Just like other plastic procedures – such as liposuction or breast enlargement – it is also possible to have a rhinoplasty. 25-year-old Sanne* felt very insecure about her nose and also had difficulty breathing. For this reason, she underwent a rhinoplasty two years ago.
Greatest uncertainty
The reason Sanne underwent a rhinoplasty goes back to her youth. ‘At the age of six I once hit my nose very hard. This caused a bump and my nose was quite uneven,’ she says. As she got older, she felt quite insecure about this. ‘It started bothering me when I was 12, and it was very bad during my studies. You might think: you’ll grow out of that. Yet I was always busy with it; how people saw the side of my nose and whether my nose was the first thing they noticed. It didn’t make me feel good.’ In addition to this uncertainty, difficulty breathing was also a reason for her to have her nose operated on. ‘I went to the doctor because I was having trouble breathing through my nose. It turned out that my nose was broken. Nothing was done about it at the time, because they thought it would recover on its own.’
Right moment
This dissatisfaction led to her decision to go under the knife in 2021. ‘I kept looking at pictures of myself and kept getting annoyed by my nose. I first talked about it with my roommate and then also with my parents. I started the process in October and went to the doctor quite quickly. The ENT doctor then checked and examined everything and recommended a clinic for me. That same month I went to the plastic surgeon, and a few months later I had surgery,’ says Sanne. The timing was favorable for her, because she was still a student and working on her thesis. ‘I didn’t have to be around people very much, so it could stay fairly under the radar.’
‘No pain no gain’
After the operation, recovery was quite difficult for Sanne. ‘It took me a little longer than I thought. The cartilage in my nose was very weak and they had to work on my nose quite a bit. This left my face very bruised and swollen,” she explains. Yet she does not regret the procedure. ‘I remember my father saying: ‘If you had known this, you probably would never have done it’. I WhatsApped back – I communicated with my parents via WhatsApp as I could hardly speak – that I was still very happy with the procedure and would do it again. No pain no gain.’ Fortunately, the swelling subsided after a week and the recovery went smoothly. ‘After about six weeks the swelling and bruising had gone away. It gets better every month, and after a year the end result was visible. It was especially important that I was very careful outside, so I had to wear a hat and sunglasses so that nothing would hit me. I was also not allowed to bend over or exercise for the first few months.’
Happy with the result
The operation has ensured that Sanne is now very satisfied with her nose. ‘I’m very happy with how it looks now. Even when I look at pictures, I really like my nose. Many people don’t see it, but of course I do. Only twice have people asked me if I’ve had anything done to my nose, so it’s not really noticeable,” she explains. It also had an influence on her mental state. ‘You can hardly imagine how happy this can make you. I would actually do it again in a heartbeat.’ However, this satisfaction does not lead to her wanting to have more interventions done. ‘This was actually the only thing that bothered me, so I don’t need any more plastic surgery. Now I’m satisfied.’
Friends and family
Sanne’s environment reacted somewhat shocked at first, but luckily they recovered quite quickly. ‘My friends knew about it. At first they were mostly surprised and said I didn’t need it. Only when I explained where it came from and how unhappy I felt did I notice that they started to understand it better. Of course, you don’t often hear that someone wants a nose job, so people really had to get used to it. In the end, most of them were positive.’ It also made a difference for Sanne that it was corona time and so she didn’t go outside very much. ‘If there had been no corona, I would have found it a bit more difficult. Now I didn’t meet many people and I could choose whether I would tell people.’ Sanne has talked about it a lot with her parents for a long time. ‘They knew how deep it was. They really took good care of me during the first month. Of course they also asked a lot if I was sure, because of course you have some facial reconstruction done. That’s no small feat.’
Stigma
Despite the support of those around her, Sanne has noticed that there is a stigma attached to plastic surgery. ‘Especially when you have something done to your face, people are quick to judge. I have a few friends who really didn’t understand it, and I found that quite difficult at first.’ Sanne would like to convey the message that you should mainly do what makes you happy. ‘I would never judge someone because he or she has had or wants to have plastic surgery done. If it makes you feel good, then do it,” she explains. She thinks it is nice and good to tell others about her procedure, but is reluctant to do so when she notices that people have a prejudice. ‘You sometimes hear people say that they would never have anything done to themselves. In such situations I do not share my story.’ What Sanne mainly wants to convey to others is that you should follow your own feelings and read them carefully. ‘Of course you should think about it carefully and do research before you have anything done to yourself. If you are really unhappy – as I was before the procedure – I completely understand why you are considering surgery. In that case I would say: go to the doctor, ask good questions and prepare well. Doctors can sometimes steer you in a direction that you don’t necessarily want, so listen carefully to your own feelings: what do you want and what makes you happy.’
Of course you are and will remain beautiful just the way you are! Are you considering plastic surgery? We recommend that you read up carefully and visit your doctor.
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* A pseudonym has been used for this article
2024-01-04 22:20:30
#Sanne #underwent #rhinoplasty #heartbeat
