Hello, I’m leaving a review after having removal surgery following 19 years of emotional distress from a short, contracted, botched nose. I have no relationship with any hospital, and I came from a faraway region, really did all the legwork myself, paid for everything with my own money, and even afterward I did not receive any offer to write a review. (My first surgery was in 2005: silicone implant on the nasal bridge + ear cartilage for the nasal tip.) I went through so much emotional distress because of my long-standing contracture, and I searched online and visited places in person through different cafes and communities before deciding on removal. I was so desperate for removal reviews like this, so I’m writing this in the hope that it may help someone else too.
I will not disclose the hospital where I had my first surgery. A long time has already passed, and every hospital has both successful cases and complication cases, so I won’t go out of my way to reveal it. Even if you ask, I won’t tell you.
I researched through cafes and a community site and organized a list, and I visited five places in person. There were more places I wanted to go, but the waiting lists were too long, so I stopped at five. As I kept getting consultations, I gradually started to get a sense of what surgical method suited my face. I definitely recommend going to several places for consultations!
First, while doing my research, my criteria for choosing a hospital were: since it was revision surgery, I looked for a private clinic rather than a large hospital, at least around 10 years of revision surgery experience, and a board-certified surgeon.
What all the hospitals I consulted said in common was: It was a very long-standing contracted nose, and my original nose had been short in length and very small from the start. My nose was already quite deviated, and my nostrils were uneven. It was a difficult revision case, with marks pressed into the nasal tip and so on.
And the recommended surgical methods were broadly divided into two: 1) Remove both the nasal bridge and nasal tip materials, then reconstruct the bridge and tip with costal cartilage 2) Remove both the nasal bridge and nasal tip materials, use no implant for the bridge, and reposition only the nasal tip with septal cartilage
Since I had already lived nearly 20 years with a botched, extreme-case nose, I also wanted to compensate for that time. Even though reconstruction costs were enormous, since I was going through surgery again anyway, it was hard to let go of the desire to consider the cosmetic aspect too...... But after reading many reviews and thinking about what I really wanted, I realized it was not a pretty nose, but just a normal-looking one.
In conclusion, all the silicone in my nasal bridge was removed. When it was removed, an unimaginable material came out together with the silicone, so I was shocked.....ㅠㅠㅠ No implant was used for the bridge. For the nasal tip, the doctor said that if I had septal cartilage, they would use that, and if not, they would use ear cartilage. Fortunately, I had septal cartilage, so only septal cartilage was used for repositioning. The ear cartilage used on one side 19 years ago had already been completely absorbed and was gone.
They said that if the nasal tip was not repositioned, it would collapse too much once all the implants/materials were removed, so they repositioned it with septal cartilage only, as safely and minimally as possible without touching too much. On the day of surgery, before and after surgery, the director explained everything at length for more than 15-20 minutes each time. They also took photos during surgery and showed them to me, and showed me all the removed implants/materials. The surgery was done under sedation anesthesia and took about 3 hours and 20 minutes? Today, the director personally did the disinfection and applied the ointment, and they said the director will personally remove the stitches and disinfect the area next week too. (For reference... for my first cosmetic surgery, the explanation before surgery was about 5 minutes or less, and after surgery the doctor really just took a brief look and said the surgery went well, the end. Aftercare was done by a nurse, and the doctor came, glanced quickly again, said it went well, and that was it....)
Now I still have to recover well, but I feel so relieved to be free from the anxiety of having implants/materials in me for such a long time, and I think a low, round nose suits my original face much more naturally. My impression also looks much softer...^^
I’ll try posting reviews again at one month, three months, and one year later. Removal is also a first for me, so I’m worried about how it will settle and how much of a contraction period I’ll have, but I think it will be helpful if I can provide information afterward too.
For those suffering from long-standing contracture like me, please choose your hospital carefully, make sure to listen to opinions from various doctors, and among those options, find a method that suits your face and a trustworthy hospital. I sincerely hope you achieve a hopeful result and escape the pain of complications^^
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