my consult, but I know it's a long time coming when I finally go. You are my hero!

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  13. Oh my, I know that was painful, my mother had a severe nosebleed and was packed up for a weekend but she didn't have black eyes, she said that was painful too. Pray you feel better and can breathe, may the Holy Spirit breathe in you.

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  14. I just want to come take care of you. What a sweet hubby. How did the girls handle seeing you that way? Do I need to send wine?

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  15. OH wow what a surgery!!! I'm so glad you're on the road to recovery and thank you for documenting this!

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  16. My goodness. What a surgery. I'm so sorry that it was worse than you expected. Hugs friend!

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  17. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry it was a rougher procedure than expected, but so glad to hear they were able to fix what was going on. How sweet was Ryan to wash your hair for you, husband win right there! Sending more hugs for a continued recovery <3
    Green Fashionista

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  18. Wow, you went through a lot! As you know, I've had deviated septum surgery so I emphasize. But it sounds like you got a lot more done than me. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

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