*I covered up most of the photos, so this post focuses more on day-by-day updates than on before-and-after comparisons.
1. Day 1. I had heard a lot that it doesn’t hurt much at that time, so my expectations were low, and maybe because of that it hurt more than I expected. The surgery was done under general anesthesia + local anesthesia, and after the 20 minutes of general anesthesia were over, I had no sensation, but I was still conscious in my body. Online, some people say this kind of surgery method can leave trauma because you physically feel the process, but for me it was the opposite. Rather, I could tell whether the doctor I consulted with was personally performing the surgery, and I could discuss and adjust things with that doctor in between steps during the operation.
After the surgery, I went home with a splint and packing, and I recommend taking painkillers every 6 hours. It hurts more than you’d think, and having to breathe through your mouth is painful, so mentally it helps to forget even the pain in the nose. My eyes look very close together, but it’s not an illusion; because of the splint and taping, they really are closer together. I don’t blindly trust folk remedies, but clinging to anything I could, I drank 5 packets of pumpkin juice, ate beef porridge, and slept sitting up. I neglected cold compresses, but on the first day it’s better overall to do cold compresses all day long.
2. Day 2. When you wake up, your face is extremely swollen. There are blue bruises around the eyes. I was with the Marine Corps reconnaissance unit and took all kinds of hard hits, even butt beatings, without making a sound, but breathing through the mouth is really hard. Especially when eating, you have to take a big breath, chew, then breathe again, repeating that over and over. At night I took a slow 40-minute walk in the back park, drank 5 packets of pumpkin juice, ate porridge, and slept sitting up.
3. Day 3. I knew the swelling would be severe, but whatever you imagine, it is exactly 2.5 times more swollen than that. I really don’t look human, and in the morning I can barely open my eyes. This is the stage when even facing family becomes hard, and self-esteem drops a lot. At times like this, you need to eat even better, walk even more, and not look in the mirror. Walk 30-40 minutes morning and evening. At this time, it is bad to be exposed to ultraviolet rays. Pull a hat down low and, if possible, avoid wearing a mask.
4. Day 4. The swelling is at the level of Day 2. I went to the hospital, had the packing removed, and had some of the foreign material inside the nose removed. For a moment I could breathe through my nose, and it felt like I was flying, but once I got home, I was breathing through my mouth again. The inside of the nose is swollen, so it can’t be helped. Now I’m used to mouth breathing, so it’s hard, but I’m not very conscious of it anymore. I still ate pumpkin porridge and regular low-salt meals.
5. Day 5. The swelling goes down a little, and the bruises that were beside and above the eyes move to around the nose and under the eyes. I can stop taking antibiotics, and I still walk morning and evening and drink pumpkin juice.
6. Day 7. The splint is removed. The effect is so strong that I almost wondered, did the nurse tear off my nose instead of the splint? My quality of life improves, and with the removal of taping the eyes that looked too close together recover somewhat, but they still look surprisingly similar to comedian Shin Dong-yup’s eyes. I still sleep sitting up and breathe through my mouth.
7. Day 9. The stitches inside the nose are removed. The big swelling has almost disappeared, so now the bruising is what bothers me. I have thick skin that usually doesn’t bruise easily, but because I neglected cold compresses on the first day, I have a lot of small faint bruises. I bought danggwisusan at the pharmacy and took it every 6 hours for 3 days. It is excellent for reducing swelling and improving bruises. When taking danggwisusan, be sure to swallow it with water. I didn’t know that, so I chewed that bitter stuff for 1 minute.
8. Day 12. I went to a friend’s opening celebration. There I met a friend of my friend’s girlfriend, and we started dating in the early morning of Day 13.
The swelling is at a level that ordinary people would not notice. The bruising is still yellow under the eyes like dark circles, and yellow in the middle of the nose. Using Graphen concealer for men sold at Olive Young, I applied it thinly several times, to the point that you can’t tell unless you look closely.
I haven’t met any female friends since the surgery, and I met the guys on Days 11 and 12, and they only thought I had lost weight and didn’t recognize me. I heard a few times that I look thinner and more handsome.
I’m sure the decisive reason I ended up getting a girlfriend is my own charm, but since it was our first meeting, I think the nose surgery also played a big part in helping me draw interest. If you don’t draw interest (if you can’t get contact), you also don’t get a chance to show your charm.
9. Day 14, today. I had even the stitches inside the nose removed. The things near the nostrils in the after photo are ointment. According to the surgeon, the swelling has gone down to the point that people seeing me for the first time would never think anything of it, and the bruising needs about another week to disappear completely.
The eye closeness returns to the point where it doesn’t look strange to others around Day 10, but if I, who know my own face, look carefully in the mirror, the inner corners of the eyes are still slightly stretched out. I’m told I need to wait about 3 months, leaving a long interval, for it to return to its original shape, so please keep that in mind. (From around Day 10 onward, there is no stress at all from the eyes looking too close together. It looks natural.)
In conclusion, the reason my nose surgery could be successful is that I didn’t get greedy. Because my skin is thick and my nasal bones are blunt, the original plan was to insert 4 mm, but I did not give in, so I had the surgery with 3 mm.
Even 3 mm is noticeable. If you already have a nasal bridge, even 2 mm will be noticeable. Unless you truly have no nasal bridge at all, I do not recommend going above 3 mm. (Of course, this does not apply to people who want a flashy nose or dramatic results.)
The tip was raised with septum cartilage.
The key points of post-op care are: Walking morning and evening ★★★★★ Sleeping sitting up ★★★★☆ Taking your medicine diligently ★★★★☆ A low-salt diet ★★★☆☆ Continuing to drink pumpkin juice ★★☆☆☆
This is based on personal experience + information I gathered over time.
I don’t think there are any ugly faces. There are only faces that society recognizes as “pretty,” and I think the reason for surgery is to get closer to that objectively beautiful standard.
I hope all of you get good results, and the faces of those who hesitated and ultimately did not have surgery are all beautiful too.
Thank you for reading this long post.