The reason I decided to have surgery was, of course, mainly because of my hump. Since I was young, I heard so many times, “You really need to get your nose done.” It was not an extremely severe hump, but I often heard that my nose kind of ruined my whole face. Because of the hump, my nasal tip also seemed to droop more. (This was an additional concern, but my nostrils had a pointed, very visible dragon-nose shape, and I did not like that.)
I went to consultations at several clinics and got a lot of recommendations, and among them, I tried to find a clinic that could make a good design without raising the nose too dramatically. Some quoted excessively high prices, and in some cases I only came for a nose surgery consultation, but they pointed out other areas or tried to lecture me, so it was really hard to decide. (For nose surgery, there is a lot I do not know, but I think kindly explaining things is different from teaching in a “you don’t even know that?” kind of way. It may be a difficult-customer mindset, but I am the one paying for the surgery, so I do not know why they try to lecture me. It is a kind of service industry.)
First I had a consultation with the consultant, and then I consulted with the director. I paid the deposit that day and scheduled the surgery date. After that, I visited once for tests and then had surgery right away. On the first day, the consultant gave me a detailed consultation about what style I wanted and what parts I wanted improved, and the director additionally told me, from an expert’s view, what could be improved about my nose and what style would suit me. On the test day, after doing several things such as a blood test, electrocardiogram, and blood pressure measurement, I went straight home. On the surgery day, after a CT scan, I changed clothes, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and gargled, then moved to the operating room. I got something like an IV, but they could not find the vein right away, so it hurt a bit. But my veins are thin and hard to see, so it was hard to blame them. After the surgery, I recovered in the recovery room, changed clothes, received an ice pack and medications, and was discharged.
The consultant was kind during the first consultation, but when she quit midway, I could not contact her for several days and the clinic did not notify me separately, so I was put in an awkward position. After another consultant was assigned, the previous consultant also replied on KakaoTalk, so I was confused about what had happened. The new consultant replies really well on KakaoTalk and kindly answers everything one by one. The director is really kind. Also, in the case of directors at other clinics, quite a few said that because of the characteristics of my nose, it would not come out the way I wanted, but this director said he would make it look pretty according to the design I wanted, so I really liked that. (Even if it was just words, hearing it like that made me feel very reassured and good. Of course, I am satisfied with the result too.) The 8th-floor desk staff were also very, very kind. For the 7th-floor staff, I think some were kind and some were not. You might think I am being difficult, but after surgery, I forgot that I had put my mask in the gown and returned it. On my way out, I asked someone at the 7th-floor desk? for just one mask, and they took out a mask right in front of me and just stared blankly while saying something. They should either clearly say they cannot give it to me or give it to me if they are going to. Holding a new mask they had taken out in their hand while doing that made me feel a bit bad. There were two staff members, and both should have spoken clearly, like saying it is difficult to provide a mask so please search the surgical gown again and find your mask, or if they were going to give it, just give it. It was annoying that they were awkwardly holding it in their hand. The nurse who did the post-surgery disinfection? or antibiotic injection was really kind.
After surgery, I had a lot of nasal discharge from my nose. They prescribed medicine for nasal discharge, but I still had a lot. Also, on the first and second days, it really hurt when I slept. The area where they took ear cartilage really hurt, and my nose hurt slightly too. From the third day, there was almost no pain at all, so it did not interfere with daily life at all. On the first and second days, swelling around my forehead, eyes, and nose was really severe, and from the third day, the swelling in the forehead, eyes, and nose areas mostly went down, while the swelling in my cheeks became severe. Not being able to sleep lying down is really uncomfortable, and because of that I woke up often. I could not sleep deeply. The bruising was yellow and was hardly noticeable. It was only under my eyes and around my forehead. You had to look closely to see it. The hardest part is not being able to wash my hair or wash my face. I get my hair washed at a hair salon, but they also say it is hard to wash it properly if they have to avoid touching the ear completely, and for my face, I really want to scrub it thoroughly with water, but I just wipe it with wet wipes.
After surgery, there is some swelling and nasal discharge, but it was so nice to be able to breathe through both nostrils. I originally had severe rhinitis too, so I had practically never breathed through both nostrils... Since the splint has not been removed yet, I cannot really see the overall line and such, but I really, really like the shape of the nasal tip. I hope it still looks pretty after the splint comes off. People around me said that even though it is still hard to see clearly, it seems to have gone well and that I did well, so I felt really good. Once the splint comes off and I see that the hump is gone, I think I will be happy every time I look in the mirror. I plan to live with my operated nose as if it were my own nose