First of all, I had a low nose, and because it was short it was a small nose, while the tip was a bulbous nose;;
My face shape is already unattractive, and with my nose looking flattened too, whenever photos were taken I looked like a total mess,, I had thought about rhinoplasty a million times for ages, but people said revision surgery is guaranteed, side effects are 100%, so I was scared. I spent years debating whether to do it or not, then suddenly made up my mind, searched online and went around to consultations, and booked right away. The surgery was 2 weeks after the consultation. Even my reeeally close friend didn’t tell me not to do it, and honestly told me that if I did my nose, my whole vibe would be completely different lol
So I got my nose surgery on Friday the 14th. (Even until the morning before surgery, I debated a hundred times whether I should just cancelㅠ) First, I absolutely did not want anything flashy, and pursued naturalness so people wouldn’t know I had surgery. I didn’t ask how many mm of silicone they inserted, but they did put in silicone, and for the nasal tip they only used the cartilage that was inside my nose (what was the term again). They said if it was insufficient after opening it up, they would use ear cartilage, but I guess it wasn’t insufficient. And since I had a bulbous nose, I did alar base reduction together.
Day of surgery: I was scared when I got on the operating table, but when I came to my senses I was in the recovery room. Without any pain or anything, I took the subway alone, bought bread, and got home fine lol Even after getting home there wasn’t much, but because of the cotton blocking my nose, it was hard to breathe through my mouth. I ate well and took a light walk in the evening too. But seriously, sleeping at dawn was insane… Since my nose was blocked, I had to breathe through my mouth, but when I fell asleep I’d stop breathing, then wake up after 1-2 minutes gasping, and that repeated endlessly ㅠㅠ I guess I don’t know how to breathe through my mouth while sleeping. I barely slept.. Trying to sleep sitting up made it even harder to fall asleep… Being sleepy but unable to sleep was truly the most, most painful thing. My mouth kept drying out, so I drank a lot of water. There was less blood or nasal discharge than I expected. I was scared to brush my teeth in the evening, so I only used mouthwash. Legendary.
Day 2: Thankfully, they removed the cotton from my nose the day after surgery. When they pulled out the cotton, I thought it was coming from my brain. The feeling at the moment it came out was so uncomfortable, but I felt so relieved and happy,, But my nose was running nonstop, so I held gauze under it and came home. After getting home, I took a full-on shower, and once the cotton was out I was so, so comfortable that I immediately took a nap. Sometimes the nasal tip felt a bit sore? like tingling and zapping, but it didn’t feel painful. When brushing my teeth and eating, my mouth wouldn’t open well, which was uncomfortable. Especially when rinsing after brushing, I was so scared that it almost felt like I was just putting water in and spitting it out. I did ice packs around the eyes for about 5 minutes total. I walked a bit too and drank 3 pumpkin juices.
Day 3: For some reason I didn’t even swell,, no bruising either. There just wasn’t anything particularly uncomfortable.. (except eating and brushing teeth) I work from home, and I worked totally fine with zero disruption. At home, I lay back and my mom washed my hair for me. I also walked, had 3 pumpkin juices, and did cold compresses for about 5 minutes.
Day 4: Under my eyes swelled very slightly, really slightly.. The nasal bridge inside the splint started getting itchier and itchier. The nasal tip still sometimes had that zapping and sore feeling. When I went outside, maybe because of the temperature difference, my nose felt tight and swollen. Other than sleeping sitting up being so uncomfortable, there was nothing. I worked fine, walked, and drank three pumpkin juices. They told me to do warm compresses instead of cold compresses from day 4, but I was lazy and skipped it.
Days 5-6: At dawn I gave up sleeping sitting up and slept slightly on my side. Since I was on edge, I did sleep very carefully. A slight yellow bruise appeared under my right eye. My philtrum was swollen, so eating became more uncomfortable. The symptoms were the same: itchy, zapping, sore, and when I went for walks my nose felt tight and swollen. The inside of the splint was so itchy that I almost scratched it unconsciously. I worked fine, ate well, drank three pumpkin juices, and didn’t do compresses. On day 6, I lay back again and washed my hair. So refreshing.
Day 7: Finally the day to remove the splint + outer stitches. I thought the splint would just slide off, but it was all adhesive,,, When they removed it, it felt like my nasal bridge was being lifted with it, so it was so scary. It didn’t hurt, just uncomfortable?? Like, why are you taking my nose!!! Still, once it was off it felt so refreshing, and I think it smelled lol When they removed the stitches around the columella and the stitches from where they cut the nasal alae, it stung so much that I kept flinching. Nyu nyu. I saw the nose that had been hidden under the splint, and I liked it more than I expected. They say you shouldn’t like it right after removing the splint (because it gradually gets lower), but I ended up liking it, so I’m in trouble ㅜㅜ.. There were some yellow bruises hidden under the splint. They weren’t severe, just a little around the nasal bridge and under the eyes! And the tiny greasy bumps and white sebum on my nose.. It was absolutely disgusting, but they did skin care and a swelling laser treatment. They said I could wash my face, but I was scared so I didn’t. I looked in the mirror all day, and I was surprised because the nasal tip was higher than I expected. I didn’t think this could be achieved with only nasal cartilage,, The shape came out just as I requested, so I was really, really happy. My philtrum was swollen, so brushing my teeth and eating were still hard. In the evening, I took off my hat and went for a walk wearing only a mask hehe
Day 8: I was scared, so I didn’t wash my face. (I couldn’t wash my face from day 1, but I wiped it with toner pads.) Other than feeling awkward and uncomfortable, there was nothing!
Day 9: I massaged like crazy with cleansing oil. My skin seriously became filthy trash.. It was oily, but also dry, so like it was burned, parts of the skin lifted and peeled off ㅠ I carefully rolled oil around the nose area and took care of it. When washing my hair, they said not to put pressure on my nose, so I washed it in a rush. I tried makeup, but my skin was trash, so I think it’s better not to do it. Doing makeup around the nose was way too hard too.. The bruising around the eyes and swelling of the philtrum still remained. When rinsing after brushing my teeth, swishing became a bit easier!
Day 10: Actually it became day 10 after midnight. Real life(?) was up to day 9.
That’s it.. what I felt day by day. Really, the hardest thing was sleeping with cotton inside my nose, not being able to breathe and constantly waking up.. Other than that, nothing really remains in my memory. Oh, and I can’t laugh. When I laugh, it feels like my nasal tip will tear, so it’s so scary. So while holding in laughter, I grab my philtrum or press near the nasal alae. Right now, holding in laughter is the hardest.. Maybe because I had alar base reduction, even when I laugh, my mouth doesn’t open as brightly and widely as before ㅠㅠ I’ll have to see whether this is because of swelling or because, due to the alar base reduction, there’s no skin left to stretch. I unconsciously made a facial expression stretching my philtrum, and was startled because it hurt. Always be careful with facial expressions,, Also, because I couldn’t wash my hair properly, the dandruff is no joke, and never mind the sebum, my skin keeps peeling and I feel like dying. And during surgery, they applied disinfectant almost down to my shoulders, so maybe because of that, one shoulder is extremely, extremely dry ㅠㅠ It’s flaking white, so I’m taking care of it with body lotion,..
For me.. there was surprisingly no pain at all, and I didn’t have much swelling or bruising, so there was nothing to regret. The discomfort can’t be helped, but it should gradually get better.. For the time being, I think I need to focus on scalp and skin care. People around me say if I was going to do it anyway, I should have made it noticeable, but I am so, so satisfied,. My double eyelid surgery scars are a bit noticeable, so I didn’t want to make my nose too intense!! I don’t know if I’ll regret it later once the swelling goes down and the nasal tip drops, but it turned out naturally and well, so I feel sooo good. On Monday I’m going to get the stitches inside my nose removed. Please, I hope there are no problems forever!!!! That’s all!
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