I’ll take down the photos after the holiday! I had the removal done today at 10 o’clock.
On 2019.7.27, I had my first surgery at a large hospital (materials -- donated costal cartilage, septal cartilage, silicone 4.5 mm / surgical method -- septal extension strut with donated costal cartilage, spreader graft, placing septal cartilage on the nasal tip, silicone, slight osteotomy on the right side). From the first day, I felt this wasn’t right... Because of the foreign-body sensation, hardness, and anxiety about the implant, I wanted it removed. But I heard early removal could have a bigger impact, like columellar retraction and scar tissue, so I endured it desperately for 6 months. Honestly, I also got a lot of help from this community, and I suffered mentally so much that I developed depression and panic symptoms, so I know very well how people who are about to have removal or are considering it feel. I’m writing this review in case it helps even a little.
For about 6 months, I really searched online and visited consultations a lot, and I also contacted people who had surgery here or were scheduled to have surgery here, so I got a lot of information!!
The reason I chose this place was that, first of all, I trusted that they take detailed photos of the removal process and show them to you. And after hearing directly from people who actually had it done here, I really thought many times that it was different from large hospitals that just perform surgery in a standardized wayㅠㅠ They also have quite a lot of surgical experience.
I don’t know if it was because I had panic symptoms at 1-2 months, or because my nose had been raised too much with septal extension, but I couldn’t breathe deeply and the right side didn’t breathe well. I went through a really hard time, and from the 4-month mark it got a little better, but it was still more uncomfortable than my original noseㅠ Still, since the nasal tip was gradually becoming softer, even when it occasionally felt hot and made me anxious, I thought it probably wasn’t inflammation (the original hospital said it wasn’t inflammation.. ㅜ). But from 1 or 2 weeks ago? my nose started getting hard.. Sure enough, when I woke up this Thursday morning, the nasal bridge and tip were red, so they urgently scheduled surgery for me.. Thankfully, one person canceled, so I was able to do it quickly!!
Before surgery, we consulted about removing all the donated costal cartilage, silicone, and capsule, using dissolvable sutures, storing the harvested septal cartilage inside, and if there was a saddle nose, harvesting ear cartilage to use instead of additionally harvesting septal cartilage. The director accommodates almost everything the patient wants!!
Still, when I saw what was removed, it was almost the same as what I had studied and as the chart described for the surgical method. I consulted before surgery, and after I closed and opened my eyes in the operating room, the surgery was over. I was shocked when I saw the graft materials ㄷㄷ The donated costal cartilage had been placed large and long on both sides of the septum.. No wonder it was uncomfortable... And they also removed the donated costal cartilage that had been placed long over the upper septum like a spreader graft. Honestly, I debated a lot about whether to remove the spreader graft or not, but I had an inflammatory reaction, and I didn’t want to leave anything that wasn’t my own tissue.. Also, before surgery I had no rhinitis at all, I didn’t have a deviated nose, and when I compared my chart with people who had surgery at the original hospital, it seemed like they barely did the osteotomy, so after much thought I decided that removing it probably wouldn’t greatly affect the internal nasal valve, and I removed it. In my case, I could feel this spreader strut inside my nose, and many of the doctors I consulted here and there said it seemed more like a long strut rather than a typical spreader. They said spreader grafts usually can’t be felt prominently inside the nose. And the director said that after removing it, if a saddle nose happened, he would harvest new ear cartilage and correct it, so I felt reassured and had it removed!
But the result?? There was no saddle nose, and the harvested septal cartilage was also small!! Right after surgery, my breathing was good, and even now I breathe really wellㅠㅠ It’s amazing.. Sob sob, thank you, doctor.. The foreign-body sensation disappeared immediately too, and except for the throbbing now, I’m completely comfortable. I think removal hurts much less than the surgery!! The anesthesia also wore off fine right away without nausea! They said the harvested septal cartilage was small, so re-implanting it would be pointless, and they just discarded it!! (They said the part of the septum where the donated costal cartilage had been used for extension and layered on had become thin, but it wasn’t something to worry about much, and once the grafts are removed and the force on it is gone, it will thicken again to some extent!! They also said I don’t need to worry about saddle nose and that the remaining septum is fine!)
So in the end, I had the donated costal cartilage, septal cartilage, silicone, and capsule removed (because of the inflammatory reaction, I just had the capsule removed just in case). They said my scar tissue was severe, so when rearranging the cartilage, they deliberately didn’t use sutures!! So right now, I don’t have any sutures in there.
Right now the bruising and swelling are severe, so there isn’t a definite result for the shape yet, but for now I’ve recovered about 90% of my original image.
However, they said the nasal bridge had been shaved broadly and flat, so they smoothed it out to avoid irregularitiesㅠㅠ I think it’ll be a bit lower than my original noseㅜ Once the swelling goes down, I’ll just contour the nasal bridge, whateverㅋㅋㅋㄱ There’s no columellar retraction or upturned nose, and right now I’m just wearing a cherry tomato on my faceㅋㅋㅋ
I am a little worried only about the nasal bridge, but I went through so much mental suffering that regardless of the shape, even if it isn’t a pretty nose, I decided I’d be satisfied as long as it’s a comfortable nose I can breathe well with. So for now, I’m extremely satisfiedㅠㅠ I’ll attach photos they took right after surgery when the bruising and swelling were minimal!!
I thought about it for a long time, and I think it’s good to accurately understand what surgery was done to you before deciding on the surgical method. Removal may not always be the answer, and everyone is different, so search online and go to consultations everywhere you canㅠ I suffered so much for 6 months tooㅠㅠ
At some other hospitals, I was told not to remove it.. I cried a lot too...ㅠ In the end, because I felt anxious, I delayed surgery and went to more consultations here and there, and most of them said removal would be okay, so I decided on removal! No regretsㅎ.ㅎ
I hope everyone has a good holiday and that everyone is happy!!ㅎ.ㅎ
Oh, my consultation review is in my previous post!
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