Phew, today I had surgery at RBR and came back. I organized photos of the nose shape I wanted and the nose shapes I didn’t want, along with notes, printed about 7 pages, and brought them with me lol
As soon as Director Yoon came in, he started touching my nose first lol He looked at my printouts later..
Just like he explained during the consultation appointment, he explained again very thoroughly and in incredible detail what was possible and what wasn’t. Especially because my lower face is the longest proportion of my face, he said my nose can’t help but look upturned, and that this is something that would require two-jaw surgery? He had said that during the consultation too, and he told me again today.
Among the things I had written down, I said I hoped my nostrils could be improved, but he said realistically it would not be easy to expect that. So I decided to take that into account too.
I really liked Director Yoon’s nose style, because I like a straight-to-slightly-curved line.
Anyway, he explained in detail the parts that were achievable with my nose and the parts that would be difficult to achieve, and really went over all the possible side effects very thoroughly, and I had the consultation.
He felt very trustworthy.
I also told him that he had mentioned some of these things during the consultation, and even so, since I chose this hospital.. I have to accept it. Honestly, the reason I’m having my third revision rhinoplasty is that I wanted a straight-to-slightly-curved nose and wanted my nostrils to show a bit less while extending the nasal tip lol
Still, now I just want this to be the last one, so I feel like I should accept everything.. (Actually, he did talk about the nostril issue during the consultation too, but I think I overthought it on my own.)
I left my phone and all my belongings in the recovery room and went in for surgery. They removed my nose hairs, but the light was so strong… First of all, the nurse shaved my nose hairs so roughly that I did feel a little uncomfortable, but I’m the type to just endure things, so I let it happen.
Because it was autologous costal cartilage, I took off all my underwear/top, and they applied disinfectant from my face to the back of my neck and upper body. They said it was sleep anesthesia, and I was wondering when they would come, but after absolutely everything was prepared, Director Yoon came in, and as soon as Director Yoon said, “We’ll start the sleep anesthesia now,” I fell asleep.
Honestly, I wasn’t nervous about the surgery, but strangely I couldn’t sleep, so I had tossed and turned all night.. so I think I fell asleep right away.
And when I woke up, they were calling my name and waking me up, and the manager was saying something to me, but while I was still waking up I was asking things like, where do I go for the pharmacy.. lol The recovery room was cold, so I just wanted to go home, waited 10 minutes, and went straight home.
When I had surgery about 10 years ago, they shaved my nasal bone hump? just a tiny bit, but I seriously thought my skull was going to split open. This time they didn’t touch my nasal bone, so I had no skull pain, no ringing or throbbing sensation at all. So I really liked that.
And my face was less swollen than I expected too. I’ll know once I go tomorrow, though.
What I worried about with autologous costal cartilage was that people said it hurts so much to move, and it is true that it hurts and throbs when lying down and getting up, but if I slightly curl my thoracic spine (back), it seems like it hurts less because it doesn’t really engage the rectus abdominis and things like that. I can turn onto the side that wasn’t operated on and get up, so it was okay.
It hurts when I cough.
And my throat is seriously so dry. Breathing through the mouth is originally not good, but since my nose isn’t functioning at all right now, I’ll have to endure it until they remove the cotton packing.
And Director Yoon really emphasized ‼️treat it with extreme care‼️ so I think I really have to treat it with extreme care.
Luckily, I don’t like alcohol to begin with and I don’t smoke either, but this is the first hospital I’ve seen where the instructions say not to drink/smoke for 3 months. It is a recommendation, though. So I’m going to avoid it for 3 months too, and diet while my nose is blocked… When I can’t taste anything, I’m planning to eat sweet potatoes, boiled eggs, and cabbage lolol
I wish I could take off the splint quickly. After coming home, I did worry a bit about how much my nostrils would show, but my forehead is sunken, so I wondered if I should get my forehead done, then just… decided to live with it lol I feel like I’d lose too much individuality? Maybe I’ll think about it later.
Tip: at the pharmacy lolol they bundle cotton swabs and sell them. I was out of it then, so I just bought them, but unless you specifically need sterile cotton swabs, I don’t think you necessarily have to buy them. I feel wronged about why I bought them lolol
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