8 days after removal: review

A few people sent me DMs, so instead of replying individually I’m posting a review. I had an L-shaped silicone implant placed six years ago through a closed rhinoplasty incision on the right nostril, and I lived well without any complications. But as I got older, it started to feel artificial, the side profile looked like a plaster statue, and the columella area began to show a very subtle three-shaped curve because of the tip of the silicone, so I started seriously thinking about removal. Back then I had rhinoplasty without much fear, but when it came to removal, I worried and hesitated much more. I’m a mom raising two kids, so I couldn’t make a lot of time, so I looked for a hospital as close to my home as possible and one that would do a closed procedure. I also have daily life to manage, so it would have been even better if they used dissolvable stitches and didn’t do taping, but it’s hard to find a place that matches all your preferences 100%, so after a consultation at a place with reviews, I had the removal surgery three days later. They gave me about 5 minutes of sedation anesthesia, and during that time they did local anesthesia, performed the surgery, and applied tape. They put cotton in my nostrils, then I lay in the recovery room for about an hour with ice packs, then they removed the cotton from inside my nostrils, placed gauze under my nose, prescribed ointment, and sent me home with a mask on. Even though it’s a simple removal surgery, it was mentally hard too. On the day of surgery, the incision area felt a little numb and tingly, but there was no pain or bruising. They said it’s better for blood to drain out than to collect inside, so they inserted a very small tube into the stitch area. That was removed at the clinic the next day. On the day of surgery I looked completely like an avatar, but by day 3 I looked a bit more human. I had one more checkup on day 4, and the stitches were removed yesterday, on day 7. The silicone was removed, but my bridge feels a bit higher than my original nose, and my tip was already upturned and round, but maybe because of the swelling, it feels like the tip was raised a bit more too. It feels like something between my original nose and my operated nose? My husband said that even though it was removed, it looks prettier, almost like I had cosmetic surgery. It looks much better now, and once the swelling goes down I’ll probably go back to my original nose, right? Also, if I touch the tip of my nose, it feels numb. It’s okay when I just leave it alone. . . I guess that means it’s getting better? They said it takes about 6 months to 1 year for all the swelling to go down and for recovery to finish, so I’m going to wait patiently. Even if a slight change remains compared with my original nose, I honestly think my natural nose would be better than my operated nose. I just couldn’t live with my surgical nose anymore. Mine was too high, so I kept worrying about people’s stares, and I felt like I wasn’t being honest with my kids either. It felt awkward when people said the kids didn’t resemble their mom at all. I was also worried that the implant might cause problems as I got older, and when my face started to sag, I could only imagine my nose staying shiny. . . I had been thinking I needed to remove it, and in the end I finally gathered the courage and made time to do it. Everyone’s situation and constitution are different, so I don’t think this is something where anyone should blindly tell you to remove it or keep it. I hope everyone chooses well according to their own situation. I sincerely hope everyone gets a good result.