Hello I’m leaving this post because when I was debating surgery, I listened to many people here and found comfort. I had my silicone + ear cartilage removed, and I went to a place that said they would remove the entire capsule as well.
First of all, rhinoplasty itself was not something I desperately wanted ㅎㅎ I had it done together with double eyelid surgery when I entered university. I just followed my mom there, holding her hand, and had it done, so (about 13 years ago) I had no knowledge about clinics and no deep thoughts about surgery. I knew my nose was small because other people said so, but I had been living just fine without any major dissatisfaction with my original nose.
Fortunately, shape-wise, it came out pretty well and suited my face, but I experienced my own kind of side effects from the very day of surgery. You may say it was nothing serious, but I had headaches continuously from the day of surgery. When I’m sleeping, I have a habit of sleeping on my side, so I don’t know, but from the moment I woke up in the morning, the area above my nose felt a little heavy ㅋㅋㅋ It felt dull and heavy, then after a while my forehead between the brows would start to hurt, my eyes would feel stiff, then my temples would hurt a lot. Anyway, I consistently had a headache that’s hard to explain. Maybe because my nasal bones are naturally very small and thin, and a thick silicone implant of about 4-5 mm was placed on top, I think there was pressure pain. My concentration when studying dropped too, and anyway, I had lived my whole life not knowing what headaches were, so suddenly having a headache every day was miserable. But having another surgery felt bothersome + scary, and I thought it would get better once my body adapted.
However, the headaches did not stop. I just adapted to the headaches ㅋㅋㅋ Then maybe because a slight inflammation developed, my nasal bridge started to look a little crooked. That was when living with a silicone nose finally became scarier than surgery ㅋㅋㅋ So I looked for clinic information here and did a lot of online research in many places.
Since this was not a surgery to improve the shape, I didn’t go to many consultations. I wanted to find a place that would remove it cleanly and safely. (+at a reasonable price too) So I narrowed it down to about three places in my mind and went for consultations. (If I didn’t like all three, I was going to make a new list, but in the end, I did it at one of the three.) One of the three was the place where I originally had surgery. (The main purpose was to find out how and with what they had done the surgery.) Thinking about it, all the directors’ names at the places I visited were unusual.
The first was a clinic near Sinnonhyeon Station. Without the last name, the director’s first name is the clinic name. Before visiting, I was honestly really annoyed ㅋㅋㅋ It was so hard to make an appointment (I waited a month), and they called about twice asking me to change my appointment date, so before even going I thought, ah... this place won’t work. Still, since I waited a month... I should at least go, and went ㅋㅋㅋ But there was a twist...
It was a private clinic with one representative director, ㅇㅅㅇ, and when I arrived at my appointment time, I didn’t wait and went straight into the consultation with the consultant + director. (I was there for about an hour total.) I thought maybe the reason they called asking me to change the appointment time was because they manage appointments thoroughly ㅋㅋㅋ Once I actually arrived, there was no waiting time at all.
They said they would remove it through an open approach, (my original surgery was open surgery) and that they would remove the capsule completely and cleanly. The consultant here is unbelievably kind. Truly out-of-this-world kind. Some people may say, well, the surgery is done by the surgeon, what use is the consultant, but I’m someone who has been hurt by what a consultant said and cried before ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ha, when I meet consultants who make me feel like I’m being power-tripped in reverse when I’m coming to spend my own money, I immediately say goodbye. Here, when I said why I wanted removal and what discomfort I had, she comforted me and said there were other people who had this kind of pain too, but their surgery went well and they left so happy, and that my surgery would go well too, and even with an open approach, the director’s suturing skills are really good, so not to worry... Honestly, when you say you have headaches after getting your nose done, no one believes you ㅋㅋㅋㅋ but only here they said there were people like that and that I wasn’t alone ㅋㅋㅋ Ah, I really can’t fully tell all the comfort I received here. The director also explained + consulted calmly without feeling rushed. Since this was my first clinic, I didn’t know what to ask ㅋㅋㅋ so I didn’t spend a long time in the director consultation, but if you prepare a lot of questions, I don’t think he would scold you for asking them all ㅋㅋㅋㅋ The director doesn’t give off a very kind? sweet? feeling. It’s exactly a practical consultation style ㅋㅋㅋ Still, I liked that he spoke clearly, more than directors who talk around things and act vague. There was a consultation fee of 10,000 won, and it wasn’t a waste at all.... For the price too, they didn’t play games like events or “if you book today...” They said, this is the exact price, and since your surgery isn’t urgent, take your time thinking about it, actually giving me peace of mind...
The second was right in front of Gangnam Station, and this place had opened less than a year ago. The clinic name is very oh lovely. Apparently the director had been at another clinic and was somewhat famous. This person’s name was also quite unique ㅋㅋㅋ a director with a name I felt everyone would know. Honestly, I went here on purpose because they said they take CT scans. It’s not really a clinic that specializes in removal either. Even though I went at my reserved time, I waited about 30 minutes. There were clients who came for postoperative follow-up in between, and it seemed like two or three people were booked for the same time. I took the CT, then consultant consultation - director consultation - consultant consultation, in that order, and here I consulted with the director for about 25 minutes? The director was very kind and listened well ㅋㅋㅋ When I said I had headaches, he did say that in his opinion it seemed like it was in my head or a psychological issue, but even if it was psychological, he at least made an effort ㅋㅋ to empathize that it must still be a great pain for me. Through the CT, I was able to see how many millimeters were currently in my nose and picture in my head, ah, this is what my original nose is like. Here, they recommended not just silicone removal but revision surgery. Since there was a thick silicone implant, they said I would likely feel disappointed with the shape. They said they would remove it if I wanted, but it would not be complete capsule removal; they mentioned a method of only cutting the capsule so the nose would not contract, and removing only the silicone.
They didn’t play games with the price here either, and the consultant ㅋㅋ strongly recommended either not removing it or doing revision surgery... but that wasn’t what I wanted...
What was impressive here was that they really told me to go visit the place where I originally had surgery. (Both the director and consultant) They said honestly, removal is cheapest at the original clinic, and although it’s a bit awkward to say from the clinic’s perspective, from the consumer’s perspective that’s the best, and the original clinic would know the surgical method, so I should go. I felt grateful because in that sense they seemed conscientious. There was no consultation fee, and the price they quoted was a bit high ㅋㅋㅋ (honestly I wondered if they quoted it that way because they didn’t want to do it ㅋㅋㅋ) Still, I think they were conscientious.
The third was the clinic in Apgujeong where I originally had surgery. The clinic name has repeated English initials. The director has been working hard on YouTube these days... the person whose name is a jewel... When you go here, there are two buildings in Apgujeong (one has the same name but operates as an aesthetic clinic), so you need to look carefully before entering. There are many doctors here. A lot... I consulted with the director who originally performed my surgery, the person behind the initials, and this place was truly legendary... First, it took an hour until I saw the director’s face. Of course, in between I took X-rays and photos, but I saw the consultant only very briefly, and anyway it felt like I waited an eternity... I was touring clinics and my blood sugar dropped... I was hungry ㅋㅋㅋ so it was so hard...
And after waiting and waiting and going from one consultation room to another, I finally saw the director, and as soon as he saw me, he said, why are you trying to remove it~ don’t remove it~ (definitely informal speech) I said, “Because I have headaches and so on,” and he said there’s about one person like this every 5 years, it’s all in your head, it’s psychological, then you’re not removing it, okay? and seemed about to leave...? There were so many points that offended me, I didn’t even know where to start ㅋㅋㅋ Still, since I had come all the way there, I needed to get the information I needed, so I asked how the surgery had been done, said my nose seemed crooked, and things like that, but he showed me photos of perfectly normal celebrities and said this is what a crooked nose is, and showed photos that clearly just had shadows because the lighting was from one side ㅋㅋㅋㅋ We talked while looking at my X-ray, and because I wondered if there had been any material other than silicone + ear cartilage, I asked how the surgery had been done and kept holding onto him, so I think we talked for about 10 minutes?
Director: If you really want, I’ll do the surgery. I’ll only remove the silicone. I won’t remove the cartilage. Me: Then if only the nasal tip sticks out and there’s no bridge, it’ll slope down like a slide and then go up. Director: That could happen.
...? That’s it? No solution ㅋㅋㅋ like what am I supposed to do ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Me: Then from the X-ray + my records, what does it say about how the surgery was done? Director: (It seemed like the records had been discarded because more than 10 years had passed. Looking at the X-ray) There’s silicone here (nasal bridge), (doesn’t know how many mm) and cartilage in the nasal tip and columella. Me: (Silence... I know cartilage wasn’t put into the nasal column. I knew it was just placed on the nasal tip and fixed there...)
Anyway, so I said yes yes, I won’t remove it ^^ and came out because I was hungry...
After the tour, I cried while eating. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I felt somehow upset. I paid for the surgery, but why is it so hard to pay again to have surgery, who is he to tell me to have surgery or not... and it’s not even cosmetic surgery, it’s reconstructive surgery.
I ended up having it done at the first clinic, (the price was exactly around what I had thought was reasonable while researching online) and now it has been 2 weeks, and tomorrow I’m going to have the stitches inside my nose removed. It’s my last visit. Removal surgery is absolutely not cheap. Unless you remove it at the clinic where you originally had surgery.
To write a bit of a surgery review, the director explained possible side effects after surgery... this also felt honestly explained. Since the nose is opened, there will be a scar. When skin is opened, scars always form... During surgery, they also gave me an injection to help with swelling, and I think it helped a lot ㅋㅋ I’m originally the type to swell a lot and bruise a lot (when I had rhinoplasty, I was bruised for over a month), but by week 2, all the bruising was gone, and almost all the swelling was gone too. (Only the nose itself + minor residual swelling remain.) The open-surgery scar was sutured well too, so it’s already barely noticeable. Actually, this place didn’t take X-rays or anything during consultation. But since I had taken both X-rays and CT scans while consulting elsewhere and checked them with the doctors... I had no complaints.
My current situation is, I can visibly see my nose getting lower ㅋㅋㅋ for now it’s kind of cute... And I thought maybe the silicone wasn’t crooked, but my nasal bridge itself might have been slightly crooked, but the conclusion is that my nasal bridge was not crooked! ㅋㅋ And amazingly, my headaches disappeared. Even if it was psychological or in my head, that’s fine. My head truly feels this clear... + Why did I endure this for over 10 years!
I still don’t have any contracture? They say it can come briefly, but I don’t have anything like that, and because my nasal tip has come down more than my operated nose, my nostrils don’t show as much, so I like it more.
From now on... I’m going to look into surgery to remove the scar from the epicanthoplasty I had done together with my nose. Everyone, if you’re really going to have surgery, think about it a lot and study a lot yourself before doing it. Before restoration becomes even more bothersome like it did for me...
Clinic inquiries... I gave enough hints for those who have done their online research to know, so please no DMs... I won’t answer. If you don’t know, copy my post and look through other posts, and you’ll find the answer. For those debating whether to remove or not, I recommend doing it boldly, but think about it for a long time and make your decision! +It might be better to worry about choosing the clinic than to worry about whether to do it or not ㅎㅎ
For reference, the right clinic will not persuade you aggressively or make you feel uncertain. As you go around for consultations, there will be a place where you get the feeling, “this is it.”
If even one thing feels off, that’s not the place.
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