I'm a man.. When I was in elementary school, I hit my nose on a horizontal bar, and my nasal bone collapsed and stayed crooked until I was 30.
To me, sometimes the crookedness looked severe, and at other times it seemed okay, so I just lived with it. But because of chronic rhinitis, the difference between my left and right side profiles, and my inferiority complex, I would sometimes look up information about rhinoplasty.
After I joined a company, I didn't have time anymore, so I just resigned myself to it. Then I had to take 2 months of sick leave for another illness, so I seriously considered nasal surgery.
The first places I visited were (I live in Busan) ㅇㅈ Plastic Surgery in Seomyeon, ㅇㅇㅇㅋ Plastic Surgery, ㅎㄴ Plastic Surgery, and one more place I don't remember well.
During the consultations, all 4 places said my face had some asymmetry, so they couldn't correct my nose 100% perfectly, and they said there was also a chance it could shift back over time.
Honestly, after consulting at all 4 places, I didn't feel like, "This is the one!" But after gathering some information online, I booked with ㅇㅇㅇㅋ and decided to have osteotomy and nasal tip/columella surgery.
They explained that the surgery would involve breaking the crooked nasal bone and moving it into the correct position, then using ear cartilage to slightly lift the columellar tip. In other words, since no implant would be inserted, they said there would be no implant-related side effects.
And in my case, because the fracture had been left alone for a long time, I thought the surgery would be tough since the bone had healed in a crooked position, but the director reassured me, saying that this is the kind of thing he always does, so it wouldn't be difficult.
On the day of surgery, I went with my mother and filled out the surgical consent form. I changed clothes in a room like an inpatient room? (You don't actually get admitted there. You go home after surgery.) Then I went into the operating room.
After that, they started sedation anesthesia, but they explained that it wasn't for the surgery itself, but for the anesthesia inside the nose, so basically anesthesia for the anesthesia?? During that anesthesia, I was rambling.. I felt good and I think I even sang..
Then they woke me up, and at that moment I thought the surgery was over. But the actual surgery started then. The sensation of breaking the nasal bone.. Even typing this makes it feel so vivid.. It was horrifying. I couldn't open my eyes, so I could only imagine what was happening..
Like breaking it with a hammer? That impact sound? And my head started hurting a lot ㅠㅠ Clang clang clang! Every time they tapped, it felt like my brain was shaking, and really.. tears were running down... And I felt something like a scraping sensation, but I don't think that part hurt much.
That process was the hardest part during surgery, and I don't really remember the rest. After suturing, I heard a rough explanation about aftercare, took the medication I had already received (I went in the morning for surgery, and before surgery they prescribed the meds, so I picked them up from the pharmacy in advance),
and they gave me disinfectant, bandages, and various things. On the ear, they put on something like an earplug made from silicone? rubber molded to the shape. Also, the staff there were kind, which was nice. After that, I kept going for checks at 3 days, 1 week, and 2 weeks, but honestly, I don't think they examined things in much detail during the post-op checks.
It's been 3 months, so I don't remember well.. About a week later, they removed the splint from my nose, and then maybe 3 days after that, they removed the stitches. After removing the stitches, they also removed the bandage from the part of my ear where the cartilage was taken.
Removing the stitches didn't hurt at all. Like plucking nose hair? If anything, I think it even felt a little refreshing.
Oh, the swelling was really severe for about a week. Of course I couldn't go outside without a mask and hat. Sometimes I went to the beach at night! Because I was so bored..
Oh, when sleeping, I just made my pillow a little higher than usual. Otherwise I couldn't sleep at all. And breathing through my mouth for a while.. I have chronic rhinitis, so I didn't really breathe well through my nose anyway. So I didn't know if it was uncomfortable.
After the splint was removed, my nose was straight, so I was so, so, so so so so so satisfied.. I could breathe through my nose and smell things well, so I was so happy.. But my side profile looked too artificial (my nasal bridge was already fairly high), so I wondered about it.
Then I thought, if my nose had never broken, maybe this is what I would have looked like? That made me feel more at ease. (Currently it looks natural, and I very often hear that I'm handsome, and I often hear that I look like Im Si-wan or Jung Il-woo.)
Anyway.. After a month? I went to the hospital for a check, and the areas where they had hammered my nose still had swelling, so I got an anti-swelling injection. They inject it straight into the nose. It hurts a little, swells more right when you get it, and then it's okay the next day.
And I also often have some ridiculous dreams. Dreams where something goes wrong with the nose surgery and something terrible happens.. dreams where my nose gets hit.. etc. It seems like the anxiety comes out exactly as dreams.
Now, 3 months later, I have no everyday discomfort at all, except sometimes the inside of my nose stings a tiny bit? And sometimes the area where the ear cartilage was taken hurts? (The area where the ear cartilage was taken hurt for much, much longer than the nose surgery site.)
I'm extremely satisfied with the result. It's only been 3 months, so I don't know for sure yet, but.. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.
Thank you for reading this long post.
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