Before <before surgery> After <after surgery> Why I had revision surgery
I had my first surgery with silicone 18 years ago, and recently I felt that the tip of my nose was showing through, so I made a consultation appointment.
My criteria for deciding on a clinic were: I searched YouTube and studied nose revision surgery, and I came to the conclusion that using dermis is best for revision surgery.
The biggest reason was that if autologous dermis is used, I may not need another revision surgery. If silicone, autologous costal cartilage, ear cartilage, or other materials were used, and contracture occurred, I did not feel confident that I could go through another revision surgery again.
The reason I chose this clinic was:
There are places in Seoul that use autologous dermis too, but after surgery, traveling back and forth to Seoul would take time and cost money, and another major reason was that this was a clinic specializing in nose revision surgery.
More than anything, I felt reassured by the doctor’s extensive experience with autologous dermis surgery, and since the clinic only performs nose surgery and the director is a specialist with 25 years of experience, I trusted him.
The director personally spent nearly an hour during the consultation explaining the surgical method and possible side effects, and I could feel his sincerity.
During the consultation, he said the silicone had drooped downward and was showing through, and that if left alone, there was a possibility the silicone could pierce through the nasal tip.
After the consultation, I took time to think it over, and the clinic also told me to think about it thoroughly.
I could feel the tip of my nose too, and I disliked the pressure? from the silicone. I also thought I would probably need revision surgery someday, so I decided to have the surgery while I was even a year younger, thinking my recovery would be better.
Since autologous dermis would be harvested from the buttock, I thought washing would be difficult and uncomfortable, so I scheduled the surgery for late September, when it would not be hot.
The surgery was harder than I expected. Because dermis was taken from the buttock and inserted into the nose, it took time, and there were two painful areas, so it was harder than my first surgery.
After the surgery, they showed me the removed silicone and said it had calcified. The redness in my nose due to calcification had stressed me out for a while, but it has improved a lot now.
During recovery, since they monitor the progress as the dermis is absorbed, I received one dermis injection after checking the progress and corrected the shape of the middle part of the nasal bridge.
Currently, only swelling in the nasal bridge remains, and I think the shape is almost settled. If the 6-month follow-up looks good, everything will be finished and I think I’ll be discharged from follow-up care at the clinic.
Post-surgery tips I took Danggui Sushen and reduced swelling, and I have been consistently applying a swelling-reducing cream, which I still continue to use now. I am also consistently applying scar ointment to the columella and buttock area.
To those considering nose surgery: If I had known in my 20s that nose surgery is a surgery that can lead to revision surgery, I think I would have thought about it much more deeply before doing it.
I hope you think a lot about it, study it, consider it carefully, and if you must have nose surgery, go into it prepared even for possible revision surgery.
It is a personal choice, but now that I am in my 40s, I have come to the conclusion that what looks natural is the most beautiful.
Now that I have had surgery with autologous dermis, I no longer have a foreign-body sensation in my nose, and the feeling of silicone sitting on my nose is gone, so I feel relieved and free. I expect and look forward to it feeling like my own skin once I reach 6 months to 1 year.
The nose is right in the center of the face and is large, and this time I truly came to think of it as an important and risky surgery. I hope you look into it very thoroughly, prepare well, and then make your decision.
I received a lot of help from this community too, so I wrote this review~ Thank you for reading this long post^^
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Nose revision surgery autologous dermis
This review is for a surgery that pursues reconstruction.