<Natural nose><Surgical nose>After<4 days after removal><Today, day 9> It is still far from the swelling going down completely or everything fully settling, so I debated whether I should write a review or not, but I am posting this in case it may be even a little helpful to those who are considering complete removal.
* First surgery: 2012 (8 years ago) * Natural nose: slightly hump nose, high nasal bridge, crooked nose - While undergoing surgery for a deviated septum to improve nasal obstruction, I was told they could slightly and naturally raise the nasal tip using leftover septal cartilage, so without even knowing the basic changes after surgery, like the nasal tip becoming hard and unnatural, I had surgery at a clinic that was both an ENT and plastic surgery clinic.
* Surgical method: deviated septum surgery + slight rasping of the hump + spreader graft + septal cartilage and ear cartilage in the nasal tip and columella + AlloDerm
* Reasons for removal 1. After surgery, the nasal tip became hard, with a foreign-body sensation and tenderness 2. Nasal obstruction did not improve at all 3. Guilt over having had surgery and a nose shape that looked too obviously operated on - At first, the nose shape looked natural, but as time passed and I got older, I lost facial fat and the nasal skin became thinner, while only the nose stood sharply and prominently, so later on, it looked like an operated nose to anyone who saw it. Even if the nose looks pretty right now, I think this is a result that comes 100% with time. Deformation definitely happens. Also, because surgery without an implant does not touch the bridge and only raises the nasal tip, the boundary between the nasal dorsum and the nasal tip cannot be smooth, so an unnatural angle forms.
- When meeting people, I kept worrying that they might only look at my nose, so I became very self-conscious, withdrawn, and stressed. Even when boyfriends touched my face, the nose was so hard like a stone that it bothered me so much.
- I wanted to remove it countless times, but back then there were not many hospitals specializing in removal, and since it had already been touched once, I was also afraid that touching it again for no reason might cause more problems, so I put up with it for years. Recently, in the middle of winter, I suddenly felt tenderness in my nose and wondered if it was inflammation, so I kept focusing on my nose, and I even got headaches. From then on, I started searching like crazy in a community for hospitals that were good at removal.
* Consultations - I only had consultations at 3 places in total: the hospital where I originally had surgery, and 2 places in Gangnam among the top 3 removal hospitals often mentioned in the community. I am not the type to ask around everywhere or visit many places, so I did not have many consultations.
1. Original surgery hospital: Maybe it had become even more famous in the meantime, but it was hard to even see the doctor’s face, and there were truly so many surgery and consultation patients packed in that they barely paid attention to me, who had come for removal. They acted like, since it was surgery without an implant and the chance of inflammation was 0%, why would I want removal? The new consultant also seemed busy seeing other surgery patients, and it was obvious she found me annoying. Anyway, I did not like it, so I passed.
2. Hospital A: I paid a consultation fee of 10,000 won and visited twice. The advantage was that they pointed out the deformity-like bulging shape on my left nasal dorsum, even though I had a spreader graft placed on the right side of my nose. They told me the tenderness and headache I felt in my nose were probably psychological factors. (In fact, after hearing that, the tenderness and headache disappeared. I felt psychological factors played a big role too.) The downside was that they did not give me confidence. Some people may view this as being cautious and conscientious, but my anxiety about whether I could entrust my nose to them did not go away. They told me to think again about whether removal was really necessary if there was no implant and no inflammation. They said they could not guarantee the shape after removal. They said they could not guarantee that the hardness of the nasal tip would improve after removal either.
3. Hospital B: Honestly, I had not considered this hospital at first, but I ended up going. They told me my nose was not the type that would become upturned. I brought photos of my natural nose, photos of my surgical nose, and the surgical record, and after looking at them, they roughly explained what the shape would look like after removal. I had an extreme fear of accidents during sedation anesthesia, and they allowed me to separately call in an anesthesiologist for an additional fee. My top priority was the cosmetic aspect after removal, and I absolutely had to have the removal done within March, so I decided not to drag it out any longer and made a reservation.
* Surgery Day 1 (day of surgery): Visited the hospital after fasting for 12 hours. During my first surgery, I did it without thinking much, but maybe because I am older now, I was so terrified that an accident might happen during sedation anesthesia, and I entered the operating room in a very sensitive state in many ways. Here, the pre-surgery preparations (removing nose hair, disinfecting the face, inserting an oxygen breathing tube into the nose, etc.) are done while you are fully conscious. It was a little difficult to go through it while fully conscious in such a tense and sensitive state. For the people preparing the surgery, it is something they do every day, so they mechanically wiped, trimmed, and inserted things, and there were moments when it hurt and felt uncomfortable. I even thought I would rather they had done it after anesthesia, but I also wondered if they did it that way to reduce the anesthesia time as much as possible.
The anesthesiologist came, and I heard the director tell them something like, the patient has a great fear of anesthesia, so please take good care of her. That made me feel very reassured and grateful. They administered the anesthetic very slowly and carefully, so compared with when I usually have sedation endoscopy, I fell asleep more slowly.
It took about 1 hour and 10 minutes, and because they always wake you up when doing the final suturing, I woke up. After the surgery ended, I did not go straight to the recovery room and I think I lay there for about 5 more minutes? I was cold and uncomfortable, and the anesthesia had not fully worn off, so I felt dizzy.
My nostrils were packed with cotton and I had a splint on. Because of local anesthesia in one part of my nose, my upper teeth and lips had no sensation for a while too, so it was hard to eat.
At night, because of pain, I took additional Tylenol on top of the prescribed medication, and breathing through my mouth was so painful that I kept waking up and could not sleep properly. Unlike my first surgery, nosebleeds kept flowing under my nose, and that was the most uncomfortable part ㅠㅠ
Day 2: As expected, because my nose was blocked, I could not tell what food tasted like even when I ate, and it was so hard. My nose was swollen as if it would burst.
Day 3: Went to the hospital and had the cotton inside the nose and the splint removed. From this day, it became a bit more comfortable. Those removing nose surgery materials just need to endure exactly 3 days, and then it becomes livable.
From day 4, time started passing very quickly (because it became livable...) From day 4, the major swelling began to go down noticeably. The stitches in the columella area were removed, and the dissolvable stitches inside the nose are still there.
* Changes after complete removal Because I could not give up the cosmetic aspect even after removal, I did not expect anything functionally, and the director also said the nasal obstruction might or might not improve, but surprisingly after removal, my right nostril, which had always been blocked, opened up. I suspect this may have improved because the spreader graft placed on the right side was removed, but when I asked the director, they only said that could be the case.
As for the shape, I am so happy that the formerly artificial, sharp nasal tip is gone, and it is amazing that the high nose has been maintained even though I had complete removal. Honestly, even now it feels like a surgically operated nose, but since everything has been removed, I feel mentally at ease. The shape feels like the nose shape I wanted during my very first surgery has finally appeared? What worries me is that the nasal tip seems to be gradually dropping, so I hope it does not drop any further now. If only the nasal tip stays like this, I do not think I could ask for more.
* Last thing I want to say I really understand why people say the nose is not something you should touch for no reason. There is no such thing as a natural-looking surgical nose that does not show. A nose that has been operated on is bound to show no matter what. At first, I also liked it because I thought it looked natural and did not show. As time passes, it 100% becomes more and more obvious, and the shape keeps deforming too.
When you are young, even that artificial look may seem glamorous and pretty, but what I feel as I get older is that natural is the best... Though I guess you cannot know this unless you experience it yourself.
Especially if there are people who are easily planning nasal tip surgery without an implant because they heard it is natural and has no side effects, I really hope you read my post and please think about it one more time.
As for me, whether it is my family or, later, my child or anyone else, I do not know about other plastic surgeries, but if they say they are getting nose surgery, I will seriously do everything I can to stop them...
And to those about to have removal... I hope you are not too anxious or worried, and I hope everyone’s removal goes well and you regain your original nose.
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