Rhinoplasty in Beverly Hills

giraffe205 · Newbie Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 5

Hi everyone,

I currently live in Las Vegas and have wanted to get a nose job for years. (I'm currently 23). At first I thought of doing it w/ a well known and respected facial plastic surgeon in Vegas, but after seeing some of the before & afters for Dr. Raj Kanodia, I'm thinking about going to Beverly Hills, the mecca of rhinoplasty.

Questions:
1. What is the average price range for Dr. Kanodia, Dr. Nassif, Dr. Kotler, or a comparable Beverly Hills rhinoplastic surgeon for a purely cosmetic nose job?
2. How far in advance should one schedule a consultation?
3. Any personal regrets about choosing a cheaper, yet well-known surgeon over one of the above named, especially Dr. Kanodia?

Thanks in advance.

AMADO · Newbie Joined: 17 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

Hello,
I didn't have rhinoplasty with any of these Beverly Hills masters, but I felt like sharing my own personal experience.

My doctor was really good (I live on the midwest though so probably no one here will recognize him, it's not a big city anyways - Iowa City, IA), but I was expecting a lot more in terms of personal attention. I talked about it with my dad and he said that 99% of "big" doctors are like this, not only in the US but in Europe and South America as well.
They are busy professionals, handling lots of "customers" (as I like to say, plastic surgeons sometimes do not treat us as patients) that flock daily at their clinics and aren't very likely to explain everything to you in detail, even less to stay several hours chit chatting about your personal fears in the table. They will just ask you a brief propectum of how do you want to look like - someone else will explain the procedure, another one will take your pictures, and perhaps a nurse will explain what do do and what not to do in the following weeks. Another doctor will talk about anesthesia and you'll see your plastic surgeon again just a few minutes before surgery for a little comfort talk. All in all, it'll be just about 1 hour altogether, including the before, during and after surgery (the first month). Go to the clinic prepared for that (I sure wasn't).

So rule number one: people won't immediately fall in love with your new looks. specially after you leave the hospital - avoid those who start telling you right away on your first weekend out, that you look great. your final nose will look 100% better than on the first week, so maintain yourself skeptical.

The first days your nose will be pointed at the moon, as if you were very stuck up - if the surgery goes well and you take the cast off a week later, you will still look ridiculous and everyone will comment "you really shouldn't have done that." Probably older people - who tend to stick to first impressions much more than younger ones - will not tell the difference from after surgery until 2-3 months later, when the nose will look 95% like the final result. Until then, BE PREPARED TO RECEIVE LOTS OF WEIRD LOOKS. You have to stay positive - being italian american, my family is very conservative when it comes to cosmetic surgery, and for 2 months I heard incessantly that my nose looked worse than before.
Even though, I trusted on what the nurse had told me about the "altitude" of my nose (it's standard technical procedure) but the final result came with time, as it slowly goes back to normality. I definately think it was completely worth it, and now even the nonna agrees that I look much better.

Rule number two: your nose will become the most sensitive part of your body.
It's horrible when you're kissing someone and her nose just gently "cuddles" yours. Take care so this doesn't happen, as the nose's skin will be tight for a semester, very tight for the first 3-4 months, even after most of the swelling is already gone. I had surgery for 3 months already - this means that the nose will look a lot like it is nowadays, but I still can't touch it the way I used to. At all - and I've been told and read that this is perfectly normal. This factor makes hygiene a little extra complicated, but nothing impossible.

Rule number three: buy a stock of kleenex and always carry a mirror with you
As a male, I never carried around a makeup mirror with myself everywhere I went. Rhinoplasty made me have to, as I have to look at my nose constantly in order to check if everything's OK - specially regarding uninvited particles, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you'll spend an entire box of kleenex (I'm exaggerating a little, but you get my point) with a sudden "flow" that your nose will be unable to restrain. This happens quite often as well, and tends to improve with time, but rather slower than you would like to.
Also, be prepared for a "smelly nose". If you can't clean your nose apropriately all the time - with water, that is (don't worry, if you're a normal person you WON'T be able to go to the bathroom 14 times a day) and just stick to using the kleenex, after a few hours you will notice an odor coming from it!! It is a tad bit disgusting, but my doctor said that this is perfectly normal and it is a sign that your nose is regaining it's natural funcionality, hence determined to disappear as quickly as it started, just when it starts bothering you. Most people tend to not feel the smell, so you shouldn' worry very much (when the odor intensifies, however, you need to go to the bathroom as it signs that much worse is yet to come).

I hope you appreciate this kind of information not found on the internet. I feel better as more people will know exactly what to expect after surgery - I wish I had this kind of information (I keep wondering: is this normal?).

Best of luck!

guestpx · Newbie Joined: 22 Nov 2006 Posts: 5

chiman1000 · Newbie Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 31 Location: Westwood ca

There is always a risk and posible complications. That is why every doctor has you sign waivers of possible problems including death.

Rhinoplasty in Beverly Hills

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