Rhinoplasty Case Study
Friday, March 28th, 2008A key aspect of rhinoplasty is simply making the decision to have the procedure, says Sydney plastic surgeon Dr Kourosh Tavakoli.
Brenda McCormick reports.
Rhinoplasty is one of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures performed in Australia, although many people take a long time to actually decide to have the surgery, according to Sydney plastic surgeon Dr Kourosh Tavakoli. He says prospective patients often postpone the decision because of self-consciousness, anxiety or a lack of confidence. However, once they have taken the plunge and had the procedure done, many admit they wish they had done it sooner.
One of Dr Tavakoli’s patients is a typical case; she considered rhinoplasty for many years before finally deciding to undergo the procedure. ‘I’ve just always hated my nose’ she says, ‘I was going get a rhinoplasty done when I was 21 and then decided to go overseas instead, so when I was turning 30 I thought, well, I’ve always wanted it done so I started to really look into it.’
After doing a lot of research online, she narrowed her choice of surgeons down to a shortlist of three, but she says that after meeting with Dr Tavakoli her mind was made up. ‘During my first consultation with him he showed me computerised before and after pictures of what a rhinoplasty could do for my nose.’ She also felt comfortable with Dr Tavakoli and his staff, which sealed her decision. ‘They had an opening available so I said, “book me in!”‘
The surgery took about two hours and altogether she spent only six hours in the clinic. She says she felt ‘completely fine’ when she woke up after surgery and suffered minimal swelling. ‘For about three days I had really bad black eyes and some swelling, but I was back at work two weeks later and no one even knew.’
Dr Tavakoli’s patient says she feels very lucky to have had such a positive experience and straightforward procedure. She says having the opportunity to see the digital ‘after’ shots at the consultation stage meant she had realistic expectations of what the surgery could achieve and that she is very happy with the result.

