I’m writing this review of my own will, without receiving any hospital discount or benefit, so everyone can use it as a reference. If I did receive something and I’m lying, then every cosmetic surgery I ever get from now on will fail....... I swear on my dog.
(Primary surgery timeline) - First surgery 4 years ago My biggest concern was that I had a bulbous nose, so that’s why I got it done. What I overlooked back then was the nostril wings, nasal tip, columella...... I didn’t pay attention to any of that and just asked them to make my nose smaller no matter what (more feminine). (That was my first mistake.) The hospital said they would take care of everything well. (Second mistake..... lololol) I knew nothing back then, so I just had the surgery as it was, and ended up with a severely pinched nose;;
Primary surgery hospital: “We did it the way you asked. What’s the problem? It will loosen up on its own over time.....” Yeah. I waited for months and it never loosened up; it stayed exactly the same? I was stupid for believing the hospital at face value too, but I really regretted getting surgery without researching properly from the beginning. I held out and waited for a year, then lived almost 3 to 4 years like that in a state of giving up, and eventually got revision surgery after enough time had passed where I could no longer just tolerate it.
The stress I felt living with my current nose > fear of revision surgery
When I weighed it out, the stress was greater, so I researched online and visited clinics in person before doing it. If I had to give a tip, online research is just online research. Even if there are occasional bad reviews, if you like the hospital’s reviews overall, personally I recommend visiting in person. At first, I also avoided a place if there was even one bad review, but after seeing people around me say someone looked better than before while the person themselves complained and spiraled like they were mentally unwell, my thinking changed. So except for blacklisted places involving medical accidents, proxy surgery, etc., I think it’s best to visit in person and decide for yourself.
(Revision surgery timeline) I went to a total of 6 consultations - ㅇㅇ, ㄷㄴ, ㄷㅎㄷ, ㅍㄴㅅ, ㅅㅇ, ㅋㅅ... I wanted a natural-looking nose, but since I focused on places good at revision rhinoplasty, I also mixed in some places known for more dramatic noses. After consultations, I excluded places where the aesthetic sense didn’t match mine..... Even if the aesthetic sense matched, I excluded places where the consultation felt vague.... As I did that, narrowing down the list wasn’t too hard, but the more explanations I heard, the more mentally drained I became..... I thought the only problem was my pinched nose. It was such a shock to hear that my columella was also too straight in an old-fashioned style and that my bulbous nose was still there.
I chose my revision hospital by considering the nose shape, consultation, and aftercare/AS policies all together. (**Just in case, I’m saying this: the place where I had surgery is not 100% the correct answer. I also chose what seemed like the best option among the hospitals, and honestly, if it were my own younger sibling or family member, I would want to tell them not to get surgery.....)
For my revision rhinoplasty, they said both the pinched nose and bulbous nose needed correction, and that autologous costal cartilage had to be used for the nasal tip. They also took a CT scan and X-ray, and honestly I did wonder whether the testing was just for show... Still, I felt it was better than places that don’t do it at all.
As for pain, at first I thought, “Revision is better than my first surgery?” But after I came home, the anesthesia fully wore off, and I started moving around a bit, it hurt and my abdomen felt tight. Taking Tylenol helped a little, and the cotton packing and splint were still suffocating... My lips and mouth were so dry that I didn’t even want to open my mouth. I just never want to do this again
Still, what was at least fortunate was that the pinched nose shape was corrected properly..... It’s been over half a year since my revision now, and people around me say the revision looks much better. They may just be saying it to make me feel good, but even so, I feel much more at ease than before. The money from my primary surgery plus revision easily went over 11 million won lol..... Honestly, even if someone sees me as pathetic, I have nothing to say. I’m just going to think of it as a life lesson.
(To summarize) If you want to finish rhinoplasty in one surgery, don’t think of it too lightly like it’s someone else’s business before getting surgery. I really hope you carefully judge every single thing: materials, shape, and design.
And if you’re already looking into revision surgery like I was, don’t go back to the hospital where you had your first surgery. Their aesthetic sense already doesn’t match yours, and you’ve already told them you’re dissatisfied, so honestly, how many hospitals would actually do a proper good job...? We asked for something fair, but they treated us like difficult patients; I feel like there are probably more places that would just do a careless surgery and be done with it.
For the revision hospital too, make sure to visit many places in person like I did. Rather than a hospital that only says inflated things like “We’ll make your nose turn out 100% well,” go to a place that recommends materials conservatively so you don’t develop functional nose problems or future complications.
I regretted it so much that I’m posting this in the hope that even one person can finish with their primary surgery.
This review is for surgery pursuing a natural look.