A 29-year-old woman from Bulgaria has shared a starkly honest account of her nose job journey, detailing a gruelling recovery and the profound shock of confronting her 'new face' in the mirror.
The Dream Procedure and a Medical Necessity
Inna Victoria explained she had been self-conscious about her nose since childhood, enduring teasing from family and classmates. While she always desired a rhinoplasty, the cost was prohibitive. The situation changed when she developed a deviated septum, leading to breathing difficulties, constant headaches, and sinus infections. Her doctor recommended surgical correction.
"Since I was going to get surgery on my nose [anyway], I decided to make my old dream come true and get a septorhinoplasty," Victoria told the Daily Mail. This combined procedure, performed in November, corrects both the internal structure and external appearance of the nose. She spent approximately $3,000 (around £2,400) on the operation.
A Gruesome Recovery and Emotional Turmoil
Victoria admitted she was unprepared for the severity of the aftermath. The physical recovery was intensely painful. "I couldn't breathe with my nose at all. I had to sleep with my mouth open," she recalled. For the first three days, she experienced constant bleeding and had to sleep upright, with pain radiating from her shoulders to her neck.
However, the greater challenge was psychological. Struggling to recognise herself, she grappled with seeing "a totally different person in the mirror." She described feeling distraught, viewing a swollen and bruised stranger. This triggered deep regret and existential questions: "Why did I have to change my whole face? Why, to gain confidence, did I have to become a totally different person and go through post op hell?"
Viral Revelation and a Candid Warning
Victoria documented the raw moment she removed her bandages, sharing the clip on Instagram where it went viral. The footage shows her taking off the cast, looking in disbelief, shaking her head, and covering her face. "Taking the cast off at home, not knowing I was about to face major disappointment," the overlay text read.
She chose to share this unfiltered perspective because she felt "no one shows the real, physical struggle and emotional confusion you have during the process." Now fully recovered and happier with the results, Victoria does not regret the surgery but strongly cautions others.
"Plastic surgery for beauty in my opinion is very destructive. I do not recommend going through this struggle to anyone else," she urged. She cited relentless societal beauty standards, noting people still mock her new nose online. "You can never reach the point of being perfect."
Her firm advice is to only consider surgery for medical reasons or to improve quality of life. "The post op is very painful and difficult, it's not worth it to change yourself so someone else will be happy with your face," she stated. "It's important to first work with self acceptance and understand that your value isn't in your nose, eyes, hair, etc. You are important and valuable as you are."
