It has been almost two months since I had my implant removed, and I had not really felt like writing a review, but now my nose shape seems to be settling, so I am leaving one.
**First surgery timeline** - July 2024, materials used were silicone, septal cartilage, and ear cartilage - I visited four clinics at the time, and most said it was an easy nose. I think that made me lose some caution too - The silicone height was 4 mm, and I was worried because my nose was small, but the surgeon said it would be fine. Naturally, I thought the plastic surgeon would know better than I did, so I went ahead with the surgery - But even as time passed, my nose shape looked too unnatural;; - My nose looked more upturned, and because of the silicone, it had clearly become a nose that looked operated on - At the first surgery clinic, they kept saying it was just swelling..... It seems like they say that consistently until the one-year mark; - On top of that, the columella looked lifted too, and the nostril shape felt slightly pulled, so I became even more mentally stressed - Reason for removal: to put it simply, I was absolutely not satisfied with the nose shape, and because of the silicone my facial impression changed too much... It did not hurt and my nose did not turn red, but as my dissatisfaction with the basic 'shape' grew, I became firmly set on removal
**Removal & revision timeline** - At first I had decided on removal only, so I started visiting clinics three months in advance - I went to a total of five clinics, including the three major ones, and three of them recommended revision surgery, while two recommended removal only - The reason I did not choose removal only was that the clinics that explained revision surgery together with removal felt more trustworthy, and as they put it, just removing the silicone would not make it go back completely to the pre-op nose - Also, I was still stressed about my bulbous nose, so I decided to do revision surgery at the same time 1. Silicone removal + septal extension + cartilage repositioning + cartilage suturing + donated rib cartilage 2. Replace silicone with 2 mm silicone + septal extension + autologous rib cartilage 3. Silicone removal + autologous dermis + cartilage suturing + donated rib cartilage or autologous rib cartilage - I got these three opinions from three clinics, and in the end I had the first method done at [Clinic B] - I skipped silicone replacement because I did not think it would solve the fundamental problem.. The third clinic knew that autologous dermis has a high absorption rate, and they did talk about revision surgery, but the overall focus was only on removal, so I was not sure whether I could get the nose shape I wanted after revision surgery - The first clinic also showed me through virtual surgery how they would correct the bulbous nose and short nose.. Honestly, I wanted to make it natural with septal extension only, without using rib cartilage, but they said that was not possible (Director Oh Seung-il was really firm about that;;), so I felt that the best choice was to have the surgery at the clinic that seemed to be the best overall
**Recovery timeline** - Even after my first surgery, recovery was not that hard for me, so this time it was similar - If anything, this time was better because I did not use ear cartilage - During the follow-up, the director said the silicone had been removed well, and that donated rib cartilage and septal extension were used to raise it for short nose correction - Nasolabial angle and nostril correction were all done.. Even after removing the silicone, my nose somehow looks higher than before - It was not painful, but until week 2 I spent my time feeling anxious because of the stress I already had.. I think I only started to feel relieved after week 2 - They also check treatment and progress often here, so it was hard having to keep making time to go to the hospital, but still, it seems better than a place that just ignores you - I like the nose shape and the implant has been removed, but.. since it was not a full removal, there are still a few parts I worry about, but so far I am much more satisfied than after the first surgery
- I was in this situation, and based on my own judgment I had the removal and revision surgery together, but I am writing this in hopes that everyone will think carefully about their own situation and decide what to do