About 90% of people who get surgery use silicone for the nasal bridge, so it’s really common. But even if silicone is said to be a safe material, it’s not autologous tissue, so there are big individual differences and it can’t last forever. These days I’ve been going around to different clinics because I’m thinking of revision surgery, but I can’t really find a clear answer. Previously, I had silicone put only in my nasal bridge, and it was an extremely thin one. It’s been over 10 years. I didn’t touch the nasal tip at all. I haven’t had any other issues from the silicone, except that my bridge looks a bit shiny? Like maybe the skin on my nasal bridge has gotten thinner. It’s not a bulbous nose and I don’t have a hump either, just an ordinary small nose. At the time of surgery, I had no real desire for cosmetic surgery and did it suddenly, so all I asked was to make it look like I hadn’t had anything done. Thinking back now, I regret not carefully considering the shape and materials and getting it done prettily.
Recently I suddenly got the urge to get nose surgery again.. Seeing how everyone these days gets it done so naturally and prettily makes me want to do it too. Since I only raised my bridge slightly, I’ve always felt disappointed with my nasal tip. It’s not bad, but I feel like it would be really pretty if only the tip were lifted a little. So I want to remove the old silicone and use only my own tissue to do it safely, but I really feel like there’s nowhere I can fully trust and leave it to.
What I’m really curious about is statistics like reviews or side effects, but there aren’t many people who got rhinoplasty using their own autologous tissue. There are some these days, but it’s hard to find old reviews. I’d use septal cartilage or ear cartilage for the nasal tip, but I wonder if problems like contracture or deviation can still occur later. For the bridge, I was recommended autologous dermis from the buttock, but because there are individual differences and even the doctor can’t guarantee how much will be absorbed, the result is hard to predict. And no one told me this during consultations, but on YouTube they said that if you do the bridge with autologous dermis, they overcorrect it, so for about the first 6 months the bridge is high like Avatarㅜㅜㅜ No one told me that during consultation. I’m someone who works at a company too, can I suddenly go around looking obviously like Avatar?ㅜㅜ So then I wonder if it’s better to use someone else’s tissue like Megaderm, but then I start wondering if silicone is better after all..ㅜ Some doctors say autologous tissue is completely bad too. It’s frustrating. If I open it up this time, I really don’t want to open it again. I don’t want a nose that’s noticeably high or that doesn’t suit my face. I only want to touch the slightly lacking parts and do it as safely as possible. I’m studying by watching YouTube these days, but there are limits.
I’ll tell you reviews of the clinics I went around to.
Clinic 1. Single-doctor clinic, the director was kind and didn’t over-recommend things. He seemed like the type who pursues a somewhat natural look. When I said I wanted to remove the silicone, he said he could make it look naturally nice by just lifting the nasal tip. Since the area where the silicone comes out might possibly lift or separate, if he raised it with something like a collagen membrane? that gets absorbed naturally, it would adhere well. For the tip, my septal cartilage is large, but he said there’s no need to use septal cartilage and it could be done with only ear cartilage. He said slight osteotomy would also be good. But even with some discount, the cost was in the 4 million won range. lol Separate consultation fee. CT 20,000 won. The desk staff said she had surgery there too, and her shape looked okay.
Clinic 2. They told me to just reserve a time and come talk to the director, and there was a director I wanted to designate, but they didn’t even tell me who it was and a director I hadn’t even considered came in. lol So I got the consultation anyway, but without suggesting a CT or any proper examination, it felt like it was done roughly. When I said I wanted to remove the silicone and not use silicone, I asked what about not putting anything in the bridge and just doing the tip, but he didn’t give a clear answer. In my opinion, even if it was thin, there was silicone there, so once it’s removed, it’ll be lower by that much and I’ll be disappointed. He should tell me whether it’s okay not to put anything in, or suggest something other than silicone, but he had even less of an answer than me. Just removing silicone and doing the nasal tip with septal cartilage was quoted at 3 million won. It was the cheapest, but I didn’t trust it.
Clinic 3. Single-doctor clinic, and the director was really warm and the type to explain kindly. I consulted about removing the silicone and doing only the tip using septal cartilage and ear cartilage, but the consultant here was a bit suspicious. Usually when they give a cost estimate, they show you the starting price and how costs are added depending on options, then give you an estimate. But that consultant tapped on the calculator a couple of times so only she could see it, then pulled out a price in the 4 million won range. lol Then, like she was being generous, she said she’d discount a few hundred thousand won and kept telling me, “Isn’t this price reasonable for us?” It somehow felt like I was being gaslighted. She even persuaded me to put down a 100,000 won deposit, saying they could only do it at that price if I paid the reservation deposit, and that cancellation was possible, so I ended up paying it;; Rather than being persuaded, it was because reservation was the only way to secure the date I wanted. I came home without asking why the total amount came out that way, and it bothered me. Later, after thinking about it, I canceled the deposit, then visited again saying I wanted to change the consultant because of the cost issue and wanted to consult more with the director. During the second consultation, she suddenly followed into the consultation room. When I additionally said I wanted to raise the bridge slightly, the director talked about autologous tissue. He said they take it from the buttock, and it’s natural and safe because it’s autologous. That was the first time I found out. So they take tissue from the buttock and attach it to the nose too. I also said I wanted to slightly match one side of my nostril base. Thinking about it, this place didn’t take a CT; They only looked at a few photos I had taken on my phone. They said they take it on surgery day;
And then that consultant came back in, saying, “I heard you were curious about the cost?” I asked them to call someone else;; She wrote down the estimate she told me, but it felt like she was fitting the numbers to the amount she had made up. It was already a revision surgery event, but in the option costs, silicone removal 800,000 won, septal cartilage + ear cartilage 800,000 right side and 800,000 left side, discounted to 400,000 each lolololol For the nostril base, both sides are 800,000 won, but since it’s one side, it’s this much, and so on. And the event’s basic inclusion already included silicone and ear cartilage. Does she really think I’m a pushover? lol On top of that, adding autologous tissue adds 1 million won and so on, so the amount went well over 5 million won. When I asked about skin Botox, she said since she was matching the cost, she’d include it as a service? Even if she didn’t give it as a service, I feel like it was already included in the amount, so it didn’t feel like a service. I’ve seen lots of estimates from other people at that clinic, and the clinic itself was generally on the cheaper side, but it felt like they were only doing this to me. The director seemed okay, but he didn’t have a distinct style, and the results differed too much by patient, so I don’t know how mine would turn out. The biggest problem is the consultant. I keep feeling uneasy. For now, I put down a deposit.
Clinic 4. Photo, CT consultation. Consultation with the director. Large hospital. I’m confused whether it’s factory-style.. or not. But the director is such a rhinoplasty specialist, and the results are generally excellent. He has a style he creates, and it’s almost exactly similar to the style I want. The problem is that it’s the most expensive;; When I said I didn’t want silicone, he mentioned autologous tissue from the buttockㅜㅜ He said he would make the nasal tip pretty using septal cartilage and ear cartilage. I had seen reviews saying he was curt? and his attitude wasn’t great, but to me he was gentle and fine. My nose itself is on the small side, so I don’t want to make it extremely high, and I want to raise the bridge moderately with autologous tissue. It’s not a bulbous nose and there’s no hump, so I don’t think it’s a difficult case, but the cost here is just so high. The autologous tissue option alone was quoted at 2 million won, so it goes over 6 million won lolololol I wasn’t even thinking about rhinoplasty and had been thinking maybe within 4 million won? Depending on the clinic, I was okay with up to the 4 million won range, but 6 million won range? That’s too much ㅜ
But I still don’t have confidence in autologous tissue for the bridge, so I’m worried and haven’t decided yet. I’m scared it’ll be absorbed too much, that the tip will twist, or that I’ll look like Avatar at firstㅜㅜㅜ
There was a director whose style I liked at ㅇㄴ, but they apparently don’t do revisionsㅜ I have one more consultation on Saturday, and after going there, I plan to decide among these.