The surgery was nasal bridge silicone (it had been inserted briefly in the bridge area) + Medpor for the columellar strut + ear cartilage for the tip and bridge + alar reduction
I consulted at several places, and I also went to the plastic surgery department at a university hospital. At the university hospital, they said they absolutely could not do the surgery. They said if they removed it, it would definitely rise up. They said they absolutely would not do it.. I was in a huge panic then...... but in fact the local clinics seemed more confident.
Ah. But because it had been so long since my cartilage was tied, every hospital said that part could not be released. One hospital even said it might be better that way, because the nose might spread less. I had it removed because I was anxious about the implants, so the cartilage binding was not a concern for me.
<<About the removal surgery>>
Only removal. No repositioning X no capsule removal X (I won't discuss the alar reduction part separately since it has nothing to do with removal. I'm satisfied, lol)
I had the surgery at a revision-surgery specialty clinic, not the hospital that was said here to be specialized only in removal. The head doctor at the clinic I chose said removal should be just removal, and that they would not do repositioning or anything like that, sob. Back then, repositioning was the default atmosphere, so I was really scared... But when I went around for consultations, almost every hospital told me it wouldn't collapse, so I decided to trust them and go ahead. They also said they would not remove the capsule. From experience, even in patients whose noses had been opened up later for another revision after removal, the capsule had been absorbed by 6 months. I was terrified of the capsule, but I just decided to trust them. (While going around for consultations, there were three hospitals that said they didn't understand why everyone was so fixated on the capsule lol)
This was the doctor's style here:
"Even if you remove it, your nose absolutely won't collapse. I guarantee it. The chance of collapse is under 2%." "Come on, trust me~~ Just think of it as going back to your ugly face from before surgery." "What kind of removal is supposed to look pretty? If that were the goal, you shouldn't remove it. You'll just go back to your original nose."
That was how he talked... emotional damage...
At the final consultation right before surgery, he said everything would be removed, but there might still be some parts that couldn't be removed. Still, he said he would proceed in a way that removed as much as possible. After the surgery, he said only a very tiny amount of ear cartilage was left at the nasal tip, so little that it was practically negligible.
In other people's reviews, they sometimes brought out the silicone and showed it to them, but I didn't have anything like that.. They didn't show me anything either. I probably didn't even ask, because I knew they would say they couldn't give it to me since it's medical waste. I just felt something being pulled out during the surgery, so I thought, ah, they removed the silicone. (When I asked, "Did you remove the silicone now?" they said, "We're not telling you~~~" lol) They were pressing the nose left and right while doing something, so I thought, ah, they're removing it.. The Medpor was still exactly where it should be, and they said there was no inflammation.
They said they'd use midazolam, not propofol, for anesthesia, and I wasn't asleep, so it was annoying that they did local anesthesia. So during the surgery, they asked things like how many days I took off work for vacation, and we chatted while they operated.
The surgery took 45 minutes from the time I lay down for disinfection until it was finished. My younger sibling, who came with me, was like, "It's already over?" (The first surgery was also with my sibling; the doctor cut away the alar area and then went out to talk and came back, so the surgery took 4 hours)
<<After the removal surgery>>
The clinic's blog said they pay a lot of attention to stitching the surgical marks, but after my first surgery, the scar on my nose turned red and then white, and it took over 6 months before I stopped noticing it. After the removal surgery, the scar wasn't visible in less than a month. Now I can't find where it is either. I didn't even apply ointment.
After the tape came off, my mom was the happiest. Before surgery, my mom opposed removal because my nose was a broad, fleshy nose and she was worried it would get completely flat and spread out. My boyfriend also couldn't tell I had it removed, and none of my friends could either. Even the coworkers I work with said it really didn't look like I had had anything done. I think that has more to do with the cartilage being tied down..? It was supporting the shape before surgery..?
When you read reviews, people often say that after removal, a third nose appears. For me, it just looks like a lowered surgical nose.. My natural nose was already a broad, fleshy nose, so it's much better now.. Even my sibling said the surgical nose used to look sharp, like a witch's nose, but now it's set in a bit more than before, so it's much better.. But in front-view photos, it's definitely true that the bridge has disappearedㅠㅠ
Before removal, if I bumped my nose somewhere or pressed the tip hard, it would feel sharp and hurt, but now it doesn't hurt at all even if I press my nose. When I had silicone in, the bridge would sometimes feel tight and ache too... maybe two or three times? But now there's... none of that at all.
After removal, the bridge is smooth with no indentations. That pig nose everyone is obsessed with... honestly I wasn't that interested in it, so... Now when I try it, it doesn't lift up as soft and malleable as my natural nose, but it still lifts up much more than before removal, so it's not uncomfortable at all.
Even before removal, my nose wasn't extremely hard, but now that I've had it removed, it's become even softer. Still, it's firmer than my natural nose.
The reason I'm leaving such a long post is that before removal I lived on this community, but since I don't come here often after surgery, I tried to write down as much information as I could give. I almost didn't leave a review either.. but I also remembered myself scrambling around trying to find information to get it removed, so for those of you worrying about cartilage repositioning and shape, I hope my post can help you feel even a little more at ease.
Oh, and I didn't feel any contraction phase or anything like that at all
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