Before<One day before inflammation developed><Day inflammation developed><Day after inflammation developed>After<After nasal irrigation><Inflammation subsided>Before This was a revision surgery, and after living with silicone for 7 years, I only had it replaced because of issues with the silicone showing through, depression, and difficulty breathing.
Since my recovery speed after surgery was very fast compared with my first surgery, from week 2 there was no swelling at all.. I felt reassured, and around that time I did glute exercises and got glabellar Botox, and I think that was the trigger.
For the glute exercises, I started out thinking I should do ones that wouldn’t make blood rush too much, but since it had been so long since I exercised it became fun, so even when I felt blood rushing, I just kept doing it.. For the glabellar Botox, since I was only staying at home, the wrinkles between my eyebrows started bothering me and I suddenly wanted to get it. I got it after searching online and asking a dermatology clinic, and they said it wouldn’t affect my nose surgery. (I also asked the revision surgery clinic, and the doctor said that unless there was bacterial contamination from the needle, they couldn’t definitively say glabellar Botox was the cause. But in my opinion, I think this caused about 80% of it..)
After the inflammation happened and I searched about it, apparently revision surgery originally has slower recovery and a higher chance of inflammation. But honestly, I had silicone in for 7 years with no inflammation, and my recovery speed was so good that I had felt reassured ㅠ
Anyway, after getting Botox, the area between my eyebrows hurt a bit. I wondered if I should just let it pass, but from the next day, something that felt like swelling, like a remaining hematoma? between my eyebrows started bothering me, so I felt uneasy and made a hospital appointment for the following Saturday. Strangely, after the Botox and exercise, when I turned sideways while sleeping, my nose felt tight, but I just thought it was part of surgical recovery. (It was like this for 2 months after my first surgery too.)
But on Friday morning, it suddenly felt tight and firm, and then it swelled up a lot. You really can’t miss inflammation ㅜㅜ My whole nose felt extremely tight, suddenly swollen, painful when touched, and hot.
I contacted the hospital right away and they made an appointment for me. They inserted a needle into the glabellar area and aspirated it, but they said no inflammation came out. That day I got an antibiotic injection (it’s an intramuscular injection, so it makes you nauseous.. like it spreads all through your blood..)
After taking antibiotic medicine and sleeping a bit, the pain got better, but the swelling was still the same the next day.. I asked the hospital, and they said sometimes swelling goes down right the day after an antibiotic shot, but since the weekend was coming up, if I felt anxious I could come again, so I went right the next day for another injection.
That day they applied anesthetic cream, inserted a needle into the tissue inside the nostril, and aspirated for inflammation, and they said a little inflammation came out. They asked what I thought about irrigation... They said it’s best to catch inflammation early.. They call it irrigation, but it actually means opening the nose again, removing the silicone, and putting it back in ㅠ I did hesitate, and honestly I had even considered removal, so I thought I might as well try what I could. I had already gotten lots of injections the day before and that day, but I still had sedation anesthesia again ㅠ
Anyway, when I came out afterward, there was less swelling than on the first day of surgery, and unlike when I got the antibiotic shot, the inflammatory swelling actually subsided right away, so my nasal bridge is smaller now.. They said they’ll monitor it regularly for 2 weeks, and if the condition is okay, we can consider the inflammation controlled. Apparently inflammation had been flowing under the silicone. They said that usually happens when bacteria have infiltrated, but no matter how much I think about it, I feel like my worsened condition (sleeping at 3 or 4 a.m., while exercising) and bacteria from the glabellar Botox played some kind of role...
What I felt after developing inflammation is that even if you think, “It won’t happen to me,” once it does become you, it’s mentally hard..
The reason I could be somewhat calm was that at the time of the revision surgery, I considered things like placing an ear cartilage support, but I simply didn’t.. I minimized manipulation inside my soft nose, and in case side effects happened, I chose silicone that could be removed easily (at the time I had also considered autologous dermis or costal cartilage as nasal bridge materials). I chose a hospital that wouldn’t neglect patients aftercare-wise or ignore them if side effects occurred, and because I had chosen with possible future removal in mind, I picked a place that seemed to have experience with side effects and reconstructive surgery.
I was a bit disappointed that the shape didn’t improve dramatically and didn’t become a doll-like nose, but when this situation actually happened, I really felt glad I had it done here.. Some may think it was the hospital’s fault, but I chose this place after going to consultations at over ten places, so I had trust in it. One could think the hospital was responsible, but I don’t think so, and I just think I was an unlucky case.
So I accepted it more calmly than expected and proceeded with treatment.. I just hope the inflammation never recurs again, but usually once it happens, it tends to recur..
If it recurs for me too, I’m also thinking of removing it at an appropriate time.. If I hadn’t been working from home, it would have been really stressful. The time spent on the nose, the worry... Unless your nose is truly not good, I really think living with your original nose bridge is best.
I’m leaving this review for people thinking about inflammatory reactions or irrigation ㅜ ===== Today I removed the taping, and thankfully they said the inflammation has all gone down. I’ll manage it well ㅠ
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