Before<Before nose surgery (front)>Before<Before nose surgery (side view)>After<1 day after surgery>After<3 days after surgery (now)>I had only been thinking about getting nose surgery for 3 years, but I felt like I really couldn't put it off anymore, so I booked it last October and finally had the surgery. This may be boring for people who have already researched a lot, but I wrote it in detail to help beginners who are unfamiliar with the nose surgery process, so just use it as a reference!
* Nose surgery materials Silicone (3.5 mm) + ear cartilage + nasal septum
Things to prepare before nose surgery! The hospital asked me to fast for 4 hours, but when I had double eyelid surgery before, it was 6 hours (same hospital), so I intentionally fasted for 6 hours! But I regretted it... On the way there by car, I wanted to tear up and eat the train... Luckily the surgery was at 10 o'clock, but if it had been in the afternoon with a 4-hour fast, I might seriously have pulled out and eaten the seat
When you get to the hospital, you wash your face, gargle, put on a headband, and go to the consultation room. The consultant takes a total of 5 photos of your face: left, right (45 degrees, 90 degrees), and front. Then after waiting a bit, you check the surgical materials one more time with the director and go into the operating room
+) When I first booked the surgery, they recommended ear cartilage + silicone, but during the final consultation, they said my nose was slightly crooked and recommended septal cartilage too. In the end, I confirmed adding septal cartilage, waited in the waiting room, and then went into the operating room
The surgery ended successfully. When I had double eyelid surgery, it felt like my eyes were splitting and there was a strong burning sensation, so it hurt so much. I was really worried my nose would hurt too, but I was surprised it didn't hurt as much as I thought. Other people said the nose doesn't hurt, but harvesting the ear cartilage really, seriously hurts so much, so I was scared of that too, but it really doesn't hurt!
+) If you are having cartilage harvested, I do not recommend a regular baseball cap!! Your ear gets bruised blue and it is more noticeable than you think, so you really need to wear a wide bucket hat. Also, because ear cartilage was harvested, they fix cotton to the front and back with thread. Honestly, I thought it would at least feel like getting my ear pierced, but even that feeling wasn't there. It was just that if I didn't move my hair carefully, the area with the cotton felt slightly annoying? If I stayed still, it didn't even feel like my ear had been cut
* What is it like during surgery? The operating room is really cold to prevent bacterial growth, so you get goosebumps. If you say you're cold, they will probably give you a blanket! They thoughtfully covered me without me asking! For nose surgery, they have to cut under the nose, so removing nose hair is essential. The nurses personally lift your chin and remove all the nose hair... embarrassing... And your nose gets so itchy!' I went hmm~~ hmm~~ because I was worried the hair inside my nose would stick and itch when I breathed, but luckily the hairs came out, so I just lay there (lol). Since I was having sedation anesthesia, I got a propofol injection, and after the nurse said, "You'll feel sleepy~," I was way too clear-headed... It wasn't taking effect as quickly as when I had double eyelid surgery, so I was like, "Um, I'm not getting sleepy right now..." Krrrkk!!!! Snore!!!! And then I slept deeply...
What kind of photos did you bring to the consultation? I just edited my own selfie (basic camera) into the nose line I wanted and brought that. I wanted a natural but small and cute straight-with-slight-curve line, so I brought celebrities with pretty straight-with-slight-curve lines (Shin Se-kyung, Shin Se-hwi, Go Youn-jung, Irene, Winter)
* What does anesthesia feel like? It really feels like the anesthesia you get to remove a wisdom tooth! Your upper lip and upper teeth (including the gums) become numb, so it feels a bit unpleasant, but as the anesthesia gradually wore off, I didn't think much of it either, and I could open my mouth wide just fine
* After surgery, can you still not see the nose shape? After surgery, because of the splint, you can only see the nasal bridge and the area under the nose, but I really like the nasal bridge!! The area between the eyebrows is a bit hard to judge because there is tape on it, but from the side view, the glabella line that goes down to the nasal tip looked pretty even though it was swollen haha. I can't really see the rest because of the splint The area under the nose definitely lost the thick bulbous-nose feel because the nasal tip was supported with ear cartilage, so I'm satisfied!
** The night from day 1 to day 2 I couldn't breathe so badly that I wanted to die Since the nose was incised and sutured, they put cotton inside the nose for hemostasis and then fixed more cotton under the nose. Blood kept coming out, so I changed only the gauze under my nose 3 times lol It wasn't continuously flowing, but as the bleeding stopped and the nosebleed hardened, the cotton inside my nose got pretty itchy. When I coughed, the nosebleed would start again, so I had a hard time changing it
The most important thing, food? As time passed, I could feel the muscles that move my nose getting stiff, so I bought light porridge and took my medicine. I plan to eat porridge for 2-3 days!
** When sleeping? The hospital said that during the recovery period after surgery, I should rest sitting up, and when sleeping, lie down with my head higher than my heart. But I was anxious, so I basically slept standing all day
+) Make sure to wear a mask when sleeping and keep water nearby... Breathing through your mouth makes it so dry that you keep waking up
* What should you do the next day? It differs by hospital, but they said I could remove it the next day, so I had the cotton removed at the hospital. Just removing the cotton definitely made me feel like I could live... When the cotton came out, mucus + blood scabs came out together, and it felt insanely satisfying. I also got an antibiotic injection, and they told me the precautions, how to manage the stitches, and how to apply ointment. After disinfection was finished, I had 10 minutes of laser treatment
+) The hospital wanted me to get one more antibiotic injection, but since I live outside Seoul and the timing didn't work out, I decided to come up on Wednesday when the stitches are removed, get the stitches removed, get the injection, and be done!
It's only day 3, but maybe because I'm not as swollen as I expected, I'm fairly satisfied with the surgical result, and I think I'll be even more satisfied once the swelling goes down, so I keep looking in the mirror haha. It's fascinating