Hello
I got a lot of information and help here, so I’m writing a review in case it may help others too.
1. First surgery (local plastic surgery clinic) I had surgery in early April 2017 using silicone and ear cartilage. It was silicone on the nasal bridge, ear cartilage for the columellar strut, and ear cartilage for the nasal tip; septal cartilage was not used. They shaved down a hump and did alar reduction.
2. Reason for removal a. Psychological anxiety (1 year after surgery, I became aware of silicone side effects. From then on, I considered removing the silicone + lowering the height from the ear cartilage, and went for consultations at the hospital where I had the surgery.) b. Nose abnormalities - When I pressed the nasal bridge, it made a sound like air escaping? (a crackling sound..) - Nasal tip cartilage showing through (it gradually got worse over time, and to the touch, when pressure was applied, it became sharp as if it might poke through) - Repeated swelling of the nasal bridge - The decisive factor was swelling at the starting point of the silicone (it swelled up to half of my forehead, and even after all the swelling went down, it stayed swollen like a small lump) *At the hospital that removed it, they said during consultation that it was early-stage contracture *One of the hospitals I consulted said the inflammation would probably be severe (but after opening it, they said there was no inflammation) *Air had collected between the nasal bone and the silicone (On CT, it showed as black under the silicone, and they said that was air. They said during the first surgery, while grinding down the hump, too much was shaved away, creating a passage? and silicone was placed on top in that condition. The hospital where I had the first surgery told me the same thing.)
- : What I had already felt, * : What I learned after removal consultations
I went to 4 consultations
3. Removal process (Seoul) The removal was on 04/21 in the afternoon, and I fasted for 12 hours. I only didn’t drink alcohol the day before. After arriving at the hospital, I paid the remaining balance, washed my face, and signed the consent form (I consented to using septal cartilage or ear cartilage if the shape looked strange, such as an upturned nose, saddle nose, or other issues). After taking photos, I changed into surgical clothes (top only), consulted with the director, and went into the operating room. The anesthesia was full sedation - they said they would wake me when suturing inside the nose because I had to lift my chin for them.. It was removed through an open approach. After getting onto the operating table, they placed an IV? in my wrist, removed nasal hair, and disinfected my face, neck, and nose. Since they might use ear cartilage, they exposed one ear and disinfected it, and put something like a breathing tube? line? into my nostril. They taped along my facial hairline. Then they took off the sock on one foot and put a clip on my toe.. After they covered my body with the surgical drape, the director came in.
They said, “Please tell us if you feel dizzy~~” and I said yes~ then immediately passed out lol When I woke up, they were suturing, and while telling me to lift my chin like this and turn to the side, they explained the condition of my nose, but honestly, I don’t remember. After suturing, they inserted cotton into my nose, and ah,, I really hated that. Then everything was finished, they removed all the tape, wiped my face a bit, and it was over! I’m not sure about feeling dizzy. It just felt refreshing, like I’d slept well. I walked to the recovery room by myself just fine. I got a prescription for antibiotics, and when I asked whether I didn’t need to take Rizaben, they said they would prescribe it later after removing the stitches if they checked my condition and thought it was necessary.
After surgery, the director came to the recovery room and explained the surgical process. They said that after removal, they found the first surgery had shaved things down way too aggressively, so they used septal cartilage.. Feeling a bit of despair? I asked, “So I won’t be able to do a pig nose?” and they said it wasn’t used as a support strut at the nasal tip, so it probably won’t be completely possible, but slightly should be possible.
They also said they corrected the uneven nostrils to some extent. And the consultant showed me all the photos taken during the surgery. They explained things like this visible part is scar tissue, that is the silicone, and so on, and I received the silicone. Then I paid the additional fee for cartilage use and went home,,
That was the removal process.
On the 23rd, nasal cotton removal and disinfection + swelling laser On the 26th, splint and stitch removal, disinfection + swelling laser, then compression taping (they said I should do this taping at night for a month, and definitely while sleeping) On both the 23rd and 26th, the director came and checked, and on the 26th, after looking, they said I didn’t need to take contracture medication, so I didn’t get a prescription. They also said to start applying scar ointment and Cica-Care from next Monday, and wrote the ointment name on a Post-it for me. It looked slightly upturned, so I asked, and they said after 2 weeks, as the nasal tip swelling goes down, it will come down. The operated nose itself looked more upturned compared with my natural nose, but it’s not very noticeable, and other people don’t notice either lol So I’m more or less satisfied. The front view of my nose is still puffy because of swelling, and it feels puffy to the touch too, but I guess once time passes and it goes down, it’ll be okay.
4. Reason I chose the removal hospital No matter which hospital it is, negative reviews always exist.. I also saw many negative reviews about this hospital, and many reviews saying people were satisfied. It was the same for other hospitals too. I just chose the hospital that I personally liked. One hospital mentioned that my nose condition was serious, so I did make a quick decision out of impatience, but what I considered most important was how well they understood what I wanted, whether they would reflect my opinions, whether they caught parts I didn’t know about, how well communication with the director went, and so on. The kind explanations were a bonus.
Also, I’m going to avoid sharing the hospital as much as possible. The results are still uncertain, there are dissatisfied reviews, and even if I succeeded, there’s no guarantee others will also succeed. If someone got an unsatisfactory result after my recommendation, that would be distressing in its own way. I just had it removed at one of the hospitals commonly called the top three for removal..! If you’ve seen me on cafes or this community under the same nickname, you may know which hospital I had it removed at, but please view it only as a reference.
I don’t know when or how the commonly mentioned contraction period may come, but so far there’s nothing like that. Whether the front view will become an upturned nose or not will only be clear after all the swelling goes down, so I’ll mention it again then. After removal, I definitely don’t go on plastic surgery cafes or sites anymore,, Before removal, I kept going in and out of them and it affected my daily life quite a lot, but after removal, I just feel relieved.. I hope recovery goes well too, so I can move in the direction of not thinking about a third surgery.
Thank you for reading this long post!
I’m going to write this post on my personal blog (different ID), this community, and so on, so if you see it on another site, please just take it as that haha
Um.. Whatever choice you make, I hope you get good results!
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