First, to explain my original nose: in my family, I’m the only one with a low nose. The shape was similar to AKMU Suhyun’s nose, but even lower, so it really felt like I was just breathing through my nostrils..??ㅋㅋㅋ My mom told me that as soon as I turned 20, she’d have me get nose surgery, so I looked into hospitals, but with a young mind I didn’t want an implant, so I had surgery with dermis + ear cartilage.. and the result was a nose that was low and even blunt..^^ That surgery still haunts me to this day.. My mom said, “What kind of dermis do you need when you hardly even have a nose?” and as expected, you should listen to your mother..ㅠㅠ The second surgery was because I wasn’t satisfied with the shape, so at another hospital I had an autologous costal cartilage strut at the tip, reuse of ear cartilage at the tip, silicone for the bridge, and removal of the dermis. The inside of my nose was in bad condition so the surgery took a long time, and although I was a little disappointed that the space between my brows was still wide, I was generally satisfied, and I started hearing that I looked pretty rather than just cute, so I lived feeling really grateful to the surgeon. But after 5 years, the ear cartilage at the tip started to show, and other people kept asking if I had a pimple on my nose tipㅠㅠ Still, because I liked it, I held out for 5 more years and eventually went back to the same hospital. I wanted my nose a bit higher and wanted a straight nose, but my nose was hollowed out too much in the middle, so they said it was impossible with an off-the-shelf implant and that it absolutely had to be lowered, so in the end I just lowered it 4 months ago.. That was my third surgery, and maybe because I got used to the higher nose and got spoiled by it, I didn’t expect to regret a small reduction this much, sighㅠㅠ I really didn’t like the lowered nose, so I looked into 3D implants again, and the hospital I had gone to before hadn’t taken a CT, so I thought the higher bridge between my brows was silicone, but I found out it was because not enough dermis had been removedㅠㅠ They said the bridge between the brows isn’t even visible during surgery, and since it’s been so long, it should just be considered part of my skin now.. They said even if I have revision surgery, it’ll be hard to make the nose look sharp again..ㅠㅠ I had mine done a long time ago, and these days it seems like there aren’t really hospitals that blindly use dermis for a low nose, but if you want to use dermis for the bridge without side effects, please think it through carefully before deciding! As for function, I have rhinitis, I can’t breathe well through my left nostril in winter, and I’ve never had functional surgery before!
1. Consultation fee 1 at ㅂㄹㅋ, Director Kim Jun, CT O, short wait time
Surgery plan: remove ear cartilage from the nose tip + remove dermis from the bridge between the brows + re-harvest autologous costal cartilage for the nose tip to lift the tip while lowering the angle Replace the silicone to lower the starting point of the bridge between the brows while raising the height + 3 functional procedures
Review: The director paid attention to both the design and the functional aspects really well, and although the consultation was only about 10 minutes, it was good. But it was disappointing that they don’t use 3D implants, and they also recommended the full functional workup including the nasal valve even though there was almost no functional problem at the other hospital, so they said it probably wouldn’t be necessary and that reimbursement through actual medical expense insurance would be difficult..ㅜㅜ The cost is also steep..
2. Consultation fee 1 at ㅇㄷ, Director Choi Im-don, CT O, wait time 20+ minutes
Surgery plan: refine the ear cartilage at the tip + re-harvest autologous costal cartilage at the tip + philtrum nose Replace the silicone to lower the starting point of the bridge between the brows while raising the height + 2 functional procedures
Review: I went here because a close younger sibling had functional surgery + nose revision here and was extremely satisfied. The director was super kind, and the consultation was quite long. But they said the dermis between the brows could make the skin bumpy, so they wouldn’t touch it at all, and that because the skin at the nose tip was insufficient, if I wanted to raise the height I’d definitely need philtrum nose surgery. And since the costal cartilage would have to be taken out again, they said it would only be enough to adjust the angle, not raise the height, and I didn’t want to make another scar just for that, and I hate philtrum nose surgeryㅠㅜ.. They said satisfaction would likely be low relative to the cost, so they advised me to decide carefully. For function, they recommended 2 procedures excluding the nasal valve, but said it would be fine to do them separately later. I was so grateful for the honest consultation and liked it a lot, but the design didn’t suit me.. The cost is also high whether or not I do the functional part.
3. Consultation fee X at ㅂㄴㄴ, Director Choi Won-cheol, CT O, short wait time
Surgery plan: keep the existing costal cartilage strut at the nose tip, lower the ear cartilage position and build it up more + remove dermis from the bridge between the brows + replace the bridge with a 3D implant to lower the starting point of the bridge and create the straight line I want + they said they do not do aesthetic revision surgery because functional insurance reimbursement is not available.
Review: I really loved the director’s virtual design. They said the bridge between the brows would be lowered by about 2 mm because the skin there is thick, so any unevenness wouldn’t show on the outside. But the review photos seem to have a strong flashy kind of look even when the nose shows, so I’m torn. And dermis is old and hard to handle properly, which is why everyone avoids touching it, but they were so confident about it that it made me nervous..? (Even if it can be done, people go crazyㅋㅋㅋ) Anyway, this hospital is in my top 3. The cost is reasonable.
4. Consultation fee 2.6 at ㅈㅇㅈ, Director Hong Seong-mun, CT O, short wait time
Surgery plan: keep the existing costal cartilage strut at the nose tip, reinforce it by adding septal cartilage taken out during septoplasty + add ear cartilage at the tip if needed during surgery + replace the bridge with a 3D implant to lower the starting point of the bridge and create the straight line I want + 2 functional procedures
Review: The director was kind, but mostly answered only what I asked, and because he was very safety-conscious, I understood what people meant when they said the consultation can be polarizing.. For the removal of dermis from the bridge between the brows, lowering the ear cartilage position at the nose tip and building it up, and lowering the silicone starting point, he said it seemed unlikely but he’d try as much as possible. Since this would be my fourth surgery, I’m anxious about booking surgery after such ambiguous answers, but the review photos of noses are exactly 100% my style, so I’m really tornㅠㅠ The cost is also the cheapest if functional reimbursement applies. It’s in my top 3.
5. ㅈㅅㅌ I went a long way because they said on the phone that consultations were possible, but when I got there the manager said it had been less than 6 months since surgery so consultation wasn’t possible, and because I’d had revision surgery so many times, prices start at at least 10 million even if nothing is done... I couldn’t consult with the director and just came back...
6. Consultation fee 1 at ㅁㅎ, Director Yoon Seok-ho, CT O, wait time 20+ minutes
Surgery plan: build up the ear cartilage at the nose tip + replace with a 3D silicone implant to lower the starting point of the bridge between the brows while raising the height + remove as much dermis as possible
Review: The director was the kindest, and it was obvious he was trying to match the design to my needs as much as possible. I liked that he clearly told me what could and couldn’t be done. On the functional side too, he said septoplasty wasn’t related to the areas where I feel discomfort, and that since the septum may have already weakened from the costal cartilage surgery, overdoing it could collapse the nose, so he didn’t recommend it. Inferior turbinate reduction might be okay, but if you have a lot of runny nose, he also doesn’t recommend it. He said that sometimes people feel their runny nose got worse after inferior turbinate surgery. For me, runny nose is a bigger issue than breathing discomfort, so I wondered if I should do the functional part. Since it’s covered by actual medical insurance, it’s easier to decide as a patient, and even though it’s a surgery that would make money for the hospital, he still honestly advised against it, so among the consultation hospitals, the surgery plan was the simplest, but it was the consultation I trusted the most. It’s in my top 3. Cost is mid-range.
I’m now deeply worried after the last hospital consultation about whether I should even do the functional surgeryㅠㅠ.. What do people who’ve had functional nose surgery think..? I’ll decide on a hospital as soon as possible, get surgery, and leave a review!!! Please wish me success.. I really want this to be my last surgeryㅠㅠ