Before and after I’ve had a low, wide bulbous nose for as long as I can remember, and it was a complex of mine. When I got the chance, I looked into rhinoplasty by visiting six clinics, and I decided to have the surgery at Kowon.
I also visited large hospitals, but Kowon had a doctor with a long career and it was a private clinic that had been operating under the same name in one place for a long time, so I decided to go in for a consultation.
The consultation went in this order: coordinator -> doctor -> coordinator.
I made an appointment, went in for the first time, and although it was a private clinic, there were a lot of people, and the male ratio was high.
After filling out a simple form and waiting a bit, I met with the coordinator. The coordinator looked at my nose and said it seemed like I would need this and that kind of surgery, but that the exact method would have to be discussed with the doctor. She also found and showed me before-and-after photos of noses similar to mine. And seeing the surgery room CCTV live in the consultation room really made me lean toward it.
Then I had the doctor consultation, and as other reviews have often mentioned, he was very handsome, like a middle-aged celebrity, and extremely kind.
Honestly, I like my eyes because they are big and give a good impression, and both the doctor and the coordinator were puzzled looking only at my eyes, but as soon as I lowered my mask they immediately identified what the problem was. Honestly, it was funny haha
The doctor took front and side photos on the spot and edited them in Photoshop, saying this is what it would look like.
The Photoshop simulated plastic surgery was a little lacking in detail, but I figured it was only meant to show the general direction, so I did not mind it too much.
After hearing about the surgical method from the doctor, I asked a lot of questions like, "Some other clinics say bone cutting is also necessary. What do you think?" But the doctor said that was not really necessary, and I felt reassured that he did not recommend unnecessary surgery. He also said that because my bulbous nose was so severe and my skin was thick, it would be hard to get an ultra-slim idol-like nose, but that since it was a bulbous nose and the skin was thick, it would need to be built up firmly to create a noticeable change. He also said that he normally does not recommend alar reduction. That is because once the tip is raised, the nostrils will naturally come together. However, his 기준 for what counts as wide alar base was 40 mm horizontally, and he said my nose was 46 mm, so in over 10 years of doing nose surgery he had almost never seen one that wide So he said he would also do alar reduction with an external incision so the nostrils would not become smaller. And he said that, unlike other clinics, he would also correct the nasolabial angle to slightly reduce protrusive mouth appearance, and also address the problem of the nose spreading more when smiling. He also said the columella would be brought down slightly lower than the alar rim. I think his direction matched my idea of wanting a definite change with minimal surgery. The surgery would be done with septal cartilage for the tip + ear cartilage if needed + silicone for the bridge + alar reduction.
Other places either piled on unnecessary procedures and quoted extremely high prices (use of costal cartilage, osteotomy, etc.), or suggested going as safely as possible with minimal surgery, but that did not really resonate with me because it seemed like there would not be much change.
I also brought a ton of small questions and photos of noses I wanted and noses I did not want, and they accepted everything kindly.
After the doctor consultation, I went back to the coordinator for a quote. The quote was a little more expensive than other factory-style large hospitals, but not as expensive as I had expected. And the coordinator seemed to notice that my mind was already leaning toward Kowon (?) and I said I would look at other clinics too, but there was absolutely no pressure to book, which I liked.
Also, looking at the list of patients who had already booked, there were a lot of Japanese people. I thought that was better than Chinese patients.
I visited another clinic that day, then made the surgery reservation and had the operation about two weeks later. When I got to the hospital on time, there was only one other person there, who had come for a consultation. I am not sure whether there just happened to be nobody there at that time, but I think they probably left other people out of bookings for that time slot because of my surgery, which made me feel good.
I met the coordinator again, read the precautions and consent form and signed them, then had another consultation with the doctor. The doctor took photos again with the camera and did a virtual simulation, discussed the surgical direction and method, and explained the precautions and possible side effects.
I changed clothes, washed my face, gargled, and went up to the operating table. Honestly, it was my first time having sedation anesthesia and surgery, so I was nervous and scared, but there was no turning back. They inserted an IV needle into my arm, attached equipment to check my vital signs on my hands and feet, restrained my arms and legs(?), plucked nose hairs with some kind of tool, disinfected my face, and once all the surgery prep was done, the doctor came into the operating room.
After the nurse and the doctor said, "Now you’ll sleep~," I felt a cold liquid going into my arm. But even after a few seconds I was still completely conscious, so in a moment of anxiety I deliberately made a coughing sound, "Ahem ahem!" and then when I came to my senses, the surgery was already over.
As soon as I woke up from anesthesia, my mind was immediately clear, so I asked the nurse what time it was. But my throat was very dry, so it was hard to speak.
After the surgery I changed clothes, got my prescription, picked up the medicine at the pharmacy, and went straight home on the Shinbundang Line subway.
Since it was the first day, there was not much swelling yet, so even though I had the splint and tape on, I could already see that the bridge looked higher. I also checked the gauze placed under my nostrils when it was being changed, and seeing my flattened nostrils standing nicely made me happy.
I visited the hospital the day after surgery, then again after 3 days and after a week for follow-up checks, and each time the doctor personally looked at me, though briefly. I also got an antibiotic injection(?) and swelling laser treatment.
For 3 days I could not breathe through my nose because of the nasal packing, so it felt stuffy and I kept sneezing, but after about 3 days I started getting used to it.
When they removed the nasal packing at the hospital, they temporarily took off the splint to check the shape of my nose. At that point the swelling between my eyes was huge, so my face looked exactly like Avatar Toruk Makto, and my nose still looked bulbous, but they said it would become slimmer once the swelling went down, so I waited. The funny thing is, even then it was better than my original nose. Once the nasal packing came out, it felt like heaven.
One week after the surgery, I visited the hospital, had my stitches removed, and took off the splint. My nose had become really slim and straight, so at first it was hard to get used to. Then I met the coordinator again, talked in the consultation room, and went home.
I wanted a straight nose, but it seemed to have become a slightly curved straight nose, so it felt a little awkward, but I knew that the tip would drop a little over time, so they intentionally overcorrected it a bit, and that reassured me.
I had actually heard that if you take off the splint and it feels perfect, that means it is a failure, so I felt reassured instead.
Two weeks after surgery, when I returned to work after vacation, everyone said it turned out naturally and nicely. Not that the change was small, but that it matched my face well. Right now I’m about 90 out of 100 satisfied, and I’m looking forward to the score going up even more once more time passes, the swelling goes down further, it becomes more natural, and the nose becomes straighter haha
I’m so happy that the low bulbous nose that had been a lifelong complex has been fixed, and I no longer hate taking selfies, and my confidence in my appearance has gone up haha
I just hope the scar fades quickly.
The review photos were not edited in Photoshop, and they were selfies taken at home with only basic skin makeup on, using the default Galaxy camera app. I am not sure whether any automatic filter was applied.
* Added 4-week post-op review * I visited the hospital again for follow-up observation. They took after-surgery photos and the doctor personally met with me and checked my progress. Because my original nose was such a severe bulbous nose, my post-op nose still felt a little large, so I was about 90 out of 100 satisfied, and I was not being greedy anymore, but the doctor immediately caught the exact 10 points I thought were missing as soon as he saw it. He said the nose had not fully settled yet, so it could not be adjusted right now, but that he would see me again in a month and fine-tune it with a very simple procedure. I was not expecting anything at all, so the aftercare being perfect made me feel good.