<before nose><surgical nose front><surgical nose side><after removal front><after removal side>It’s already been 12 days since my full removal! Today I’m here to leave a detailed updateI also found a lot of help from other people’s experiences while looking into removal I’ll write this as detailed as I can so it can help someone!
1. First surgery
For my first surgery, I used donated costal cartilage...Originally, I went in planning to use the septal cartilage and ear cartilage, and I believed that for 7 years But when I decided to remove it and got my surgical chart, I found out donated costal cartilage had been used^^I was honestly speechless... It had a 3 mm silicone implant + a donated costal cartilage strut + donated costal cartilage in the tip. It’s been about 7 years since the first surgery! I didn’t have any special inflammation or contracture. I removed it just because I felt anxious! When the doctors touched my nasal tip, they all said it wasn’t a stiff tip at that level, and it moved well from side to side too. My surgical nose was very sharp and high, but I just lived with it. Then a few years ago, more and more posts started coming up about the risks of nose surgery..so I decided I had to remove it. If my own cartilage had been used, I was thinking of taking out the silicone and lowering the tip, but once I heard it was donated costal cartilage, I decided I should do a full removal Still, maybe it was fortunate that donated costal cartilage was used...I was worried that too much of the septum might have been harvested
2. Consultation at the removal clinics
Because I basically felt deceived by the hospital that did my first surgery...I ruled out that hospital without even thinking about it I did go there for a consultation, but only to ask what exactly had been put into my nose and what would happen if it was removed At the first hospital, they said they could do a full removal, but since I hadn’t had any complications so far, they said I’d probably never have problems and tried to talk me out of it. But my mind was already made up, so I went around Seoul getting consultations at removal clinics! I think I went to quite a few consultations ㅂㄴ, ㅅㅇ, ㅅㅅㅇ, ㅍㄹㅁ, ㅇㅅㅅㅇㅌ, ㄱㅇㅅ, ㄷㅌㅈ
1) ㅂㄴ This was my first consultation among removal clinics, and when I first said I had donated costal cartilage, they said donated costal cartilage couldn’t be removed, which shocked me But after feeling it, they said it looked removable, and if it seemed like I’d get a saddle nose, they would use ear cartilage to lower it I didn’t know this place does a lot of autologous dermis...I was a little tempted, but since they wouldn’t do anything else, I passed The clinic was smaller than I expected, but everyone was kind and the consultation was extremely long and detailed!(about 1 hour)
2) ㅅㅇ As I’d heard, they’re very confidentThey said full removal was possible and it seemed like they were good at removing the capsule They said it would go back to something similar to my natural nose The doctor looked tired and the consultation was a bit short(about 10 minutes?), and the manager came in partway through, so I felt a little pressured? But during the consultation, they explained things well and I asked everything I was curious about! The manager was also really kind I was surprised because the facility was much better than I expected
3) ㅅㅅㅇ They said full removal was possible, and since there weren’t any special problems right now, removal wasn’t absolutely necessary At first they said even if I did a full removal, the shape wouldn’t be weird, but when I kept asking about the shape, they said with full removal I shouldn’t think about the shape..and told me to think it over and come back The doctor was kind and explained things in detail, but he didn’t proactively explain everything, so you need to go in prepared with questions! And when the inside condition is very severe, they said they might remove septal cartilage or ear cartilage to build a strut They said it wouldn’t go back to my natural nose exactly, but rather should be thought of as something between my current nose and my natural nose I don’t remember the cost exactly, but full removal was 350, and if the capsule was completely removed, there was an extra 100 charge, and card payments added VAT!
4) ㅍㄹㅁ The consultation date was hard to schedule, so I hesitated, but when I went, the consultation was better than expected They said my current nose condition wasn’t that good and that removal would probably be better, and if a saddle nose seemed likely, they would use ear cartilage or crushed septal cartilage to support it They said I’d almost go back to my natural nose I think the cost for full removal was 320!
5) ㄱㅇㅅ They asked a lot of counterquestionsSome people said it felt like getting scolded and didn’t like it, but that wasn’t really my impression After feeling it, they said it didn’t seem like there was any strut and that it wasn’t a difficult surgery They said it would be done closed, and if they had to switch to open during surgery, there would be an extra fee I think the cost for full removal done closed was 320 The consultation itself was fine, but it felt like communication wasn’t clicking, so...I passed
6) ㄷㅌㅈ They said it was a university hospital system. Before seeing the director, I got an X-ray?? and then had the consultation while looking at that From the image, you could see that the columellar strut was made of donated costal cartilage The consultation was kind and thorough, and I asked everything I was curious about But they said that full removal was possible, but it seemed like they would need to use some fascia and cartilage from behind the ear to refine things Personally, I didn’t want anything added...so I passed
7) ㅇㅅㅅㅇㅌ It felt like they were kind of going through the motions with the consultation?But when I asked questions, they answered in detail They said full removal seemed possible, but they’d have to open it to know for sure, and if the condition was severe they might use ear cartilage They didn’t seem to like using septal cartilage, which matched my preference, but somehow it just didn’t click so I passed
3. Choosing the removal clinic
As you can probably tell from my post, I agonized a lot over choosing the removal clinic In the end I narrowed it down to ㅅㅅㅇ and ㅍㄹㅁ and went back for consultations at both If I set my mind on one place, I’d see bad reviews for it, and if I switched to the other place, I’d see bad reviews there too...it was just repeating like that So I made a decision based on my own standards and booked it
***************I think many of you will ask which removal clinic I chose, so here’s a hint! I had surgery on Saturday!************
4. Removal surgery
1) Details of the removal surgery
I had sedation anesthesia and underwent open full removal of the silicone and donated costal cartilage + cartilage repositioning (with dissolvable thread) + complete capsule removal
2) The day of removal
I went at my appointment time, but the previous surgery had gone a bit long, so I waited for a little under an hour, changed clothes, and just lay in the recovery room watching puppy videos on YouTube to calm myself.. Then the director came out and we had a pre-op consultation. There was no rush; they went through everything slowly and carefully, listened well to what I wanted, and took photos too Then I went into the operating room and lay on the table, and the manager gave me the anesthesia injection Hmm? I’m not getting sleepy..? and then I fell asleep When I came to, there was a slight pain, like someone was constantly poking inside the tip of my nose I rested in the recovery room for a bit and then the director explained the surgery! They showed me all the photos taken during surgery while explaining (it was a little gross) and showed that, according to the chart, the structure had been a 3 mm silicone implant and donated costal cartilage, and that donated costal cartilage had also been in the tip But they said there had been two struts? I think they said that over time the donated costal cartilage had broken, or something like that.. I had just come out of anesthesia, so I don’t remember well They also showed me what had been removed! I should have taken a photo of that, but I was too out of it right after surgery...
3) After removal
The first thing I felt after removal was relief When they showed me the removed silicone and donated cartilage, I kept thinking...how did I live with that inside me all this time? I decided I would never lie down on an operating table again Right after removal, I only had a red bruise on the bridge of my nose, so I thought I was fine, but by evening I got really swollen I’d heard removal surgery doesn’t swell much, so I thought it would be okayBut I swelled like crazy, my glabella got puffy, and purple bruising spread everywhere I’m not someone who normally swells much, so I was a bit surprised, but I kept doing cold compresses and ate meals and took my medicine For people who are removing it while working, I think you should allow a generous 2 weeks if you want to manage daily life properly
4) Current state
I don’t know if it shows that way in the photos, but right now I think “somewhere between my natural nose and my surgical nose” is exactly right The bruising is gone except for a little purple bruising around the eyes and yellow bruising on the bridge, but it’ll probably take a bit longer for it to disappear completely The major swelling is gone, but there still seems to be a little swelling on the bridge and tip My nose doesn’t seem lifted or anything! It doesn’t seem to be drooping either욥 And right after surgery, during the consultation, the director said it might lift a little, so they lowered it a bit through cartilage repositioning I don’t really see a clear scraped-down look on the bridge, but I think I’ll know once more swelling goes down...my face looks a little flatter and the space between my eyebrows looks wider Still, I think this suits my face much better than the sharp nose I had before Some people say the sense of loss is huge, but for me it’s not that bad, I’m just taking it as it comes This nose is better than both my natural nose and my surgical nose anyway As you can see from the photos, my natural nose was pretty low...my current bridge is about the same height as my natural nose now(and I think it’ll go even lower as the swelling goes down!), and the tip is slightly lower than the surgical nose, but it has a rounder feel Sometimes I feel a slight tingling sensation inside my nose, but other than that there’s nothing particularly uncomfortable! One thing that bothers me is that the left side of the columella is slightly sunken in, so when I take a photo from below, my nostrils look uneven But the swelling still hasn’t fully gone down, and it’s not very visible to the naked eye, so I’m just leaving it for now
5. Ending
Before removal, I was honestly so anxious that I was on this community every day, and at times I spent all day just looking up reviews... It hasn’t even been a few days since the removal, but those memories already feel blurry I hope the shrinking phase goes smoothly from hereFrom now on I need to focus on applying ointment properly and taking care of myself I’m never getting nose surgery or double eyelid surgery or any cosmetic surgery againI realized that every cosmetic surgery has side effects, big or smallI had been keeping my eyes half closed all this time, but... I’m just going to use that time and money to take care of my health, stop worrying about appearances, and live happily Maybe I got my nose done back then just so I could learn this lesson..I wonder
There are probably many people living day by day in anxiety because of thoughts about removalI was one of them too... Don’t worry too much, and go around and get lots of consultations! Reading lots of posts here and getting information is good too, but I think taking in too much is not goodBecause I kept focusing on this too much, my mental state kept shaking...so once you’ve made up your mind, I think it’s also good to let go of the worry and entrust it to them Let’s all keep fighting!!!
+I’ll delete the photos in a few hours. I’m not accepting hospital inquiries! You can tell from my post