(Excerpted from Dr. Peter Adamson’s book Fabulous Faces (available on Amazon.com) and edited for our blog.)

Brad, one of my rhinoplasty patients in Toronto, has agreed to share his experience with cosmetic surgery so others may get an insider’s view. Read Chapter 1 here, here for Chapters 2 and 3. Today we present Chapters 4 and 5!

Chapter 4
Taking the Plunge
It’s now fall. I start saving money for the surgery. I hope to have enough in about a year—maybe even as early as next spring. I decide to keep my goatee and current hairstyle until after the surgery. Then I’ll change everything and help draw attention away from the major changes in my face.

Spring comes and I’m not yet ready. The surgery must wait until fall.

It’s midsummer. I schedule appointments with two cosmetic surgeons. The first one is very nice and so is his staff. He tells me everything I want to hear about the surgery, the procedures, and the outcome. I’m given some forms for blood work and told to schedule an appointment for surgery when I’m ready.

My next appointment is with Dr. Adamson. He goes into greater detail and cautions me that the procedure to straighten my nose is difficult to get perfect. Improvement must be the goal, not perfection. This is something I already know from my research, but I appreciate hearing it from him. He goes over the additional consultations, tests, and photographs that will be needed to paint the whole picture of my situation. This attention to detail impresses me. I schedule surgery for one month later.

Over that month, I have various appointments for consultations, photographs, and tests to prepare for the operation. I arrange to stay at a friend’s house during the time after surgery. I’m surprisingly calm as the day of surgery approaches, but I’ve been quite busy.

Chapter 5
The Big Day
On surgery day, I get up, shower, and jump in a cab for the clinic, perhaps a little nervous, but not freaking out. I arrive and change into a gown, and Dr. Adamson comes in to prepare me. He marks the location for my chin implant and asks if I have any questions. This is my last chance to run for the door, but that’s the last thing I want to do. I’m excited about having this lifelong goal achieved.

I enter the operating room and lie on the table. The anesthetist starts a drip, and I fall unconscious in mid-conversation.

The next thing I know, I’m waking up and feeling pretty good, all things considered. With each passing minute, I become more alert. I peek in a mirror, expecting to look bad and am surprised. There’s just a small cast on my nose and a bandage around my chin. I have no problem with this at all. And I can tell, even with the cast on, that there are huge changes in my nose.