Topic awaiting preservation: To nose or not to nose..?

Ok guys.. here's a weird one.

Many years ago I had my nose broken buy some thugs..(long story..) when it happened apart from my nose changing shape.. I noticed that my sense of pitch had altered and the actual tone of my voice had changed too. Being a musician it effecting my playing for a few years until I got used to the re-tuning and sense of accurate hearing again.

After the swelling went down I had a different look entirely. Gone was my nobility and fineness... it was replaced by a harder.. slightly thuggish or aggressive look. I found that people thought me more aggressive and dangerous like a boxer..I guess it served a purpose.

My boxing days are done.. and it's starting to bother me that this is not my real look or natural expression, and in profile I see that it is definitely flatter than it should be.

Especially when my little 7 year old niece saw me for the first time in a few years and the first thing she said was: "what happened to your nose!"

That really bothered me as it means people DO notice but are too polite.. or scared to say anything about it to my face.

I have been to see a surgeon regarding having it fixed or straightened to it's original form.

If they go ahead they will put me asleep and smash it with a hammer so that it can be reset.

I have an appointment this Thursday.. I am aware that these things do not always go perfectly and am worried that they may get it wrong and I end up looking more like a hard-nut than I do already.

One's nose is kinda the center piece of one's face.. and one has to live with it for life. I don't want them to screw it up.

As it is now it's certainly not ugly.. I have never had trouble attracting females.. only in winter if I get a cold my nose closes completely and I have great trouble breathing and the fact that it obviously looks broken is starting to increasingly bother me.

What would you do in this situation?

What would you advise?

Am I thinking wrongly about this?

Am I just being a vain git?

Appreciate your thoughts..

QUOTATION: "If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out."

Hard to say since I've not seen you before and after, but I certainly wouldn't call reconstructive surgery just vanity.
Lots of people have work done to enhance or replace their natural appearance - you just want yours back.

I'd say if it's not too much money and the doctor seems competent and you want your original nose back (or as close as science can manage), sure, why not.

Btw what're your instruments?

If you can afford it, I'd say go for it. Ask around and find someone highly recommended. I would even see if its possible to contact a recent patient that had the surgery done. I don't know how willing they'd be to give out patient contact information but I think with surgery like this you'd want to know that patients are happy with this surgeons work. As you said, you have to live with it for life.

Edit: From what I understand he's a monster on the skin flute.

(Edited by Jestah on 06-28-2005 01:54)

My brother had his nose broken (several times, incidentally, so surgery would have been temporary at best). He feels the same way sometimes, but he is (fortunately?) tone-deaf, so it makes no odds to his (appalling) musical talent.

IMHO - if you are truly unhappy with your nose, I don't think it can really be considered shallow to want the original back; to remove what is (to you) essentially a disfiguring scar?

I've never been too bothered by such things myself, and I've a healthy disinterest in having my body parts so brutally manipulated for any reason - let alone plastic surgery - therefore I'm glad to retain my scarred and unappealing form... until the next full moon, of course.

Incidentally, though I dislike the idea of surgery on myself, I have always enjoyed watching the odd recorded nose-job. I have to say I thought the procedure particularly gruesome in a morbidly satisfying sorta' way...

Whatever you do don't take advice from Michael Jackson. =)

Seriously tho' if the Dr. figures he can get you back to close to original... go for it. But I think you'd have to make a deal with yourself... that if the 'pug' look is gone that'll be enough and that you'll live with that.

I bear the marks of time and experience on my body proudly. I have earned every one of them. They are physical manefistations of events that make up part of what I am.

I would never change them.

Both of my brothers have broken their noses, and also have had surgery... Mostly because they couldn't breath well at night and what not, but I doubt they were upset about getting their noses straight again. It went well for both of them and they are happy they did so. They both mentioned they didn't realize how much they weren't breathing properly until it was fixed. Oxygen is good

Thanks for your coments guys..

Ok, my nose is not ugly or even bent.. and far from hideous.. you can just see a bump on the left bridge side where the bone compacted.

I guess the issues is breathing clearly and re-opening up the channels and canals as the are all connected arent they, and raising it a little to it's former position.

I asked my friends and mum what they thought.. they said no need to change and thing asthetically, just the breathing and pitch sense issue.

By the way has anyone seen the film "Lock Stock and smoking Barrels"
Do you remember the massive giant of a man called Lenny McClean?
see here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0572597/bio
He's the one that broke my nose.. sod!

He wrote a book about his life:

http://img2.imageweb.info/img2/OPN55985.jpg

http://img2.imageweb.info/img2/x9P56091.jpg

quote:

---

Lenny McLean was born in London in 1949. He was arrested for petty crimes while in his teens and served 18 months in prison. After his release he worked as a professional boxer and bouncer. McLean was again arrested in 1992 after a man he ejected from a club died of his injuries. After serving another 18 months he went into acting. He appeared as bootlegger Eddie Davies in the British television series "The Knock", and was featured in several films. He was diagnosed with cancer shortly after his autobiography, "The Guv'nor", was published and died four months later.

---

I guess I'm lucky to be alive.. it happened in the same club as that other unfortunate fellow..

@ reisio: I'm a jazz guitarist..

QUOTATION: "If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out."



(Edited by Xpirex on 06-28-2005 13:09)

If your sense of pitch changed when your nose was broken, will having surgery on it change it again? If so how long will it take you to adjust to the new sense of pitch and will it affect your professional work?

.



-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

Xpirex:

After more broken noses than I care to admit to, I finally learned one very important lesson that I would like to pass along to you -

Keep your hands up and never lead with your face.

I actually set mine myself the last few times and it doesn't look half bad!