3-line summary
1. Last Friday (02/04), I had functional rhinoplasty + alar reduction + nasal tip extension using septal cartilage at a certain hospital 2. Right after the surgery, I regretted it because of an unbearable foreign-body sensation, so on Saturday (02/05) I visited the hospital and made an appointment for early removal of the septal extension 3. Today, 3 days after the first surgery (02/07), I had the septal extension removed from the nasal tip and the nasal tip cartilage corrected.. and right now I'm worried
I originally only wanted functional surgery, alar reduction, and a bit of cartilage binding at the nasal tip, but I got swayed by the surgeon's recommendation for tip extension and ended up getting septal extension as well... I think the biggest mistake was mine for not properly learning about the different types of nose surgery and just casually thinking, "Oh, I guess my nose tip will look a little prettier~" I hope everyone studies as hard as if preparing for the CSAT and makes conservative decisions if possible
Anyway, after the first nose surgery on Friday, I went back home... The expected nasal congestion (from the packing used for functional rhinoplasty) and pain were manageable, but having my nose fixed rigidly and feeling like something was jutting out in the middle of my face like a lone tyrant was so, so unpleasant The only reason I couldn't sleep properly the first night was one thing only.. the foreign-body sensation at the tip of my nose
So since I couldn't sleep well anyway, I hurriedly searched online about the surgery I had done, and it turned out to be far from a trivial procedure.. On top of that, the unbearable foreign-body sensation made me panic, so I stayed up all night organizing my thoughts and then went to the hospital
On Saturday, I visited the hospital, had the packing inside my nose removed and the area cleaned, then asked for a consultation with the surgeon and said I wanted early removal Maybe because he is usually rather blunt, after hearing everything I said, he told me, "If that's really what you want to do, then let's do the removal surgery," and I made an appointment
Over the weekend, I searched the internet only for the keywords 'septal extension removal' and 'early removal' After checking almost everything, the conclusion I reached was... it really depends on the individual case
Some people said that after removing the septal cartilage, they returned close to 100% of their original nose, while others said they returned to something in between the surgically altered nose and their original nose In the case of early removal, some people said it is okay if done within 2-3 weeks, while others said multiple surgeries in a short period are bad for the nasal tissue
I agonized over it a lot, but I absolutely had no confidence that I could carry this current foreign-body sensation for more than 6 months, so I ultimately decided to have it removed And this morning I went to the hospital and had a final consultation with the surgeon
The blunt surgeon spoke as conservatively as possible (which I understand..) - Since I said I can't tolerate the foreign-body sensation, we'll do the surgery now, but keep in mind that you may not return to your original nose and it may contract - No one knows whether it will end up looking lifted compared with your original nose or not. The choice is yours..
Since my original nose wasn't exactly a pretty one to begin with and I also didn't have the goal of achieving a dramatic transformation through plastic surgery, I told the surgeon, "I hope it can return as close as possible to my original nose. Please take care of me...." Then, once I was ready, I went into the operating room
The first surgery took about 2 hours from the time I entered the operating room until I came out, but today it ended in less than an hour, maybe about 40 minutes? I guess because not much time had passed since the first surgery, the tissue hadn't adhered yet, so removal and cartilage correction didn't need much time
After the surgery I came home and rested, and since I received a lot of help from this community and wanted to share a similar experience with people who are having the same concerns as me, I ended up writing this
Today is day 1 after the early removal surgery, and when I checked my nose after coming home, I couldn't tell in detail because of the swelling, but it seems to have become somewhat similar to my original nose Of course, I'll only know after the swelling goes down more, but it does feel lifted... Please, once all the swelling goes down, I hope the lifted feeling in my nose settles down... (It was already a slightly upturned nose to begin with, but the columella and nasal tip were in a somewhat lowered position)
And this might just be because I'm extremely sensitive, but the spot on the nasal tip/columella where the septal cartilage had been located has turned slightly black I hurriedly searched that too, and it seems to fall into 1) possible necrosis or 2) a bruise.....
1) In the case of necrosis, it could happen because the implant is forcing its way through the space inside the nose, so blood supply is poor Or it could be because recovery is slow due to having revision surgery early (Link: https://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?isHttpsRedirect=true&blogId=ko_up_doctor&logNo=221834283358&categoryNo=19&parentCategoryNo=0&viewDate=¤tPage=1&postListTopCurrentPage=1&from=postView)
2) Or it could simply be a light bruise because that area was just operated on
I really, really hope it's 2), but since I tend to worry unnecessarily, I'm now trembling, thinking what if it's case 1... Please let it just be a light bruise so that in a few days, after the swelling goes down, I can write a new recovery post about the removal
That's all for my rambling day-1 review of the early removal of septal cartilage, written to hold back my anxiety
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