FFS with Deschamps-Braly in SF for November 3, 2016

[Debra]

Well I talked to the doctor on the phone yesterday. He answered a bunch of questions I had been acruing from reading about other girls' experiences. He pretty much set my mind at ease with all of them.

3 weeks from tomorrow is the big day!

[Debra]

Some might remember that I said Dr D mentioned sending him pictures of noses I liked so he could get a basic idea of what I was looking for. I came up with a list of pictures and I thought I'd share them here :

http://imgur.com/a/5RKei

I've talked to the doctor after he's looked at them and he agreed it should be doable, of course taking into account my face and making sure it fits right and stuff. He mentioned that knowing/saying the exact angle of the tip of the nose going up is too hard so it's easier to just see it in a picture instead.

[Miss Clara]

Wow!  That's a great looking nose.  I hope Dr. D can meet your desire.  People should understand that there are limits to what can be accomplished with a rhinoplasty.  The truth is, you can't simply pick a pretty nose from a magazine and expect the surgeon to create one that looks like it.  One of the things that limits what can be accomplished is the thickness of your skin.  Thick skin is great for not developing wrinkles, but it also limits what can be done to fashion a new nose.  The most successful nose jobs are those that remove bone and cartilage; adding tissue is much harder.  Reducing nostril width and flaring involves an alarplasty with the potential for visible scars.  Revision surgery is often needed after rhinoplasty depending on the complexity and aggressiveness of the surgery.  The truth is rhinoplasty is a surgical specialty and should only be entrusted to someone with the appropriate certifications and a proven record of quality results.

[Debra]

Yep . true that.

We'll see what he can do.

[oneoftwo]

Some might remember that I said Dr D mentioned sending him pictures of noses I liked so he could get a basic idea of what I was looking for. I came up with a list of pictures and I thought I'd share them here :

http://imgur.com/a/5RKei

I've talked to the doctor after he's looked at them and he agreed it should be doable, of course taking into account my face and making sure it fits right and stuff. He mentioned that knowing/saying the exact angle of the tip of the nose going up is too hard so it's easier to just see it in a picture instead.

Do like the third picture (nose) down the list - -  the very best.

Several examples of noses similar to those from your doctor that some girls that have posted ->-bleeped-<-.   It does depend on where the surgeon gets to start from with respect to your individual nose.  Good skin helps a lot, too!



 

[Debra]

Ok yesterday marked the 2 weeks till FFS mark. I thought I'd write up a quick schedule of what is to come.

Thursday, Oct 20 - Stop all vitamins, halve dose of E. Only on VitC and Probiotics going forward. Stop all Alcohol. Pay medical facility and anesthesia fees.
Thursday Oct 27 - Stop all exercise

Monday Oct 31 - Fly into San Fran. Xrays, Pre-op, and facial.
Thursday, Nov 3 - Surgery day!
Friday, Nov 4 - Discharge from Hospital
Monday, Nov 7 - Post-op appt #1 - get nose packing out
Thursday, Nov 10 - Post-op appt #2 - get stitches/splint out
Wed, Nov 16 - Fly home (staying in town for a bit)

Then I don't go back to work till December 1st.

We'll see how this goes!

[Ellement_of_Freedom]

So exciting! Not long to go now Debra, I can't wait to hear how it all goes.

[EmilyMK03]

Debra, I like how you've planned out your schedule already!  I'm a big proponent of always being prepared. 

I also think it's good that you've given yourself nearly a month to recover from surgery before you have to go back to work.  I think that being able to rest during recovery without the added stress of having to worry about returning to work is good for one's health too.

Best wishes to you as the countdown to surgery continues!

[Mia]

Hi Debra,

Sorry I haven't posted earlier, this is the first day your post popped up on the "recents" list. I had FFS with Dr. D and am very happy with it. There is one thing that I strongly suggest, though, and I'm not sure if you're going to need to worry about it. If you're going to have an incision under your nose, like for a lip-lift or similar, I strongly suggest that you get electrolysis before you do it. I have had issues with hair growth out of the scar there - it's a sensitive area anyway, but doing electro into a scar is beyond any pain threshold!!

I did forehead contour, nose, lip and trachea. For the first 8-10 months I had numbness in my scalp but that's gone now. Hair growth is slowly returning to the scar area. A year post-op my nose still swells for no apparent reason on occasion, which is frustrating because that is the difference between passing and struggling sometimes. But it's to be expected. Overall, I am happy with the surgery and most of the time I walk as a very happy woman in this world.

I'm going to try to post pics - I haven't been at all successful with that yet! Maybe if the pic isn't there the link will be and you can follw that...

Here's a before:



Here's post op:



And here's about 8 months post op:



My profile pic, below, is about one year post op:



I wish you the best!!

Mia

[Debra]

So exciting! Not long to go now Debra, I can't wait to hear how it all goes.

Thanks!! =) I'll keep this thread up to date, no doubt

[Debra]

Debra, I like how you've planned out your schedule already!  I'm a big proponent of always being prepared. 

I also think it's good that you've given yourself nearly a month to recover from surgery before you have to go back to work.  I think that being able to rest during recovery without the added stress of having to worry about returning to work is good for one's health too.

Best wishes to you as the countdown to surgery continues!

Thank you =) I'm kind of a planner. It helps me to see things laid out in front of me like that =)

[Debra]

Hi Debra,

Sorry I haven't posted earlier, this is the first day your post popped up on the "recents" list. I had FFS with Dr. D and am very happy with it. There is one thing that I strongly suggest, though, and I'm not sure if you're going to need to worry about it. If you're going to have an incision under your nose, like for a lip-lift or similar, I strongly suggest that you get electrolysis before you do it. I have had issues with hair growth out of the scar there - it's a sensitive area anyway, but doing electro into a scar is beyond any pain threshold!!

I did forehead contour, nose, lip and trachea. For the first 8-10 months I had numbness in my scalp but that's gone now. Hair growth is slowly returning to the scar area. A year post-op my nose still swells for no apparent reason on occasion, which is frustrating because that is the difference between passing and struggling sometimes. But it's to be expected. Overall, I am happy with the surgery and most of the time I walk as a very happy woman in this world.

I'm going to try to post pics - I haven't been at all successful with that yet! Maybe if the pic isn't there the link will be and you can follw that...

....

I wish you the best!!

Mia

wow thanks so much for sharing! You look great!!! =) Exciting. And post-op doesn't look too bad frankly.

I won't be doing a lip lift so hopefully I won't have to worry about that. Ugh I hate electro. I've mostly only done laser.

Great to hear that you did get feeling back in the scalp. That's definitely a worry.

For the first few months, with the scar in the hairline, how visible was that? Are you able to hide it with your hair? I'm considering getting blunt bangs again when I get back if I have to.....

[Sophia Sage]

For the first few months, with the scar in the hairline, how visible was that? Are you able to hide it with your hair? I'm considering getting blunt bangs again when I get back if I have to.....

I had to use makeup for the scar for a couple of months, but I have blonde hair. 

And wow, Mia, this is great work.  There's so much talent in the world today!

[Mia]

Dr D tried to minimize the visibility of the scar. It was stapled and one end of the staple was in the hair...Frankly I never really thought about the scar, by the time all the swelling and bruising subsided I was already growing hair back. I don't think it's really anything to worry about.

Mia

[Debra]

Thanks both of you for the input! Good to know

[Debra]

Ok the latest update is I still have a cough.

Forget if I mentioned this before but I had cold/flu a couple weeks ago. It led to a sinus infection and cough so my doc gave me a ZPack with refill. Today is the last day of that antibiotic (10 days) and I still have a cough / post-nasal drip.

I told the surgeon yesterday that I still had a cough and I'd been on that antibiotic and they filled a prescription for a stronger antibiotic for another 10 days and told me to see my doctor by Friday to have him pronounce me 'ok for surgery'.

The surgery is still just over a week away so I'm hoping this will get all fixed and we can still operate on time =/

[Mia]

So sorry to hear this! One of my biggest pre-op fears is a bug! After 10 days of antibiotics you've got to be very close to being out of the woods. Dr D also had me taking buffered vitamin C for weeks leading up to surgery and then after. If you're not taking any you may want to, no matter what debate might rage on this forum about the validity of vitamin use. Also lots of water, all day every day and no alcohol.

Good luck!

Mia

[Debra]

So sorry to hear this! One of my biggest pre-op fears is a bug! After 10 days of antibiotics you've got to be very close to being out of the woods. Dr D also had me taking buffered vitamin C for weeks leading up to surgery and then after. If you're not taking any you may want to, no matter what debate might rage on this forum about the validity of vitamin use. Also lots of water, all day every day and no alcohol.

Good luck!

Mia

Thanks yes I'm on vitamin C and probiotics. I've also been taking emergen-C too.

They gave me a stronger antibiotic for another 10 days (which will go thru the surgery date actually) and yesterday my family doctor said I was 'ok for surgery' and gave me a note for the surgeon's office.

He did also say though that if I still have the cough come surgery day, the anesthesiologist will really have the final say on whether they can operate or not. =/

Yesterday I was feeling pretty good until later in the afternoon and I had some nuts and I admit I've been drinking soda pop (for the first time in years) since I can't have alcohol. Wondering if a combination of those 2 are drying my throat out and causing more coughing or something. Last night / this morning kinda felt like a setback in getting past this thing.

I was going to go to halloween parties tonight but now I feel like I'm tempting fate ....and could catch something new even, let alone not recover enough from what I have. So I'm going to stay home and try to keep recovering.

had more tea with honey this morning too. Here's hoping I can beat this thing before Thursday.

[Mia]

The surgery (and getting over it sooner rather than later) is well worth laying low, you'll have plenty of Halloween parties to celebrate as a beautiful, confident woman. Sounds like everything is coming together for you - Good luck!

Oh - make sure you get a lot of photos before and after, even if you don't really feel photogenic. It's incredible to look at the changes - many very subtle - that will take place over the upcoming year.

Mia

[Ellement_of_Freedom]

3 days to go? How's everything going Debra? Thinking of you <3