I posted a review a few days ago about having the implant completely removed because of breathing problems, but when I tried to edit it to remove the photo and the hospital initials, it said I couldn’t edit or delete it because there were more than 20 comments. (The photo is being taken down because of privacy concerns. I didn’t remove it because of the shape, and there are plenty of before-and-after photos in other people’s reviews, so I’m not going to upload more lol Many people said the shape became prettier than before surgery, with no problems at all.) I asked the administrator, and it was just deleted for me, so I’m reposting it after editing because I thought there might be people who need the write-up. Also, I won’t separately answer the content written in the postㅠ ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ Hello. This is my first review after having my nasal implant completely removed six months after surgery because of breathing problems. After deciding to have it removed, I practically lived in this community for almost three months and received a lot of help, so I decided to write my first post in hopes of helping others too. As you can see from my post history...I have never left a post before (the comments were written for level-up purposes), but I had read every single post in the nasal removal forum and review board here because I was that desperate. I can swear on my nose that this is not an ad. Because I had it removed for breathing-related problems, this post is very long. I know there are many people here with breathing issues too, so I hope you’ll read it to the end.
First, six months ago I visited a plastic surgery clinic to only reduce my nostrils, but based on the doctor’s and the director’s recommendation that raising the bridge would also make the nostrils look narrower, I ended up having nose surgery using silicone and donated rib cartilage. (Still, I’m glad I didn’t go through with nostril reduction. There are people who feel breathing discomfort even after nostril reduction, and surgery that removes tissue, like nostril reduction, cannot be reversed.)
So the procedures I had were: 3.5 mm silicone for the nasal bridge, septal extension using donated rib cartilage and septal cartilage, lowering the columella (cat surgery), lifting the septal graft at the tip, and correction of a bulbous tip (I think it was done by cartilage suturing). +They also shaved down a slight hump.
At the time of surgery I didn’t really know, but later I requested my chart and found it written like this. If you’re planning removal, make sure to get your chart from the surgical clinic, and don’t just get the chart - ask the surgeon exactly what method was used. When I pressed the doctor repeatedly, he vaguely said they had done spreader grafting on one side. That part wasn’t written in the chart, and if I hadn’t known a spreader graft had been done, I might never have been able to remove it. (I’ll explain more later.)
Anyway, right after the packing was removed after my nose surgery, I felt that the airway in my right nostril had become narrower, and that sensation continued for six months. It felt like the right alar cartilage (the upper alar cartilage) was sticking to the roof of my nostril every time I inhaled. I searched the internet and thought it might be internal nasal valve stenosis. On top of that, about three months later, my right nose started getting blocked often. If I lay on my right side, my right nostril would get completely blocked too.
So I visited four ENT clinics, but all of them sent me away saying they couldn’t see anything abnormal. One ENT even said it seemed like a psychological issue..ㅋㅋ
Then, after digging through this community and other cosmetic surgery cafes, I started visiting both the hospital where I had the surgery and hospitals that perform removal, thinking removal might help.
First, at the original surgery hospital, I had a CT scan, and it showed that the septal cartilage had deviated to the right compared with before surgery, narrowing the airway. But the doctor said that this degree of narrowing made it hard to say it would cause frequent blockage and breathing discomfort, and that if I removed everything it would collapse, so a rhinitis surgery that removes the inferior turbinate would make it better...
Everyone, you should never mess with the inferior turbinate lightly. Even if I had developed rhinitis, I had no intention of getting rhinitis surgery. Because of my breathing problems, I joined a nasal empty nose syndrome cafe on Naver and read every post carefully.. If the inferior turbinate is touched and empty nose syndrome develops, it really becomes irreversible.
Even if plastic surgery clinics or ENT doctors casually say it’s fine to shave the inferior turbinate a little and make it seem like nothing, please think carefully. Septoplasty can also recur easily, so unless you truly can’t breathe at all, think it through carefully.
Anyway, after the first hospital said such nonsense, I took my chart and pre-op photos and left quickly, then went to consult removal hospitals. I visited four hospitals in total: the three major ones and two-character hospitals starting with ㅅ. (I know there are two well-known two-character hospitals starting with ㅅ, and these are famous for removal.)
1. First, I visited ㅍ twice for consultations. The first consultation was short, about five minutes, but the second one lasted about 30 minutes. When I showed the director my chart and pre-op photos, he said the cause of the breathing problem was probably that the alar cartilage had been tied too high when it was sutured, and that it had become weakened or damaged during the process of being moved. He said that with complete removal I might improve, but if the alar cartilage was not merely weakened but actually damaged, it would not fully return to normal. I liked the second consultation, but after looking into this community for several months, I found many suspicious posts that seemed like astroturfing, so I passed.
2. I only had one consultation at the two-character hospital starting with ㅅ. They said they couldn’t identify the cause of the breathing problem, but that removal would probably help, and spoke very confidently. At first they said complete removal was possible, but later, after I told them that the original surgeon might have done a spreader graft, they said removing that would make the nose collapse. I had already been put off by confident doctors who then washed their hands of me once breathing problems appeared after the first surgery, so I let this one go too.
3. I also had one consultation at ㄱ. They took me straight into the exam room, carefully checked me with an endoscope, and pinpointed my problem accurately. Because the right alar cartilage had been tied upward and had deviated from its original position, the firmly supporting cartilage had moved, so when I inhaled my nostrils moved a lot and it felt like the inside of the nose was sticking together. The director said removal alone would help, but that to get a greater effect I would need external valve grafting with ear cartilage. When I mentioned the spreader graft, he firmly said that it had nothing to do with breathing, so he would not remove it. I liked that he identified the problem, but because of some breathing-related removal reviews posted here, I passed.
4. I had two consultations at ㅅ. During either consultation, they never gave me a clear answer, and said there were too many possible causes of the breathing problem to identify just one. They said that the nasal valve stenosis I mentioned should be visible externally, but it wasn’t, and the ENT doctors had said there was no problem, so they didn’t think that was the cause. They did say that spreader grafting could cause nasal congestion in theory despite the usual expectations, so if I wanted removal, complete removal would be the right approach. In the end, they said removal might help, but it might not, and I felt this was the most careful and conscientious place among the hospitals I visited, so I had the removal done there.
The removal method was an open approach with removal of the silicone, donated rib cartilage and septal cartilage used for septal extension, the donated rib cartilage spreader graft on the left, the donated rib cartilage at the columella, and all septal tip grafts. I did not remove the capsule because I was removing it for breathing problems and didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble. Also, because I had undergone double jaw surgery, I was worried the septum might collapse, so they planned to place the harvested septal cartilage alongside it, but since it was too small and had a C-shape, it wouldn’t provide proper support, so they said they just removed it all. They also rearranged the cartilage. They released the raised-up alar cartilage and only placed one stitch on the lower side. After surgery, the director said the right alar cartilage had been tied up more than the left, and that might have been why breathing felt uncomfortable.
After removal, my right nose became severely blocked and I cried and panicked, but starting from the day the stitches were removed it gradually got better, and now it has improved quite a lot. (Recovery speed varies a lot from person to person, so don’t worry in advance while reading reviews here.) It is not exactly the same as before surgery, but breathing is much easier and better now, so I don’t regret it.
Actually, even the nose I had after surgery was not a pretty shape; it was crooked and odd-looking. But when a person can’t breathe, the shape doesn’t even matter. For the past six months, I just wanted to die, and every day felt like hell. Through this experience, I realized how great it is just to be able to breathe. We’re not celebrities who make money off our looks.. appearance really is nothing. The best thing is eating what you like and living happily with your family.
Every surgical procedure, whether big or small, always comes with side effects, so you need to be careful. In the future, I have no intention of getting even minor procedures, and I also never want my family members to undergo surgery unless it is truly necessary and urgent.
Thank you for reading this long post.
좋아요 24