On day 7 after removal, I had my splint, nasal packing, and stitches removed! I couldn’t tell what my nose looked like because of the splint, so I’m only posting my review now haha.
I had the removal done for free at the clinic where I had my original surgery. I had seen so many extremely unethical-sounding posts in this community saying things like the original clinic won’t remove the support graft or that they scare you, so I went there with no expectations, just to get my surgical records and photos. But the director at the clinic where I had my surgery said my nose would return to its original state and would not collapse.
Still, honestly, after my first surgery I couldn’t trust any clinic, and when they only said such positive things, I actually became more suspicious.. But the clinic where I had surgery told me this. If he removed it and my nose were to collapse or the shape did not return, he would take full responsibility. But if another clinic damaged it during removal and it collapsed, then that clinic would blame him, and his clinic would blame that clinic... So what would I do then? The consultant also said the director would take full responsibility and was certain it would go back, and she couldn’t understand why I wanted to go to another clinic.
But after my first surgery I became really persistent lol. I was worried they might say all this but then ignore me after removal once I signed the consent form, so when I brought that up, they said they would even adjust the consent form wording for me.. After an extremely long consultation that day, and after a lot more long deliberation afterward, I decided to trust the director I had chosen and went ahead with the removal.
On the day of the removal surgery, we agreed on and revised the consent form, I read it, and signed it. The day before, I had written roughly what I wanted done in a notebook and brought it with me. Since they said my nasal bridge had not been rasped much, I asked them to smooth it. I asked them to place cartilage in the L-shaped septal area, but the director said that even if collapse happens, it usually happens in the upper part, so he would reinforce both sides of the upper part, and I agreed. He said nothing had been separately cut or done to the alar cartilages, so I asked him to just remove everything and tie the nasal tip (not to narrow the tip, but just to keep it in the shape it was originally attached in). One nostril had been slightly pinched, so I asked him to release that area and return it, and it has returned now. I also asked him to push back in the uneven parts inside my nose where cartilage and silicone had pressed and made them protrude, and to return the columella that had been surgically made to protrude (this part came back immediately on the day of removal. It did protrude a bit because of swelling, but now it is just my original columella.)
Originally I was going to do it under local anesthesia, but he said it would hurt a lot, so they sedated me, did local anesthesia, and then woke me up. I felt reassured because I could sense the surgical process. When I asked what he was doing, he told me.
Thankfully the surgery ended well, and judging by my nose today, the nasal bridge is 80% back, the nasal tip is 90% back, and my overall image is 100% back. My bridge was low, and apart from it being slightly lower, it’s not bad. Just in case, I asked about filler, and he told me to get it at least 6 months later. Since I had gone through a lot with surgery, he said he would do it as a service then, and he was even writing “filler service after 6 months” in my chart...ㅠㅠ
As for my nasal tip, I only had the stitches removed today, so the columella has not healed yet, which accounts for 5%, and the remaining 5% is the nasal tip. But it’s actually 5% because my bulbous nose has slightly improved and the tip has become higher! But it has only been 7 days, so please keep watching until later ㅠ
Still, what I felt through removal is that unless it is really an extreme nose, it becomes a human-looking nose again.. I went to the clinic the day after removal, and blood had pooled, so it felt squishy, and the inside of my nose stung. They didn’t even draw the blood out with a syringe; they squeezed it out. They squeezed and swept down hard from the bridge to the septum and nasal tip, so I was thinking, “Wow.. it’s ruined. My alar cartilages are going to twist. My septum collapsed, it collapsed.” It hurt so much that I almost gave up mentally, and because I couldn’t see due to the splint, I was anxious even until today. But in conclusion, seeing it today, even after being pressed like that, it did not collapse, and my alar cartilages are fine...
Even after they removed the pooled blood that same day, I was worried because it was swollen and fell asleep. I woke up at dawn because I was thirsty, and in just those few hours, about half the swelling and blood had absorbed? When I went to the clinic on day 3, the doctor praised me and said it had gone down a lot. (They told me to use ice packs, a high pillow, and gently press only up to the nasal bridge/nasal bone area, so I really did it diligently.)
But I personally felt that unless a psycho doctor removes a huge amount of septal cartilage and only thinks about the shape, most impacts won’t make it collapse, so don’t worry. (Even though they really swept downward and pressed hard to squeeze it out, it’s fine...)
And regarding columellar retraction, I felt that unless there is severe inflammation or the doctor sutured it incorrectly, you don’t have to worry too much. On day 3, when I went to the clinic and they lifted the splint to look at the columella, blood was still coming out little by little even on day 3. The doctor said it normally should stop within a day, and considering that blood had pooled too, there was a bit of bleeding. He pressed the lower part of the columella with a cotton swab and showed me, saying this should go in, but it was slightly swollen; there was a little sign of inflammation, but nothing to worry about, and this level would be fine if I took antibiotics and medicine properly, which reassured me.
Each time, they gave me antibiotic IVs and antibiotic injections for free, and they also gave me the clinic’s antibiotics for free. But that day, he said we should switch to a stronger medication, and because that one needed a prescription, there would be some cost. It was 20,000 won. He comforted me and said not to worry because it had stopped more than on day 1.
Thankfully, as soon as I changed antibiotics, I could see the nasal tip color visible between the splint returning to skin color, and even this extreme columella did not retract....
Today at the clinic, before stitch removal during disinfection, there was a little blood visible on the left side, but they said it had healed well and the nose shape was also okay. I asked about Rizaben, and he said that is a medication taken for keloids? scars, or bumpy protruding flesh-like areas, but he didn’t think I needed to take it. If I was worried, he could prescribe a medication to prevent the issue I’m worried about, not Rizaben, but he thought it wasn’t really necessary. Since I’m going back for follow-up in 2 weeks, I said if nothing is wrong I won’t take it, and if I’m still worried then, I’ll ask for a prescription. He told me to do that, explained various precautions, and I came back feeling good!
Of course, it depends on the surgeon and the surgical method, but if it was a generally performed surgery and not an aggressive one, I don’t think you need to worry too much.. It’s still only day 7, so I’ll keep writing reviews going forward!
After removal, I think it’s true that you stop coming into this community as much. But I talked a lot with people I met here, received a lot of help, and there are people I’m truly grateful to.. Thinking of the people who helped me get through that difficult time, I’m leaving this post in case it can be even a little help to someone!
Then see you next time, everyone haha. And I don’t think I can share the clinic information because I’m worried you might suspect me of being a brokerㅠ Even if I told you, that clinic is not a removal clinic, and because it was the person who operated on me, I think he was confident in his own surgical style and told me not to worry because he is definitely not the type to operate aggressively. I don’t know how he would be about removing implants for someone who had surgery at another clinic, so I don’t think I can recommend him carelessly..! Then I’m going to go get some real sleep for the first time in a while.. haha
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