People always say nose surgery has to be done very carefully. You should improve your overall look, shop around as much as you can, and weigh everything before doing it. Even so, I had heard and seen a lot of people around me, including on this community, saying that if you keep worrying about it to the end and it is not really a serious concern, you should not do it.
But my original nose was really low, and especially because my forehead, cheekbones, chin, and lips were all somewhat round and projecting, my nose looked even lower, which stressed me out so much. So I persuaded my parents, got their approval, and thought I had researched as much as I could, but that was not the case... Looking back, I think I had no sense of aesthetics and did not really understand my own face. I just wanted a glamorous line. At that time, instead of hospitals that pursued a natural line, I searched for hospitals known for a glamorous line, chose one in the end, and did about 3 or 4 in-person consultations. Then I ended up having it done with silicone and autologous costal cartilage, but I do not think I had any real awareness of how much scarring would remain on my own body.
I probably just thought, simply because I was under so much stress, that I needed to raise my nose. Even though only one year has passed, my nose already looks a bit overdone and like a nose that is too obvious. To be honest, even when I compare it with other reviews or with people outside, it is not actually startlingly high. But because my face and my other features - eyes, nose, and mouth - are all round and soft, the bridge on my face looks like ) ( , so of course it cannot suit me..
Then about 3 months ago, I started to notice that the bridge of my nose looked a little red. As I kept noticing small things like that, my nostrils became much larger than before and the bridge started to look unnatural, but since there was nothing seriously wrong, I kept telling myself to just live with it. Then about 2 months ago, I started feeling a slight zinging and poking sensation in the bridge of my nose. I had mostly ignored it, but because the feeling kept coming back, I went back to the hospital that did my first surgery, and they said there did not seem to be any problem. They said it did not look like inflammation or anything like that, and that after nose surgery it can take 1-2 years for the nerves to return, so it was fine. I said okay, I see, and went home.
But the sensation seemed to get a little worse, and the shape of my nose also started to bother me more and more, so I began shopping around for removal hospitals lol. You know the famous removal trio, right? [Clinic A], [Clinic B], and [Clinic C]. I just made reservations without really researching them properly because I wanted to go for a consultation first, but an urgent schedule came up so I had to cancel. After that, I did more research and made my decision. First, two of the three big names were not to my liking after doing some research, and with one of them, I ended up feeling slightly let down during the cancellation process, to the point that I thought if a problem with my nose ever came up later, I would really not be able to handle it if they acted like that.
I kept researching a few more places, but I did not like any of them, so I skipped all of them and decided to visit 3 places in total: one of the three big names, one other hospital, and the hospital that did my first surgery for a follow-up consultation.
First, for the follow-up consultation at the hospital that did my first surgery, they took a CT scan and the doctor looked at it. Again, there did not seem to be any problem. But they said my nose was a bit different from other people and that even though they inserted 10.5 mm, it seems to have come out thin. They said women usually have a silicone width of 9-10 mm. So this time they suggested changing it to 11 mm and lowering the silicone and autologous costal cartilage a little bit.
But because there was no inflammation or any such issue, they said it would count as revision surgery. So I would not be able to receive any follow-up benefits.
Then I went to [Clinic A]. The consultation fee there was 10,000 won. I consulted with the doctor, and he was not the kind who explains every little thing in great detail, but he does answer well if you ask. I really felt that you need to go there with your questions prepared in advance. Maybe almost nobody would go in knowing nothing, but if you go just because you heard the clinic's name, I do not think you will get much out of the consultation.
The consultation content was that after removing the bridge silicone, they suggested changing it to autologous dermis. They said it could spread out from the front, and because autologous dermis itself is soft, it will eventually be absorbed, if not completely. They said autologous costal cartilage can be placed in the bridge, but it is difficult to bend or shape later, so if you are removing silicone and filling it in, autologous dermis is better. They said I was not trying to go back to my original nose, but if I wanted to restore some height to the bridge, my original nose already had a step, so something would have to be placed there anyway. They said an open approach might be possible here, and recommended shaving the autologous costal cartilage slightly and replacing the bridge with autologous dermis, saying there would be a scar near the crease between the buttocks.
They said if autologous costal cartilage is left at the tip, it will inevitably be hard. After surgery, they would apply tape, and nasal packing could be inserted if there is blood or pus, if needed, but otherwise no. No splint either. There is no separate follow-up care. They said they would do laser treatment and have me come in once on day 1 or 2 to check progress, then again on day 3 to 5, and if everything is fine and there is no problem, come back after 2 weeks for suture removal near the buttock area. There was no pressure to pay a deposit and no event involving partial photo disclosure at all. The price was also cheaper than other hospitals.
I looked at a few before-and-after photos of full removal, and it made sense why they are famous for removal. After removing the bridge, you could see that they took care to smooth out even the sunken areas and other details so there would be no unevenness and the result would be as smooth as possible.
I did not know anything at all about [Clinic D] before, but while researching I came across it and ended up going because it seemed appealing to me. It is apparently famous. There was no consultation fee, and among all the plastic surgery, cosmetic procedure, and dermatology clinics I have been to, this would probably rank near the top for how kind the consultation was.
First, I consulted with the doctor, and he asked why I wanted to remove it. I said the bridge seemed pinched too much, the height was too high, and it looked unnatural. I also mentioned the recent zinging, poking sensation in the bridge and the redness. He said that if it is an implant, it is an implant. Because of that, if something can be felt or if it turns red, that should not happen if there is truly no issue. He said there is a problem. He explained in great detail that there are two types of inflammation.
Then I asked whether, if there is a possibility of inflammation and I remove the silicone, I can put something else in the bridge. He said no. When I briefly mentioned autologous dermis, he said autologous dermis disappears anyway after 2 years. In reality, at most 1 mm would remain, so it would not even be noticeable, and there was no need to make another scar for that.
So if I want to keep the bridge, the only option is to reshape the silicone and autologous costal cartilage a little to make the line more natural. But since there is already a problem with the implant now, if that were not the case I could choose revision surgery right away, but whether or not there is inflammation, there is still a high chance of a problem, he said. After looking at my original nose photos, he said raising it a bit may have increased the feeling that the skin is being pulled tight, which could be why this happened.
He said that because a CT scan at the hospital will not show inflammation anyway, there is no way to know. So the conclusion was either revision surgery or full removal. If I think about safety, do I almost return to my original nose with full removal? Or do I go with revision surgery to care more about the nose shape? He said that if inflammation develops in the way we usually think of it, full removal is mandatory, and if I want to put an implant back in, it would be possible only after at least 6 months. Some hospitals say they can clean and disinfect it and then put it back in, but he said that almost always means the inflammation will come back.
He then showed me several photos of the surgical process. Only the nose was visible, and nothing else, so there did not seem to be any privacy issue. He showed the removal process, and it was so realistic it was almost a little gross... But somehow, because he showed it to me from the consultation itself, I felt even more trust.
I had had an open surgery before, and because of the autologous costal cartilage and silicone, an open approach was unavoidable. He said that if I do full removal, the zinging sensation is likely due to the implant, so that problem should be resolved. If I do revision surgery, they would reshape the overall line naturally, but since silicone and autologous costal cartilage would still remain in the nose, the zinging or redness might not be resolved. Because the height has become quite high, lowering it might improve things a little, but he said he could not guarantee that either.
No nasal packing or splint, and aftercare is within 3 years. If there are problems such as bending or inflammation, they will of course take care of it, and there was no separate aftercare. After surgery, I would need to visit about 2 times.
The manager also talked a lot and explained everything in great detail, and I even heard a few pieces of doctor TMI lol. Then I looked at the before-and-after photos, and wow... the doctor's aesthetic sense is insane.. The price at my first surgery hospital and at [Clinic B] is about the same, and [Clinic A] is a bit cheaper. The price at [Clinic B] differs a little depending on whether it is full removal or revision.
I am still debating whether to do full removal or revision, but I am leaning more toward revision. My original nose was already very low, and I do not want to go back to that low nose and stress over it again. Also, I did not go into the surgery unaware that there could be a risk of inflammation, so maybe because there is no major problem right now, I am more bothered by the shape of the nose and want to improve that more.
I just wrote this as it came to mind, so it is a mess lol. If anyone is curious about anything, ask and I will answer as much as I know.