I wondered if I would ever come back here again, and calling it “just for fun(?)” feels wrong because I know there are people who are truly desperate... I came in thinking, “Was I like this in the past too(?)” Then I saw a message from someone who was extremely anxious before surgery and right after having it, and I thought I should write something. I can’t sleep, so I’m having a drink and writing this review.
I went in and out for 3 years saying I would get it removed, and since it was COVID and I could wear a mask, I had it removed in my 7th year after nose surgery. It was 3 mm silicone, and the nasal tip was septal cartilage. The silicone showed through so much (you could see it right away when looking at me; I guess it was because my skin is thin and fair), so I went all the way from Busan to Seoul many times looking into removal.
The director at the hospital where I had my first surgery also performed it himself and was a humane person, but he said I would look less attractive and suggested only replacing the silicone. But I couldn’t shake the thought that it would show through again. As you all know, once you can see it showing through, that’s all you can see. So I visited four hospitals in Busan: two recommended revision surgery, one said simple removal would be fine, and one also said to try removing only the silicone (after a CT scan, they said it seemed like donated rib cartilage; I thought I was going crazy. I think that was when I decided I needed to remove it immediately because of anxiety about the material...)
After hearing about donated rib cartilage, I went back and forth between Busan and Seoul a lot for consultations. I visited several hospitals. One said the nasal tip was probably septal cartilage and suggested removing the silicone and lowering the tip. Two recommended total removal (one was a place that only does total removal, and the other said removing everything should be fine and there wouldn’t be a big difference). At another place, I had really looked hard through that doctor’s blog and the surgeries he did during his university hospital days, and he said if nasal height was important, we could use fascia.
After thinking it over in many ways, I had surgery at a hospital that had quite a lot of surgery reviews around that time. At first, the swelling on the two sides of my nose went down differently, so I thought my nose was crooked. I spent about a month feeling depressed, thinking I would need revision surgery with autologous costal cartilage or dermis. But after about two months, the hard nose loosened up a bit and started looking more human. Since I had osteotomy during my first surgery, I still don’t have much of a nasal bridge like other people. They did the osteotomy very thoroughly, so there isn’t much bridge left. My nose wasn’t originally low, though.....
My 7-month review is that the thinned skin doesn’t really show. When I went back to work around day 45, people around me didn’t know what I had done, so when I said I removed the silicone and the nasal tip material, they were like, “Oh, I see” (I think it may also be because the people I work with are a bit older). My in-laws and my own family didn’t notice, and my husband had been comforting me by saying he couldn’t really tell even when I had the surgery, since he sees me from the side all the time..... The pigmentation on the thinned skin right after surgery, which looked like age spots, also disappeared at some point.
After removal, my nasal congestion got a bit worse (since I had surgery, I think the mucous membrane must have weakened). Aesthetically, of course, the operated nose is prettier. If you think removal will make you prettier, you need revision surgery. Removal is literally just removal. And because my osteotomy was done so thoroughly, I think my first-surgery doctor may have tried to stop me from removing the silicone and wanted to replace it instead. I didn’t really feel a contraction phase, so I stopped taking the prescribed Rizaben after taking it for a while. I didn’t work very hard on scar care or warm compresses, didn’t massage, didn’t go for walks, and just thought, “Well, it’ll get better with time” (maybe that’s just my personality..... laziness hahaha). The scar is dark. But since I had total removal, maybe because the nasal tip has gone down a bit, or because my scar from the first surgery was already quite severe, I don’t really care. For sensitive people, it’s probably a scar that would cause quite a lot of stress.
I haven’t experienced every hospital, and I’m not extremely satisfied either, so I don’t think I can recommend a hospital (if I had removal done at several hospitals, I might be able to recommend one.... but I only did it once hahaha). Instead, if you’re like me and are very stressed because it shows through so much, I think removal is okay. As for psychological reasons... well, aside from the showing-through, I never really had thoughts like, “What if contracture happens later?” In cases where silicone was used... I know everyone is probably worrying a lot and stuck in the swamp of removal. After removal, the first month or two are really unattractive! If you endure it well, you won’t become prettier than with a cosmetic-surgery nose, but it does become natural.
I hope you don’t worry too much and can quickly get out of nose hell. I have no thoughts of revision surgery. I don’t even feel things like “My nose is ugly” or “I want to become prettier” hahaha. I guess I’ve gotten older. Since this mindset differs from person to person too, if appearance is important to you, I think it may be better to consider revision surgery rather than removal. The photo is from the 6-month mark hahaha. Other people upload before-and-after photos, but I won’t upload the before photo. Seeing old photos hurts my heart hahahahaha. I’ll delete the photo soon.
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