It has been a week since my cast came off and I am so relieved to tell you that everything turned out fantastically. My first impression when they handed me the mirror was that it looked puffy. Then I looked closer and thought 'Is one nostril now slightly bigger than the other? and 'Are my nostrils more flared?'. Even though I've been through this 3 times, it's still a shock to see the swelling and the angry red cut at the base of my nose. My surgeon, Dr. Kim said he feels he has made an 80-90% improvement, but after looking at it for a week I think he has surpassed that. There are no bumps, no pushing to one side and my breathing is significantly better. The scarring is hardly noticeable. In fact, if I met you today I doubt you would be able to tell anything was done. So basically, Dr. Kim is my hero.

I have to wait at least a year before declaring it a full blown success because in my experience that is when the deformities really start to present themselves. I feel this time is different though. I've healed much faster than previously and even with the swelling it looks pretty much perfect.  It's not just rhetoric when I say I will be popping champagne one year from now. This has been a really long, painful and EXPENSIVE process, and I am ecstatic to put it behind me.

I know you are dying to see pictures but I don't want to show my face as I'm somewhat embarrassed by what I have in common with Michael Jackson.  I've decided to share nose only shots from my three surgeries so you can see for yourself!

1. Botched nose circa 2004; 2. Wonky bump circa 2008; 3. Pretty much perfect nose circa 2012

Dr. Kim said he is very pleased with the results but warns that I may still see a small bump or shadow on the left side in a year once everything has settled.  Cuts to my cartilage from my two prior surgeries have permanently ruined the natural shape, but thanks to my ear grafts he was able to rebuild it and cover any imperfections with fascia.

Speaking of my ear, I had no idea what a trauma it was to extract an itty bitty piece of cartilage.  It was the most painful part of my recovery.  The cut is deep and my ear still sticks out on that side.  I have no feeling in my outer ear, which I'm told can last up to a year. Apparently there is a lot of nerve damage that comes with partially detaching your ear from your head,.

I will need to fly back repeatedly for check ups over the next year.  This is part of the process. I'm willing to do it, but I know I won't do another surgery again regardless of the final outcome.  It's a lot of pain and money and there are no guarantees.  Even a world class surgeon like mine can't predict how things will settle over time.  Ear cartilage can warp.  My thin skin can reveal new unforeseen problems when the swelling goes down.  But, I feel confident in Doctor Kim and what he did in the 4 hours and 7 minutes I had my chemically induced nap.  I wish I would have gone to him in the first place, but you know what they say about hindsite.

I am so happy to put my battle for a better nose behind me and focus on other more important things than my appearance.  Like world peace and the environment.  For real. Life is short and it's so important what you do with it.  I don't want any more time or resources tied up with vanity projects that don't matter.  I'm extremely grateful to my Doctor and hope that sharing my story helped anyone else who may be going through something similar. 

The moral of the story is: tread carefully with plastic surgery. If you do decide to have a procedure do tons of research because your first procedure might not be your last!