I brought a review from a worrywart who was really worried that my pre-pre-op nasal bridge looked like an Avatar! lol
You’ll know if you see my previous posts, but some people may not, so I’ll write my surgery history again from the beginning! I want to write everything, so it’s going to get really long, but please read it anyway!!
[Photo description] The photos are from the day before surgery and day 14 after surgery. Today is day 19, so the nasal tip is getting even slimmer!!
[Nose history] 1st surgery: full Gore-Tex nose surgery through my mom’s acquaintance - nasal bridge + nasal tip surgery (I think at the time they rasped the nasal bridge with osteotomy and placed Gore-Tex on the bridge) 2nd surgery: I was told they scraped out the Gore-Tex because of inflammation in the Gore-Tex nasal bridge
From about 5 years ago? contracture started, so my nostrils were way too visible from the front, and from the side, one side looked especially lifted, so it looked very obviously operated on, which had been stressing me out. This year, while looking at travel photos, I saw that my nostrils were too visible from the front, so I made a big decision, looked into a 3rd surgery, and went through with it.
[The nose I wanted, consultation tour] For consultations, I focused mainly on “nostril lowering” for a contracted nose, and chose the clinic whose before-and-after photos of lowered contracted noses looked the most natural. Since I never wanted to have surgery again because of inflammation or contracture, I looked for clinics that could do it with no implant and only autologous costal cartilage.
It’s been well over 10 years, so understanding current surgeries and the huge amount of clinic information was so difficult, but I studied a lot and set naturalness as my goal, so I think I was able to narrow it down a lot. (I studied so much in a community.. but I still felt like I didn’t know enough. Definitely study surgery a lot, a lot!!!!!)
[Clinic choice] Among them, the director at Cheoeumcheoreom Plastic Surgery (single-director clinic) gave me the most detailed nose consultation. He clearly explained what could and could not be improved, and unlike other clinics, the consultant also gave me time to think and explained really thoroughly about pre- and post-op care, expected swelling, and whether I could go about daily life. (At most other consultation clinics, the director consultation was 5 minutes? There was even one place where I waited an hour, and they said if the quote was 10 million won, they’d do it for 8 million if I paid the deposit today, not giving me time to think. If someone is getting a tertiary revision, there must be a reason they absolutely need it, and do they not understand that money isn’t the important thing? I felt like they were just seeing me as one day’s performance record, and I got so depressed while going around consultations because it felt like normal clinics didn’t exist.)
Based on this consultation history, the natural-looking nose the clinic pursues, and many reviews where they successfully lowered contracted noses, I chose Cheoeumcheoreom Plastic Surgery,
and before my 3rd surgery, after the CT scan and after surgery, the director said there was still Gore-Tex in the nasal bridge and nasal tip,
so I proceeded with implant removal + autologous costal cartilage nasal tip + nostril lowering + alar reduction.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- [Post-op progress diary] Day 1: Not swollen - painkiller effect, (autologous costal cartilage pain made it hurt and pull when standing up alone; lasted a week) Day 2: Swelling was intense - breathing through my mouth while sleeping was hard Day 3: Swelling was intense (started taking swelling medication) Day 4: Nasal packing removed (didn’t hurt - could breathe) Day 6: Splint removed, tape applied to nasal bridge (started going to work - worked wearing a mask) -----My nose was plump and didn’t feel like my nose. But because it was swollen and looked like an Avatar bulbous nose, I was extremely worried. To reduce swelling, I drank every kind of swelling tea and started riding an indoor bike too (got the director’s confirmation). ------ Day 9: Tape and outer stitches removed (faced the swollen nasal bridge and started feeling depressed) Day 11: Nasal bridge swelling went down and it started rising little by little (ahh, what a relief) ------------Washing face possible, showering the autologous costal cartilage area also possible-------------- Day 13: Nasal tip swelling kept going down, but there was still some Avatar vibe Day 14: Put on makeup for the first time (my face didn’t look bad and I felt like I got prettier, so I felt good, but it was slightly awkward) Day 16: Even all the inner stitches were removed Ah!! And I remembered that even before surgery, I didn’t look that great before makeup lol How did I forget that^^ Day 15 onward~ I keep wearing makeup and my nose keeps getting slimmer! ---------------------------------------------------------------- For 2 weeks, I took swelling medication (swelling trinity? search Naver) together and drank a ton of pumpkin tea and swelling tea. Until I could wash my face and shower, I was really careful not to let water get into the surgical sites (nose, autologous costal cartilage), and I applied the prescribed ointment well so it didn’t dry out. And from the point when I could wash my face, I’ve been gently wiping morning and night with sterile saline on a cotton swab and applying just a tiny bit of the prescribed ointment! -----------------------------------------------------------------
[Surgery review] During my first surgery, because of a fracture, my nasal bridge was rasped and Gore-Tex was placed, so after removing it this time, my nasal bridge became lower than my natural nose, but in conclusion, I don’t want any more inflammation or contracture, so I think I made the right choice with no implant. (✔️Of course, after the splint came off, when there was swelling, my nasal bridge was swollen like an Avatar, and the nasal bridge area was so wide and flat that I thought it had gotten extremely low and got depressed enough to post in a community. But just like the angelic people here commented, the swelling went down day by day from day 10, and now I can see my nasal bridge! People who had their nasal bridge removed, just be patient and wait for exactly 2 weeks.)
My nostrils are no longer visible from the front ㅠ There’s still swelling, but from the front and side, the nostrils have definitely come down, so by my standards it looks normal and not obviously operated on.. (my biggest stress) My nostrils used to be huge and triangular, but now they’re small and round... I’m not pointy anymore, I’m rounded... I like it ㅠ
I received a lot of help from everyone in this community, and especially before surgery, when I was thinking maybe I should make it more glamorous since I’m doing it anyway, you advised me to keep it natural, and when I was whining that I looked like an Avatar fish-face, you told me to wait and gave me hope and comfort. Thank you so much, everyone!
To everyone considering any surgery, I hope only good things come your way, and even if it takes so long that it feels excessive, look carefully and thoroughly for a good clinic!!
Like 0