Before <before removal> After <right after removal> <Day 4, the day the splint was removed> <Day 7, the day the stitches were removed> I posted a removal review on day 5; it was a complete removal (silicone + septal cartilage). Since I didn’t have inflammation or contracture, I was still debating whether to remove it right up until just before surgery, going in and out of this community to look things up. I thought my experience might help too, so I’m posting with photos attached. They said it would be best to rest and not lift anything heavy for 3 weeks, but because of circumstances where I couldn’t do that, even though it’s day 8, the swelling and bruising are really... I think they’re going down very slowly. At the re-consultation before surgery, I was told that the nasal tip had been about to start contracting, and maybe because of that, after removal it is sitting lower. I don’t think the contraction phase has started yet~ I don’t feel any tight pulling. The swelling between my brows is going down, but compared with my previous operated nose, it hasn’t gotten dramatically lower yet. I even had the capsule removed, so I hope flesh is filling that space, but since it’s broadly swollen overall, I think it’s swelling lol.. Also, my left upper eyelid, the middle of my nasal bridge, and the nasal tip have red bruises and yellow bruises, all colorful~ The nasal tip is still bulbous and is going down much more slowly than the glabella area.
As the swelling goes down, my nose shape changes every single day, but so far I think it’s okay. I can see signs that the alar area and nasal tip are gradually going down unevenly. In 3 weeks, I’m going back to the hospital once more to check the contraction phase and progress. I think I might graduate from this community now!
I hope everyone thinks it through carefully and succeeds, whether with removal or revision surgery.
+Additional info) A lot of people asked in the comments what signs of contracture were. At the first consultation, there was no inflammation at all, and they said there didn’t seem to be contracture either. But when I said that recently the foreign-body sensation had become too severe, with pulling between the brows, a heavy feeling in the nasal bridge, etc., and that I wanted complete removal, they said my nose would be relatively simple to operate on. During the second consultation right before going into surgery, I said my original nose was one where the nostrils were barely visible, and asked them to bring the nasal tip down as much as possible. They said, “The nasal tip is a bit lifted,” and said that contracture doesn’t come all at once with a bang!! but progresses gradually! (When I consulted at another hospital too, I was told, “Your nasal tip is a little on the raised side,” and that it wasn’t as if contracture had fully happened at that moment, but it seemed to be progressing gradually.) But before removal, my operated nose was not in a state like photo 1 where it looked like a severely contracted nose, pulled way up so that all the nostrils were visible. And after removal, they said there was a fairly thick capsule that looked like plastic film and that they had removed it all, and they showed me the removed silicone, septal cartilage, capsule, etc.
And the hospital is a three-syllable hospital in Hongdae that gets mentioned a lot.
I hope this helps!
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