After being stressed about my nose, I finally had surgery and can breathe a sigh of relief… This may get long, but I hope it helps people who, like me, are concerned about a long, droopy nose with a severe dorsal hump.
My biggest issues were a fairly severe dorsal hump, a bulbous nose, and wide nasal alae…;; From the side, the hump made it look masculine; from the front, it looked broad and flat—not a pretty nose at all T_T.
After listening to everything here, on apps, in cafes, and from acquaintances, I stayed up all night reading every review and visited about five places from my list. These were the places I ruled out based on my own criteria.
1. Places run too much like factories: I immediately ruled out places where the consultant talked for 30 minutes, then the surgeon came in and within three minutes said, “Hmm, we’ll shave the hump, insert silicone, and use autologous costal cartilage,” then left. It felt scary because they did not seem to consider my nasal structure or skin thickness.
2. Places that pushed excessive procedures or a specific material: Even though I had a hump, this was my first surgery, so I felt resistant to places that strongly insisted autologous costal cartilage was the only option.
3. Surgeons focused only on a dramatic style: I wanted the hump cleaned up, but I did not want an overly doll-like, straight-upturned, sharply pointed nose. I excluded places that pushed only a dramatic look because it seemed like I might end up needing revision surgery. I thought facial harmony was essential.
Then I went to Saegim, which is where I ultimately chose. During the consultation, the surgeon checked the starting point of my hump, alar width, and skin thickness, and analyzed everything very objectively. They said they could refine the hump and create a clean line, and that since I already had some bridge height, I probably would not need silicone. I had heard that if silicone goes wrong, it can show through, so not using it also meant I did not have to worry about inflammation lol.
For the nasal tip, septal cartilage was used. Honestly, I thought donated rib cartilage was standard even for primary surgery these days, so I assumed I would need it too. But they said my skin stretches well, so septal cartilage would be sufficient.
Rather than giving the impression of overtreatment, they pinpointed only the flaws I had noticed when taking photos, so I decided to do it there. The consultant was also very kind.
What I especially liked was that because autologous costal cartilage was not used, I did not have to have those hellish nasal packs stuffed into my nose! Many rhinoplasty reviews say they could only breathe through their mouths and almost died from not sleeping because of the packing. Without packing, I felt so much more alive and recovery was far less suffocating. I understand donated rib cartilage also does not require packing.
So far, just having the hump gone and the nasal alae narrowed has made my overall image much cleaner, and I am extremely satisfied. The line is so pretty.. T_T lol. I thought osteotomy would hurt, but early on I had much less swelling and bruising than expected, and no pain either. It almost made me wonder why rhinoplasty is considered major surgery. Of course, it probably varies by person T_T. Or maybe it was the surgeon’s skill? lol