First, my original nose was a hump nose with a high bridge + a drooping nose. I had septal cartilage used for the nasal tip, and I wasn’t going to put in silicone, but the director at the time suggested putting in only a thin piece, so that’s the nose I ended up with. It’s been about 4 years since surgery.
Back then, I think I only wanted the hump gone and didn’t really consider my overall face. At some point my nose started looking too long, so I decided on revision surgery.
Rococo 5.8 million
The first clinic I visited after starting to look into revision rhinoplasty. Because it was my first consultation, honestly I didn’t even know what the problem was and kind of fumbled my way through it, so I want to go again... The director is handsome (lol) During consultation, the director said he could show a virtual result with Photoshop, but for me he said it would be meaningless because he would only know after opening it in the operating room.
When I said I wanted my nose to look shorter, 1. lower the nasal bridge, or 2. raise the nasal tip, but he said that because I originally had a hump nose and had surgery with silicone inserted, it looks even longer. The silicone can be removed, but since I had osteotomy before, if it feels uneven or bumpy, he said he would check during surgery and put in a thin piece if needed. He said the nasal tip is already raised too high, so it makes no sense to raise it even more to make it look shorter. Overall, he said it’s a difficult nose to work on... and that’s why the first surgery has to be done well...ㅠㅠ He muttered to himself that using costal cartilage to lower the nasal tip is kind of funny... Then he said to reuse the septal cartilage, use ear cartilage if needed, and because my skin is thin and things can show through, use AlloDerm or MegaDerm.
I’m thinking I’d like to do it here because I’m also considering cheekbone surgery later... But since it was my first consultation, I couldn’t properly ask whether my nose would definitely look shorter or improve. I even prepared photos, but couldn’t show them before leaving. I also mentioned this to the consultant, and honestly she said that even if I show photos, what can be created from each person’s nose is all different, so the director would just look and create the prettiest line possible.
Mint 8.8 million
I thought the price was really high... I almost backed away. The director is very chic and very, very conservative. To put it positively, he is extremely, extremely safety-oriented; to put it negatively, then what can actually be done..? There’s nothing that will improve, so should I really pay this much to do it..? But the director also seems trustworthy, so I was in total confusion.
I clearly listed my concerns: my nose looking long, the bridge looking high, the nasal tip cartilage protruding, and the alar area and nasal tip not forming a straight ㅡ line but looking drooped in a V shape.
Because it feels like he answers each concern one by one, if you go here for a consultation, I think you should really think carefully about the improvements you want before going.
Overall, the surgical plan was similar to Rococo. Reuse the septal cartilage, use ear cartilage, and reinforce with dermis because the nasal tip skin is thin. He said the silicone can be removed, but after touching it, he said the thinnest silicone is 2 mm and mine is also quite thin, roughly about 2.5 mm. Even if it is removed, the bridge won’t come down as much as I want; there may be little difference or only a subtle difference. Even if removed, because I had osteotomy, all the unevenness may show, or it may show through bluish. If I’m okay with the skin color looking different, he’ll remove it. In the operating room, because he operates while the patient is awake, he said he would remove it and, if it seems okay, show me. But he said the chance of that is low. Anyway, the nasal tip is definitely too high, so it should be lowered somewhat, and he said to reuse septal cartilage and use ear cartilage. Since the skin is thin, dermal reinforcement is needed. For the V-shaped appearance of the nasal tip, because septal cartilage has already been harvested and used, if he cuts away the drooping part on the columella side (?? I don’t remember exactly, roughly anyway it seems like I had septal extension, and if he cuts the drooping columella-side part), the nose will become unstable and collapse. My nose was already long, and unless the previous surgeon intentionally made it long, there doesn’t seem to be any spare room to reduce it. He said he would try reducing it in the operating room, but I shouldn’t have high expectations.
But in my current case, apart from whether my nose looks long or not, the silicone is showing through at the area connecting the bridge and nasal tip. (I only heard this at Mint / I had never noticed it, and even after hearing it and looking in the mirror, I’m not really sure about that part.) He said he would operate by inserting the end of the silicone under the alar cartilage. He said if this isn’t done, wherever I go for revision surgery, I’ll keep needing revision surgery. That’s how he explained it.
It was really impressive that he caught things other places didn’t and estimated the silicone height by touching my nose... But paying 8.8 million for revision surgery while feeling like my biggest need about nose length was almost crushed... Honestly, at that moment I felt pretty hopeless inside, wondering if it just wasn’t possible for me.
Kim Injoong 5.5 million
He seems to pursue an ultra-natural style. The consultation time is 30 minutes, and honestly it felt rushed. While the director talks about his own preferred aesthetic (an originally beautiful nose has an empty glabella area, some degree of curvature, and volume at the nasal tip), and then takes some photos, 20 minutes just pass. His preferred aesthetic does match mine. When I searched and looked at reviews, I saw people saying their acquaintances did it there and it came out naturally and beautifully...
Here, he said he would remove the nasal silicone (no suggestion to add anything else, completely implant-free), use ear cartilage for the nasal tip, and since my nasal tip is currently too high and pointy, he would lower it and add volume. Because my skin is thin, he said to wrap it with fascia and insert it.
But somehow it felt vague... The values of pursuing an ultra-natural style and safety-first approach suit me very well (the director showed BLACKPINK Jisoo as his preferred aesthetic, an unoperated natural nose), but when I actually look at photos of a certain famous celebrity said to have done it here, from some angles it’s very pretty, but from other angles the nasal tip shape isn’t really my taste. It feels a bit like a downturned arrow nose, and the nasal tip volume stands out more like soft tissue than bone, should I say...
So I asked whether improving the V-shaped-looking nose, which is the most important thing to me, was possible, because other clinics said it wasn’t. The director said that he had already said it could be improved now, but if I kept talking about other clinics, well... I should go to more consultations.
After it ended, I consulted with the manager? But she wasn’t a manager, just a nurse who assists in surgery. She said she had worked with him for 7-8 years. Actually, I think she listened to me better than the director did... lolㅠㅠ So when I said I wasn’t sure whether it would definitely improve or not, she said that although she isn’t a doctor, based on what she has seen from experience, she thinks it will look much better (the parts that make me look older and the nose look long). If it weren’t possible or if he lacked confidence, he would have just sent me away, but seeing that he consulted until the end and gave an estimate means he’s confident... That did reassure me a little, but honestly I want to go for a second consultation, because I do like BLACKPINK Jisoo’s nose... but my ideal is NewJeans Haerin’s nose.
The before-and-after photos they showed were all natural and pretty, but the problem is that I don’t like the nasal tip of that one celebrity said to have done it here...!!!!! Looking only at the price or the director’s values, I like this place the most. But I’m hesitating because if the nasal tip comes out too plump, I wonder if it might feel like a bulbous nose.