Desislava Sapundzhieva's rhinoplasty: what she said happened

In her own words: “Oshche izlizaĭki ot operatsiyata, se chuvstvah mnogo zle. Pri mahaneto na tamponite polúchih seríozen krăvoizliv i se naloži da ostana v bolnitsa. Sled kato se pribrah v Bălgariya, dishaneto mi se vloshi, poyavikha se i vizualni problemi.” („Ще излизайки от операцията, се чувствах много зле. При махането на тампоните получих сериозен кръвоизлив и се наложи да остана в болница. След като се прибрах в България, дишането ми се влоши, появиха се и визуални проблеми.“) (“Right after coming out of the operation I felt very bad. When the packing was removed I had a serious hemorrhage and had to stay in hospital. After I came back to Bulgaria, my breathing got worse and visible problems appeared.”)

She went further in her Fakti.bg interview: „Преди операцията нямах никакви проблеми с дишането. След нея – имах. Осъзнах, че работата е била груба, не фина и не прецизна, а това е критично при таква операция.“ (“Before the operation I had no breathing problems at all. After it, I did. I realized the work had been rough, not fine or precise, which is critical for such an operation.”) According to the reports, she was offered a free corrective re-do by the same surgeon but declined, and later had the deviation and shape corrected by a different specialist.

That is the full basis of this article. Sapundzhieva did not name the country, clinic or surgeon in these quoted statements, and we do not add or guess at those details. Where the sections below explain how rhinoplasty is actually performed and how recovery should go, they describe the operation in general — not her treatment, and not a comparison with it.

She made a point of saying the procedure itself should have been routine — a mild deviation, no prior breathing issues — and that it was the quality of the surgical work, not the diagnosis, that caused the problems.

Her story underlines something surgeons repeat often: rhinoplasty is technically demanding surgery on a small, functionally important structure, and the result depends heavily on the surgeon's experience, the surgical plan and the facility's standards — not on price alone. It is also a reminder that corrective (revision) rhinoplasty exists for exactly these situations, and that a second opinion from a different specialist is a reasonable step when something has gone wrong.

Bone work is often done with an ultrasonic (piezo) instrument rather than older, blunter tools, which surgeons say allows more precise, controlled correction with less trauma to the surrounding tissue — part of why modern rhinoplasty aims for exactly the kind of smooth recovery that Sapundzhieva said she did not get the first time.

Preparation usually starts around three weeks ahead: blood-thinning medication is stopped under a doctor's supervision, alcohol and smoking are cut out a week before, and food and drink stop six hours before the operation.

Exercise, sauna, swimming, hot baths and sun exposure are avoided for about a month. Some congestion and swelling are normal in the earlier weeks and ease gradually; the final, stable shape is judged only once all the tissue has fully settled, at around 12 to 18 months. Possible complications include swelling, bruising, infection, bleeding, temporary breathing changes and minor asymmetry — the same categories Sapundzhieva described, which is exactly why they are taken seriously rather than dismissed as routine.

One day/night is spent in the clinic's inpatient unit, and a personal coordinator stays in touch with the patient from the first enquiry through to the final result. More details are on the rhinoplasty page.

To be clear: City Medical Centre has no connection with Desislava Sapundzhieva or her treatment. Her story is simply a well-known example of why the choice of surgeon and facility for rhinoplasty matters as much as the decision to have it.