(Photos deleted)
I’m sharing my review after removing L-shaped silicone that was over 7 years old. (Surgery in October 2013, L-shaped 4 mm)
Around 3 years ago, I felt like the silicone was showing through badly at the nasal tip, so I looked into removal. But the hospital where I had the surgery said there was no problem and told me not to remove it, so I forgot about it and moved on. I was also studying abroad, so it was difficult to get surgery. But recently, the show-through got worse and it felt like the alar cartilage was becoming more prominent, so I gathered information from a community and started going for removal consultations.
Fortunately, there was no inflammation and it wasn’t a situation with a serious problem, but most opinions were that because of the characteristics of L-shaped silicone, the show-through and compression of the alar cartilage would keep getting worse, so removal/revision surgery would eventually be needed.
I’m taking a short break from work, so I thought it would be hard to make up my mind if not now, and decided to have surgery right away. Since there was no immediate problem and my nose shape wasn’t bad, my family and friends opposed the surgeryㅠ But people who haven’t experienced it can never know.. The anxiety about side effects, the feeling of it shifting whenever I lay on my side, the foreign-body sensation, and so onㅠ I kept steadying my mind because I really wanted to be free from these things now.
* Day of surgery: changed clothes -> nostril hair removal (it was hard ㅠㅠ) -> another consultation with the director (rechecked surgical method, took nose photos) -> surgery
The surgery itself was done under sedation anesthesia, so it wasn’t very difficult. When I came to, they were finishing up the surgery lol After surgery, I rested in the recovery room for about 30 minutes, and the director came and showed me the removed silicone and capsule. The silicone was an L-shape inserted very, very far down to the nasal tip, and the thickest part was about 4 mm. (Glabella 4 mm, the nasal tip was very thin) Fortunately, the capsule also came out cleanly in exactly two strips, there was no inflammation, and they said the surgery was done cleanly. However, just as I had worried, they said the skin at the nasal tip had become very thin because of the silicone. (I really do think L-shaped silicone eventually has to be removedㅠ It may vary from person to person, though)
* Days 1-2 after surgery: I was relieved that I didn’t swell much on the day of surgery, but from the next day, the swelling kept starting to increase.
Because of the splint, I couldn’t tell how swollen my nose was, and my eyes swelled a lot. (They swelled like I had double eyelid surgery lol) I did cold compresses and went for walks often, and spent time watching movies and dramas. It was really tediousㅠ On the first day, I didn’t have an appetite because I disliked the feeling in my nose when opening my mouth..
* Day 3 after surgery: I got my splint removed today. They said it looked like there was a little fluid collected near the glabella, so they drained it with a syringe, but said it wasn’t something to worry about.
Like other people mention in their reviews, the glabella looks like Avatar + a human-faced fish, and the nasal tip feels like my original nose shape with swelling. Especially because the silicone had been placed high at the glabella, I had worried that I would feel a big sense of loss after removal, but maybe because of the swelling, I don’t really know yet. The director said it would be about 2-2.5 mm higher than my original nose haha I sincerely hope that’s true. Oh, and my nostrils are slightly asymmetric. It may be because the swelling is different on each side, but I didn’t have an asymmetry issue before removal, so I’m a little worried;
While I was debating removal and going around for consultations, I think I read almost all the posts uploaded in the communityㅠ It’s only been 3 days since surgery, so my thoughts may change later, but for now, I think once you start considering removal, it may be right to just do it. That worry doesn’t go away. I also looked into it 3 years ago and started looking into it again this time. The anxiety and worry seem to keep amplifyingㅠㅠ
I’m worried because it feels like once the swelling goes down, it will almost return to my original nose, but I’m still going to think only good thoughts. Maybe a small, low nose just suits my face better, and I think it all depends on mindset. Oh, and what I felt after removing the splint was that my habit of frowning around my eyebrows above the glabella had developed because of the foreign-body sensation/weight/pressure(?) from the silicone. Now that the silicone is gone and my nose feels light, I don’t frown anymore, and overall my expression feels more relaxed.
For those considering removal, I hope you find a hospital that suits you perfectly and get good results! Even if our noses are a little low, we are all beautiful enough : ) I’ll share another update after the stitches are removed and the swelling goes down.
Likes 6