My skin is sensitive and I tend to scar easily, so from the beginning I looked into non-open rhinoplasty. I went to a fairly large hospital in Gangnam because of Instagram ads, and from the staff consultation to the doctor consultation, everything was discussed as non-open rhinoplasty.
They explained the pros and cons of non-open and open surgery. I was told that with the non-open method, they can’t raise the nose very much, while with open surgery, there will be a scar that can be covered with makeup but more design options are possible. But I was already certain I would be stressed out if I got a scar, and since I couldn’t even wear makeup because of my job, I emphasized that in my consultation with the doctor as well. So I compromised on everything else and only agreed to lower the tip just enough so it would come down naturally. I didn’t ask for any other design changes; if I was going to do open surgery, I would have wanted it raised more, etc.;
I chose to proceed with a non-open surgery that only corrected the tip using the septal cartilage inside my nose. Of course, since it was non-open, I didn’t even worry about scars and just waited to remove the packing and scheduled my next plans. While the packing was in, everything was covered with tape so I couldn’t see anything anyway.
But today, when I went to have the packing removed, they told me how to apply the ointment, and there was an incision under my nose with stitch marks there. The person removing the packing said it had been done as an open surgery, and I was so confused that I said, “I was told from the beginning it would be non-open, what are you talking about?” Then they said my surgical record says non-open, but looking at the incision under my nose right now, it’s open. If they had to align the septum, they must have opened it up, they said ;;;
For now, the staff member in charge wasn’t there, and the doctor wasn’t there today either, so they said they’d call and asked me to go home. I was in complete shock, and after I got home I spoke with the staff member on the phone. She said that, for now, it is true that an open surgery was done. She said something shifted a lot during surgery so they switched to open, but as far as I know, the point of non-open/open is about visibility and field of view, so I don’t know what that means. Secondly, they said the doctor was going to come explain during recovery after surgery, but couldn’t because he had his own surgery while I was recovering. If that’s true, then how does it make sense that the nurses in charge of recovery and discharge never said a word to me? The aftercare guidance for non-open and open surgery should be different from the beginning, right? I said that, but they couldn’t explain that part... . . . .
On top of that, even the staff member in charge said she didn’t know until today that I had actually had open surgery. Now they say to wait until the doctor sees me when the stitches are removed and discuss it then, but the tip stitches are already bothering me so much that I can’t do anything and I’m stressed out. They say they’ll take care of the scar, but I’m also worried that I’ll have to travel 3 to 4 hours round trip to Gangnam just for scar care. They’re saying we’ll keep making decisions with the doctor next week, but in the meantime they’ll probably discuss countermeasures and present them to me, right? Because it’s such a big hospital, I feel like it’ll start with “the doctor had no choice.” I don’t know how I should respond either. Has anyone had this kind of experience?
They performed the surgery method without the patient’s consent. I felt relieved because it was a big hospital, but ; I’m stressed and depressed ahㅡ