Roberta: I have no idea how you would find out about the surgeon, places, like in Chicago or LA, in the more vain places.

I wanna talk to other people who have had it done before.

Narrator: Every year, more than 177,000 people go under the knife to have their noses reshaped. For many people, rhinoplasty offers the promise of normalcy, even physical perfection.

But for Roberta, the surgery has left her with nothing but new imperfections.

At 18 years old, Roberta moved out of her parents' house to attend college in Los Angeles. Free from the nest, she soon began her search for a cosmetic surgeon.

Roberta: I found him in the phone book. And he was centrally located to where I was. It was supposed to be a routine where they, you know, simple, and move on with your life.

Narrator: Instead of merely shaving down the bump, the surgeon talked Roberta into a more expensive procedure.

Roberta: He told me that we could possibly take it in a little bit. I guess I didn't really think about the fact that if he was taking off the bump, all he had to do was take off the bump. But if he was bringing it in, he had to actually break the nose and readjust the bones.

Narrator: the consequences became apparent almost immediately after surgery.

Roberta's Mother: Once she saw the reaction in our faces, she started crying. We were afraid to say, after what she had gone through, that it was crooked.

Narrator: In the weeks following the surgery, the situation only worsened. Roberta's left nostril sank, essentially collapsing, leaving the bone in her nose crooked, and the bump in her nose still intact. Roberta confronted the doctor. He operated again to repair the damage. But the second surgery was as disastrous as the first.

Roberta's Mother: That operation left her devastated.

Roberta: It's taken me two years to actually get up and think, you know, "Hey, this isn't right. I need to get it fixed, for once and for all so I can forget about it".

Narrator: After consulting with a myriad of surgeons, Robert came upon Dr. Paul Nassif.

Dr. Paul Nassif: We're gonna take that down for you.

The portfolio has been traumatized, and they lost a lot of the confidence. And so to have to go through that step again after they've already been let down, it's very difficult to build that confidence back up.

Narrator: Now Roberta is bracing for her third operation in three years.

Roberta: You're taking a risk no matter what, and I think I wasn't ready to take that risk up until now.

Narrator: The surgery will take almost five hours.

Dr. Paul Nassif: Okay, we're finished. Let's go talk to mom.

Roberta's Mother: How's she doing?

Dr. Paul Nassif: She's in the recovery room right now, and she is waking up. Now we just have to now make sure that she heals well.

Roberta's Mother: Okay.

Dr. Paul Nassif: It went perfect.

Roberta: Really?

Dr. Paul Nassif: It went perfect, it really did.

Narrator: Roberta must rest and recuperate for a week at home before her cast can be removed, and she can finally see if the surgery has been a success.

After an anxious week of healing, Robert's back in Dr. Nassif's office. It will still be months before the swelling subsides and she can see a finished product.

Dr. Paul Nassif: So, how are you feeling?

Roberta: I'm feeling really good.

Dr. Paul Nassif: Any problems?

Roberta: No.

Dr. Paul Nassif: What I wanna do now is take out the little stitches, it's a little bit sensitive.

Roberta: Okay.

Dr. Paul Nassif: And at that point, than we'll go ahead and we'll start taking some of the tape off.

Roberta: Okay.

Dr. Paul Nassif: Put your head back and lift your head up, okay great. Keep breathing now. I'm gonna look at your nose first; I'm gonna look at it, examine it, and then I'll let you see it.

Roberta: I'm so excited!

Dr. Paul Nassif: Okay but remember, it's still healing.

Roberta: I know.

Dr. Paul Nassif: You're way too early.

Roberta: I know. I'm happy.

Dr. Paul Nassif: Okay, but again, we have to wait until you get by the end of next week when I take the tape off, you're gonna be even happier, then we'll show you even more.

Narrator: After years of struggles and uncertainty, Roberta begins to breathe easily.

Dr. Paul Nassif: Well, we put some TLC in your nose, I can tell you that.

Roberta's Mother: He went in to straighten it, that's what was our goal. And he did it.

Roberta: (tearful) I'm just really happy. I just can see it straight, and it's like the tape's on, there's no, like, hiding it, you know. It was nerve racking, and I'm just so happy.

Narrator: Roberta attributes her successful procedure to her diligent research this time around.

Roberta: I'm just saying for people to research their doctor. You can spend more time after dealing with the consequences than you could of if you just researched your doctor.