One week after full nasal implant removal

At first I debated a lot between ㅅㅇ and ㅍㄹㅁ, and the reason I chose ㅅㅇ was that the director was brisk but answered everything when I asked questions, and instead of giving me false hope by saying they’d only know for sure after opening me up, they answered some things very clearly. They also seemed confident about the surgery. So I had another consultation and finally decided on ㅅㅇ. Personally, my goal was full removal. Even if they said AlloDerm and whatever else would be fine, I didn’t think putting anything into my nose would be 100% problem-free, and I didn’t want to keep putting things into my nose and creating more problems. I wanted this surgery to be the last surgery of my life, so my only and never-changing goal was full removal. First, on the day of surgery, I went to the hospital, paid, and was guided to the recovery room. I changed into the hospital gown, then listened to the pre-op consent explanation with my guardian and filled it out. The consent form explained all kinds of side effects and the various things that can happen after surgery. It was basically saying, you agree to all that. Then I met the director, got explained once more about what could happen, and signed. They briefly explained the surgical method. I was a little disappointed here. I wanted a more detailed explanation like, they would open the nose, do this and that, then do this next. But they explained it in detail after the surgery along with photos (anyway, that part is for later). For now, I said, I trust the doctor. Please, I just want to have a properly straight nose in my life. The doctor smiled and said they would do their best. I went into the operating room, got disinfected, had an antibiotic test, had my nose hairs trimmed, and so on. The antibiotic test hurt more than the nose surgery for me.. it stung like crazy. After all the preparations were done, the director came in and, very calmly, said they would do the surgery well so I shouldn’t worry too much. I said, This is supposed to be my last nose surgery in my life, please take good care of me. They asked, Won’t you fall asleep with anesthesia? I said no, and then I fell asleep lol When I woke up from the sedative anesthesia, I felt like I had wandered off to some festival with everyone in the operating room and then come back in. My nose already felt like it had been opened, with pulling and pressure and other sensations, but it didn’t hurt. The pulling feeling was unpleasant, and maybe because of the sedative, I didn’t feel scared or anxious. They told me to speak up if it hurt during the operation, so when I said, It hurts, they gave me another local anesthetic shot, and that stung too (still less painful than the antibiotic test). After the surgery, sewing it up, putting in gauze, and pressing it down hard with a splint were all things I could feel, but it wasn’t very painful. They also took photos several times during surgery, and the reason is that after the surgery, while I was lying in the recovery room with an ice pack, the director came in and, telling me to listen comfortably while lying down, explained how the surgery had been done, how the previous cartilage had been inserted in this and that way, which parts were left in place, and how the rest was removed and the cartilage was rearranged. A little later, after the ice pack session was done, the manager showed me photos and explained the condition inside the nose when it was opened, the condition after removal, and photos of the removed implant and foreign material. I liked that. Seeing it with my own eyes was a little gross, but it felt so relieving and made me trust them. I originally had no contracture or inflammation, and I chose removal because of crookedness and some tenderness on pressure. Fortunately, when they opened me up, there was no contracture or inflammation, but they said my original nose was a little crooked and I had a bulbous nose..^^ yes, I do have a bulbous nose. Anyway, I came to my senses, got the splint on, received the prescription, and got cotton packing for one week. As soon as I came out, my nose started hurting, so I quickly ate porridge and took my medicine. It still hurt uncomfortably, and I could feel what seemed like mucus or blood running down, and by evening the bruising and swelling came up. After taking medicine, I slept with my upper body propped up. On the second day, the swelling and bruising were no joke and I couldn’t see in front of me. Because I slept with my mouth open, even my tongue dried out and I kept waking up. It was uncomfortable to sleep, and I couldn’t open my mouth wide, so I had to eat soup mixed with rice. Because my nose was blocked, it was hard to chew anything, and since I couldn’t taste much, I got full quickly and it was rough On the day I got my splint removed, I weighed myself and saw I had been eating less than usual, and maybe because of the medicine I was having bowel movements twice a day, so I lost 2.5 kg.. (I’m a serious constipation sufferer, so honestly that part was nice.) From day 3 to day 5, I couldn’t even wash my hair, my mouth was dry, and so on. It was the hardest and most worrying time, and I started feeling depressed, so I deliberately didn’t look at this community and just slept whenever I could lol Because I couldn’t sleep at night, I ended up taking a lot of naps during the day Starting on day 6, I knew I’d soon go get the packing removed, so I felt better. I still couldn’t wash my hair, but on Thursday my family washed it for me at home. I didn’t go outside at all on purpose because I was worried my hair would get itchy if I sweated, and I ran the air conditioner full blast 24/7~ Since I could shower too, my body wasn’t itchy, so that was fine. Anyway, I was extremely tense on the day the splint came off. Half worried, half excited. I didn’t have a photo of my original nose, so I couldn’t remember it exactly, but I knew it was low and wide, so honestly I was already thinking I’d lost a lot of bridge height. Since everyone said I looked like an avatar because of the swelling, I was thinking that too. After the splint came off, they removed the columella stitches, and the nurse gently did a good job taking them out. Then, drumroll, I looked at my nose lol Honestly, because it was swollen and looked so funny, I thought, Wait, the loss of bridge height isn’t as bad as I expected?? and since I knew my nostrils were wide, that was fine. Because of the swelling, the crookedness wasn’t visible and the step-off wasn’t visible either (the crookedness and step-off are the most important, so I have to check again after the swelling goes down!!). I was glad the long nose had become shorter, and the nostrils, which used to be uneven in size, had almost returned to normal. The columella incision line had also been closed in a way that made the old Y-shaped scar look like it was lower and more like a straight line. (The place where I had revision surgery before may have been a complete mess.. I never really cared much about the uneven nostrils, so I didn’t expect anything, but it was nice.) Unlike my worries, I felt relieved that my nose looked normal, and although it looked like an avatar, from the side it was higher and prettier than my original nose, so I liked it. More than anything, I was so glad to see this nose again I really must have missed my nose after all the implants were taken out. It was genuinely heartwarming At that moment, I thought that if I had added something and had revision surgery to make it prettier, I might have been more satisfied, but then again, in that anxiety that it might become crooked or strange again, I felt like I had moved one step away from that. So I thought full removal was really the right choice. After the splint came off, I got some swelling laser treatment? and then went to meet the director. The director checked my nose, I asked what I wanted to ask, and that was it. I made a 2-week follow-up appointment and left. I also wondered whether I should get revision surgery, but I didn’t have the money or the confidence to go through all that hell again, so I was set on full removal. That was my goal, so I chose ㅅㅇ with that clear goal in mind. Honestly, I was shaken by bad reviews, but there are reviews like that everywhere, and I decided to trust my own choice. The number of nose surgeries, the method, the type of implant, the condition of the original nose, contracture, inflammation, and so on are all so different from person to person. Think carefully about your own condition, judge objectively, and choose the hospital accordingly. This is not saying ㅅㅇ is always good. At least my nose suited ㅅㅇ, so I was fortunate to have the surgery go well. It’s only one week in, but I like it and I’m satisfied. And in my personal opinion, one thing you absolutely need to think about before full removal is this: if you hate your original nose too much, are terrified of losing bridge height, and even after removal still want it to stay prettier than your original nose, and if you still can’t give up the thought that you want a pretty nose, then I think revision surgery is the right choice. Full removal really means removing everything and getting as close to your own nose as possible. If you keep cutting and touching the nose two or three times and expect it to definitely return to the original nose, that’s greed, in my opinion. Before I did it, I really agonized over it, was scared and depressed, wondered if I should just not do it, worried about what if it gets worse, what if I waste the money, and thought about it endlessly, so I’m leaving this very honestly. It may have been rambling, but I hope it helps even one person. I now know that nose surgery is not something to do carelessly, and it makes me sad I never want to touch my nose again, and I’d probably warn people around me not to get nose surgery if possible.. 👃 I’ll delete the photos after a few days lol I’ll bring another update after the swelling goes down a bit more. Bye~