Procedure: non-implant nose surgery (tip + osteotomy + hump + bulbous nose) Request: absolutely natural
<Research / criteria for choosing the clinic> I visited around 10 clinics in total... and finally had my nose surgery at the last clinic I consulted. I was helped a lot by other people's reviews, so I'm writing this too. Above all, this clinic had almost no reviews at all. My deciding factors were: 'Will the director respect my aesthetic standard for a nose I will live with for the rest of my life?' and 'Do I get along well with the director on a personal level?' As soon as I had a consultation with Director Kim Da-Arm, who is famous for being sweet..., I paid the deposit right away. Each director has their own aesthetic standard, and they're all different, so I guess that's why people say to do a lot of research in person. Online research is not recommended. For reference, when comparing the 10 clinics, the price was not on the cheap side. Obliv Plastic Surgery did not pressure me to pay a deposit~ If anything, that raised my expectations. I liked both the director and the manager, and I was considering a cheaper clinic, but they pressured me to pay a deposit there, so I changed course to Obliv.
I had wanted nose surgery since I was young. It was a low nose, but it wasn't an ugly nose that felt out of place on my face. I thought that instead of leaving it alone and continuing to worry about it, it would be better to do it and regret it, so I started seriously looking into it this year. It was low, but it was also small... During the consultation, the doctor even sighed, saying, 'Ah, it would have been nice if your nose were just a little bigger.....sigh......' He recommended silicone, but I wanted the feeling of simply 'compensating' for what's lacking, not changing my image. I didn't want a completely different nose, just maybe a tiny bit of correction when taking photos?! I wanted a line that looked good on my own nose. I think the nose I had before surgery was also a nose made to suit my face. And absolutely natural. I didn't want even a little bit of an unnatural look.
The so-called pretty slightly upturned straight line? I didn't like that at all; I wanted a straight line, no matter what. They said my nose couldn't really achieve that kind of slightly upturned line anyway, so that was lucky. At first they even recommended silicone, but after hearing everything I said, they gave it up very neatly and chose exactly the direction I had asked for. Among the clinics I had researched before, there were some that ignored my standards, so it felt like I was finally getting my due
<Surgery> I paid, changed clothes, took photos, and went straight into surgery. I thought I would be completely anesthetized, but up until the part where they removed nose hair and sprayed the anesthetic, they did not use sleep anesthesia....... Why did no one tell me that..... Seriously... If you're going to do it anyway, wouldn't it be better to get anesthesia first and then do it..... I still think so, but my friend also said they did that part while fully awake.... Anyway, just be aware of it....... I think there must be a reason the clinic does it this way. They spray the anesthetic on your body and also tie down your arms and legs. That process isn't exactly pleasant, but what can you do. I had sleep anesthesia and local anesthesia. After the surgery, when I woke up, I was a bit dizzy, but I was in fairly normal condition. I think I woke up three or four times during the surgery, but they put me back to sleep again. I was mumbling, and they immediately noticed that I had woken up from the sleep anesthesia, not just talking in my sleep. My mouth was covered, so all I could do was mumble. As soon as I woke up, my friend supported me, and the director showed me my face before the splint was applied.
My nose definitely had a prettier side profile. Since it was non-implant, they didn't build up the bridge and instead made the tip rise naturally from there. I asked whether it would look too lifted from the front if the side profile was pretty, and they told me not to worry because it would come down.
The total surgery time was about an hour and a half? From arriving at the clinic, having the pre-op consultation, taking photos, and doing various things, I think it took about two and a half to three hours until I left. I went in alone, but I called a friend and left together with them. Besides the hospital fee, make sure to bring money for medications and transportation too. The medicine cost varies from person to person, but mine was about 50,000 won.
<After surgery> Everyone told me to take a taxi home, but I was so fine that I asked my friend to take me to the bus stop and came home by bus.. But about an hour later, I started getting a throbbing pain in my face, like after a tooth extraction. I took my medicine as soon as I got home, but because my nose was blocked, I couldn't sleep well, and because I was in pain I couldn't really do anything, so I spent a truly hellish day...
I ran the humidifier at full power and slept with water by my pillow. Honestly, the pain after surgery was so bad that I don't want to have surgery again. They removed the cotton from inside my nose the next day, and took off the splint one week later. Not being able to wash or do anything active for that week was unbelievably painful......
When I visited the day after surgery, I saw the director and received swelling shots, an antibiotic shot, and swelling laser treatment. When I visited one week after surgery and had the splint and stitches removed, I saw the director and only received swelling laser treatment.
<One month now> The major swelling has gone down, but there is still some minor swelling. The stiff, heavy feeling in the tip of my nose has mostly disappeared, but I still can't do the nostril-flaring motion properly, and sometimes it still feels a bit uncomfortable when I drink through a straw.
Of course it hurts if I bump my nose, and because the tip is more lifted than before surgery, my philtrum also looks longer. I had osteotomy, but there isn't a huge difference from before. I imagined it would become more slender, but I guess that might be too greedy for my nose height, and I think it may still be because of swelling. The philtrum area under the nose and the center part of the nose are probably swelling... right... It has to be swelling... Anyway, I believe the swelling will go down.
As for the scar area, I can't check behind my ear well because I can't see it properly, but once the scab falls off, I'm planning to apply scar ointment. I'm applying it well to the area under my nose. But it's not very visible!
People around me say it doesn't look obvious, that it seems like it was done just enough, and that it turned out well. My own reaction after looking at my nose for a month is that if I had gone overboard and gotten silicone, I would probably be whining right now that I'd want to remove the silicone, definitely whining whining whining whining whining whining. Honestly, even this much feels a bit burdensome to me
Everyone, go to a director who matches your own aesthetic standards~ I'll write another review after a little more time has passed. For reference, the photos are unedited before and after + GiCell. The before photo was taken unedited, and the after photo was taken with a filter, which interfered with my choice of clinic, so I made sure to take them the same way.