STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

Plastic Surgery Tales

Metric · Gucci

I haven't had any work but I'd love to hear about your procedure. How you picked your doctor, how you decided on what to do with your nose, what you had done...tell me everything.

sfclinevandy · Coach

Poor thing. I know what its like. I've had 2 elective procedures and recovery sucks. I remember thinking I had made the worst decision because the recovery was so painful. But eventually you feel better, the bruising goes down and you can get rid of your bandages/garments. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me because I've definitely been there. I highly recommend a glass of wine paired with your pain meds

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

Well I've always hated my nose-- ever since I was young. I suspect that I must have injured it when I was little because no one else in my extended family has the hump in the bridge that I do. I also have a tip that drooped down a bit when I smiled. It just always hated it and wished for something a little smaller and without the bump.

I initially thought about getting the surgery done when I was in college but chickened out. I felt like it was too shallow and that I should try to live with the nose I have. I've never felt "ugly" and felt like maybe I should just be grateful that I'm not hideous and move on. But several years past and I still felt so bad about my nose. It was just this sore spot for me. And I decided that if I couldn't get over it, I should stop bitching about it and do something about it.

So I decided it would be my post-graduation from law school treat. I moved to Chicago after graduation from law school but would be back in Los Angeles for the period between the bar exam and starting work. So I looked for a plastic surgeon in LA which was great because I had a lot of section. I spent a lot of time researching plastic surgeons on the Internet and talking to various doctors that my mother knows through work.

That is how I eventually found my plastic surgeon. He is fairly well known and I've been very impressed with him so far. It's impossible to tell what my nose will look right now-- I just look scary! But I was very specific with what I wanted (since I knew exactly what I hated about my nose) and his computer imaging closely matched what I was imagining. I also had a septoplasty and turbinoplasty to fix my deviated septum and its related problems. So hopefully this surgery should clear up years of allergies and breathing problems that I have had as well.

Anyway, I'm in recovery mode right now. It's not so fun, but I'm getting by. Just trying to stay positive. Thanks for the words of support sfclinevandy-- I may have to PM you and take you up on your suggestion of a little wine ;)

valenciana · Dooney & Bourke

i had rhinoplasty and septoplasty about 5 years ago...feel free to PM me too

hope you continue to feel better everyday!

travelgirl · Kate Spade

I have not done it yet, but I have been thinking of getting rhinoplasty. Here's my question-if you have a deviated septum (which I do) will insurance cover the surgery?

lovelygirl · Kenneth Cole

My plastic surgeon split up the fees into two categories: cosmetic and medical. The cosmetic portion was the cost of the rhinoplasty and that was all out of pocket. Insurance won't cover that. The medical portion was the septoplasty and turbinoplasty. Insurance covered some but not all of it. I think they did not cover all of it because I went to an expensive plastic surgeon as opposed to a regular ENT who could have also done a septoplasty and turbinoplasty for much cheaper.

valenciana · Dooney & Bourke

travelgirl - i think it depends on your docs and how they are able to justify things. as well as your personal situation. i had a plastic surgeon and an ENT operate on me and they concluded that even if i had just wanted a septoplasty, it would have required plastic surgery to reconstruct my nose due to the severity of my deviated septum. the rest of the cosmetic stuff was just icing, you know, while they were already in there, just take out that bump. i ended paying $22 total. but i know my case is not typical and i didn't even expect it to go that way until i got the bill from the insurance.