Review after removing septal extension and leaving ear cartilage support

Because hospital information really depends on the person, I’m not planning to share it. The hospital I went to also had some negative reviews, so I’m being careful, though there were no critical reviews. I’m just writing this to share what an external impression it gives if you remove the septal extension and leave the support with ear cartilage, so please keep that in mind. In any case, it’s not one of the top three famous places, and it’s a hospital where many people go back for revision surgery. I got a lot of help from this community before, and I wanted to help anyone who’s curious. I also have another procedure planned, so I’m writing partly to get points from the community... ------------------------------------------------------ Before: septal extension, autologous costal cartilage support, thin silicone, and surgery for rhinitis (inferior turbinate reduction, deviated septum) After: ear cartilage at the nasal tip, silicone removal, septal extension removal, removal of the existing autologous costal cartilage support, then re-collecting ear cartilage and leaving it as support, and bridging corrected with dermis from behind the ear The most uncomfortable things were: 1. Foreign-body sensation (the philtrum felt pulled, like the skin might tear; I couldn’t do the lip-pursing motion; my nose would not move at all; it felt rock-hard from another world, etc.) 2. Functional stress (the airway got narrower so I couldn’t breathe properly; when I lay on my side while sleeping, my nose would get blocked) 3. Appearance issues (straight nostrils, the visual look of a nose extended with costal cartilage... a bird-beak nose, witch nose, the nasal tip being fixed strongly when smiling so it would become an arrow nose, a long nose, a Pinocchio nose, etc.; cartilage showing through; the nasal tip skin turning red whenever it got hot or cold or for any reason; the nose stretching and the skin becoming suddenly very thin) ------------------------------------------------------ The first thing I did the moment I woke up in the recovery room after surgery was purse my lips and try making an "mm" motion to close them, and even right after surgery it worked so well that I thought, wow, that miserable extension is finally gone. Before, the fixation was so strong that even when I put on lip tint and did the lip-pursing motion, it felt like it was pulling me apart, and the foreign-body sensation that hadn’t improved even after well over half a year... Compared with how it felt before surgery, the fact that it felt much more comfortable immediately after surgery, with the columella sewn up, gave me such a sense of relief that I was genuinely happy. If I start complaining about the previous hospital, there’d be no end to it, but even taking into account that I had rhinitis surgery there, the bruising and swelling right after coming out were truly terrible, like my face had been beaten up. There was also severe discharge and bleeding. For 3 to 4 days I was busy changing the gauze several times a day, so I thought that was just how nose surgery was. But this time, at the hospital where I had the partial removal and revision surgery, there was absolutely no bruising, swelling, bleeding, or discharge. There was swelling, sure, but for the most part it was just my usual face. They didn’t even use nasal packing. Even without nasal packing, your nose is blocked anyway, right? Still, it was definitely better than having it. Not using nasal packing is not automatically better, but at least there was no bleeding even without it, and discharge only appeared briefly on the day of surgery before stopping. I never saw blood running or pooling. And it wasn’t like they only removed the silicone either; they removed the septal extension, replaced the support, and removed the silicone too, yet there was really not a single bruise. Maybe it’s a difference in surgical skill? Anyway, from immediately after surgery through day 1 to day 7, my face looked exactly the same. Maybe the damage was minimal... or maybe they were just meticulous. That was the part I was most satisfied with. The reason I decided I will not have any more surgery is that everything I listed above improved, was resolved, or improved above average. Of course, it’s not better than before I touched it, but compared with when the nose was ruined, there’s no comparison in any respect. I wouldn’t call it a complete success because there is still some scar on the columella and one or two other minor issues, and I didn’t want to give up on the aesthetic side entirely, so I left the ear cartilage support in place. But once the functional side is almost entirely resolved, I’m only human, so I start wanting more. I do think maybe I’d like the tip to be a little higher, but if you push the height too much again with ear cartilage, it sags, and I think there is an appropriate maximum height that can be supported. Also, even though it’s a bit firm after surgery, it’s completely different from when I had autologous costal cartilage, and the nose moves well. I don’t feel any strain when frowning or making facial expressions. Still, it hasn’t been six months yet, so I’m being careful. Originally, my nostrils were very uneven because the alar reduction had been done badly, and during the splint period after this revision I was worried because they still looked very uneven, but it seems there really was swelling. After the splint came off, they gradually improved, and now the difference is only slight and they’re almost the same, so I realized that these things can definitely change with time. Even if it feels like there’s no swelling, I think there are parts that really need to be watched slowly over time. Dissatisfaction with appearance after surgery: slight widening from the front, columella scar, wishing the nasal tip were a bit higher Satisfied with: better nasolabial angle than my original nose, a fuller columella, the nose looking smaller than my original nose, a rounder nasal tip, rounder nostrils, and all the witch-nose / long-nose changes caused by the extended costal cartilage being gone When I start wanting even more in terms of shape, I really get the strong feeling that from that point on I’d fall back into the hard-core mode I was in before the revision. So right now, more than appearance, I’m truly satisfied that the functional improvement is at least 70% or more. Unless severe visibility or functional problems happen, I’ve decided there will be no more nose revision surgery in my life. There will probably only be sagging ahead, but even so, I think as I get older I’ll end up worrying about a nose that keeps holding itself up stiffly while the skin gets thinner and thinner... When I look at celebrities who’ve had nose surgery several times and are a bit older, they have a similar feeling. This time I raised the nose too much, the skin got thin, and it became a dried-out nose, so even though it’s now bulkier and the line has become blurred, I find myself satisfied with my natural nose too. I guess I really am fickle. After experiencing a nose that didn’t suit me, I became grateful for what I had before. Before this revision, I had consultations at about 8 hospitals, and most of them proposed a plan to reuse the autologous costal cartilage. I chose the place that proposed removal, because if the extended autologous costal cartilage wasn’t removed, the hardness, visibility, and breathing issues wouldn’t improve, and it felt like I’d need another revision soon anyway. Out of the 8 hospitals, 3 proposed a removal plan, and 1 of the others suggested a method to lift the extension instead (floating???), while the rest only proposed lowering it. The price range was extreme, from the mid-5 million won range to the high-8 million won range, and one of the places was among the top three famous ones. Not a single hospital recommended full removal. Anyway, unless your nose absolutely has to use autologous costal cartilage or you have no other material left, I’m completely against it... The hardness of autologous costal cartilage is truly beyond imagination. It seems many people even choose autologous costal cartilage for their first nose surgery, but please use it very, very carefully. I’m so upset that in the end all that’s left is a scar longer than 2 cm on my body and everything had to be removed. Still, I’m grateful to be back to everyday life. I hope everyone gets their nose surgery done well and returns to daily life quickly! Thank you to everyone here who helped me a lot.