I went a little earlier than my scheduled appointment time at [Clinic A], took photos, had a CT scan, and then waited about 10 minutes for the doctor. (I regret not taking the photos.) At first the doctor seemed kind, but the consultation felt a bit rushed, like they wanted to wrap it up quickly.
When I said the pain in my nose was severe, they said it did not seem to be an infection and that the silicone had calcified a lot. They said to remove the silicone, use AlloDerm, and either leave the tip alone or, if I wanted, do it with autologous costal cartilage.
They said there was something swollen inside the nose, so we should also do rhinitis surgery together. They showed me a nose that had turned out well and compared it with mine as they talked. They said my nasal tip was caved in and slightly upturned, and that their hospital aims for this kind of nose, then brought up a photo of a well-done nose and compared it with mine.
When I said I was worried because my skin is thin, they told me not to worry about the skin. After the consultation, they hurried out of there in a bit of a blur.
Maybe because it was my first consultation, I went in too unprepared and could not ask properly, so I fumbled through and it ended like that. The consultation felt superficial overall. I wanted to understand my nose condition professionally and know why it hurt, but I was disappointed.
After that, a woman who seemed to be the manager told me the cost and asked whether I would do the autologous costal cartilage. When I said I did not know and was thinking about it, she said that if the costal cartilage had calcified, surgery would not be possible anyway, so I should first get the costal cartilage checked. She told me to go to a specific radiology clinic one block away, get the scan, and bring back the CD.
I took a bus, went two stops to the radiology clinic, and had a CT or something similar done. They said it would cost around 230,000 won.
After the imaging, I brought it back to the hospital. They said the doctor was in another consultation and I would have to wait. I also had plans, so I asked them to call me and let me know whether costal cartilage could be used, then I left.
A few days later, they contacted me and said costal cartilage could be used. The consultation fee was 27,000 won, so I wondered if the costal cartilage test had been unnecessary. Still, at least I found out that the costal cartilage could be used.