I couldn't keep posting consecutively, so I'm posting now.
A few months before the removal, I had a dream. I was walking down the street when the silicone suddenly slipped right out of my nose. It felt so realistic that I woke up worrying, like, what was that, what is this? For 25 years my nose had truly had no problems at all, so I had never even had that kind of worry in a dream. I was anxious.
Then while fooling around with my daughter, my nose bridge hit my elbow. It hurt a little. It wasn't very painful, but I could feel a foreign-body sensation. It seemed fine, but while showering I felt the implant shifting. There was a foreign-body feeling, and a sharp pain inside my nose. That had never happened in 25 years. I had this feeling like, oh no, I'm screwed, so I went to a plastic surgery clinic in Busan without thinking. On the phone I heard a lot of things like, they take good care of surgery cases, but if it hurts and you want them to check it, go back to the hospital where you had the surgery. That hospital had closed a very long time ago, and even the doctor who operated on me back then was already elderly at the time, so I didn't even know whether he was still alive now or had passed away... Anyway, they were in the mood of not wanting to check it properly, and after barely finding one place, I asked about it and they said there was nothing unusual. But I know my own body, and this didn't feel normal. While my anxiety was growing as I kept looking at the community, one day when I was rinsing my mouth while brushing my teeth, the inside of my nose hurt again. It hurt even more than before. It felt like something was stabbing me. I really thought something serious had happened, so the next day I went back to Busan no matter what and went to a hospital. It was a big hospital, but since I went without an appointment, I had to wait a long time. I talked with the manager briefly and met the doctor for a moment, and he grabbed my nose hard and shook it, then said that if it moves, it has to be removed.
He shook it so hard that I thought, did he really have to grab it and shake it that hard? The pain, the sadness from having to remove it, the pain, and everything else made it so hard for me. But okay, let's go to one more place, it's probably not that, I told myself, and I went to one more hospital that I had seen on YouTube. They did a CT scan there and said to use autologous costal cartilage or silicone, so I just left. Everyone else seemed so happy, but I don't know why, I started tearing up. I even thought about just dying, but I couldn't really do that, so I looked for a hospital for removal. Seoul was too far, basically the opposite end of the map. There were so many patients that I couldn't even get a proper consultation appointment. After begging and pleading, I managed to get one, drove there at dawn for the consultation, and came back the same day. It was so exhausting that I had planned to have the surgery there, but I thought I would regret it unless I visited just one more place, so I barely managed to get another consultation. Then I drove again and went back and forth on the same day. If I write it like this, it doesn't sound like much, but it was an incredibly exhausting schedule. Since I was there, I also spent extra time looking for lodging. After going through all that, I set the surgery date for August 17 and quit smoking first. I really almost got depressed. At my age, what the hell was I doing? For three days it was truly hell. I quit coffee too. I quit alcohol too. ㅠ Until the surgery day I couldn't even swallow food, and life was really hard.
Anyway, the surgery day finally came. While driving there, I had all kinds of thoughts. Would there ever be a day when I drive again and go back down on the opposite lane? The surgery was at 2 p.m.; maybe it would be over around 5 p.m. I wish it were over already. Should I turn the car around just in case and go home? Maybe I should just live like this... I arrived at the lodging. It was a place recommended by that hospital. I was really grateful. Thank you to the nurses. I took my bags up and walked to the hospital. Who would have thought I'd come to Hongdae like this? Everyone looked so cheerful and happy.
Arrived at the surgery hospital. They said to get the medicine first, so I picked it up at the pharmacy on the first floor. The medicine was expensive, over 200,000 won. Before surgery I changed clothes and lay down on the operating table. This was the moment of removing the nose hairs. It wasn't painful, but I was anxious because I didn't know what they were going to do. Still, they did a good job and it finished quickly. I washed my face, had a consultation with the director, then lay back down on the operating table, got an IV in my arm, and had my arms and legs fixed in place. You get pretty nervous, but it isn't that big a deal. I heard a beeping machine sound, and the director came in and started the surgery. They said, now you'll feel sleepy. I said I'm not sleepy, the surgery hasn't even started yet... Then I woke up to the final stage of surgery. As you can see in the review, the director was humming while working, and before long the surgery was over and I went to recovery and used a cold compress. Other people say they got painkillers, but I didn't get any, so when I asked, they said I'd already been given them. It doesn't hurt during surgery. They block the nostrils with cotton, so it's hard to breathe. ㅠ The director came in and said the surgery went well, and then I gathered my things and went to the lodging.
At the lodging, I removed the nasal cotton and my throat was so dry, sore, and stuffy. So I drank a little water and coughed up something like bloody phlegm from my throat. I was hungry, so I ordered pork cutlet. I could breathe well and it didn't hurt, so I felt better. After finishing the meal, I took my medicine, couldn't sleep, watched TV, and fell asleep. The next morning I ate breakfast at the lodging (it started at 7, so I went right at 7 when there weren't many people). Because dried blood and mucus inside my nose were stuck together, I couldn't breathe well, so I asked the hospital, and they said to come in. The manager was extremely kind. I went, they disinfected it, pulled things out with tweezers, and suctioned it out, and then I could breathe well. I went back to the lodging, ate lunch, and by evening my nose was blocked again. I wondered if the room was dry, so I wet a towel and hung it up, but it kept getting blocked. ㅠ I found a coffee pot, opened the lid, and boiled water, but it kept boiling. It was an automatic shutoff model, but strangely it wouldn't turn off. That's a useful tip. If you're coming from outside Seoul, don't let the lodging get dry and try that. It's really completely dry in winter. My nose felt a little clearer, and I endured another night. The next day at breakfast I couldn't even taste the food, and since my nose was blocked, the pressure built up and it was hard to swallow. I ate so I could take my medicine, then went back to the hospital. They pulled things out and suctioned again, and it felt refreshing. I was so grateful. Thank you through this post. I got swelling laser treatment, then went back to the lodging and rested. The next morning came the day to remove the splint. When they remove the splint, they yank it off all at once. They say that hurts less. It hurts. Not a lot, but it does hurt. The director came and removed the dried blood from between my eyebrows. That also hurt a little. Then they removed the big stitches and I looked in the mirror. It was funny. It looked like an Avatar, a fish-man, maybe even a lion. The bruising around my eyes was pretty severe, so a hat couldn't hide it. The swelling was also enormous. ㅠ For now I drove home. Yes, the dice have already been thrown. Whatever comes up, I just have to adjust and keep living. That's what I told myself on the way down. I took vitamins and anything else that was supposed to be good. My nose is still a little blocked. I guess because the mucous membrane isn't doing its job properly right now, but it is gradually getting better. I also go for walks and use warm compresses, but the bruising still isn't going away easily. Tomorrow I have to go back to Seoul to remove the stitches, and I'll leave another post after that. I had all the silicone, the ear cartilage support, and the ear cartilage tip removed through a closed approach.
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