First, I wanted a nose that was straight and natural rather than flashy, and I felt safety was important. The nose had changed shape toward a contracted/reconstruction-like form twice, and everyone said inflammation or that contracted-deformation issue was not the cause. And if I were younger, I probably would have wanted to try a flashy style too, but now with my age and timing, I decided to create a nose that can age naturally with me into my 60s, so I finally gathered the courage to improve the shape. If I had returned to a base "before" nose, I would never do rhinoplasty, so I even thought about removing it, but I already had forehead wrinkles; if the nasal dorsum dropped, the skin wrinkles also looked like a loss. So it was a pre-op mindset of "let me take one more chance and try again." Clinics that were flashy but also safe and good at surgery were all listed, but famous revision centers were mostly fully booked and pushed to the back. I made reservations at about 8 places, I checked 5 and made my decision, and now I already had surgery. It has been only a few days, and I don’t want to say the location yet. Anyway, since I had no things to do while recovering and got bored, I wrote this down. I got real help from other people’s clinic-hopping reviews, too. 1. ㅇㄹ This was the first place where I had planned to do autologous skin grafting. Because they had a lot of experience, they said firmly it was definitely not a contracted nose. They said improvement is certainly possible because the skin was soft and had room to stretch. The estimate was 550, and the nurse-staff was gentle and kind. I had my nose done there, too, and it felt natural with a slightly soft, supple impression. However, they said making it look like a celebrity nose is hard. I had actually considered doing it there after all my hunting, but when it came to autologous skin overcorrection and absorbable concerns, I had no confidence. Because they did not address the alar zone at all, which was my biggest worry, I passed on it. 2. ㅁㅎ The director was very clean-looking and genuinely human. They listened to everything; in asking questions to find problems together, their conversation felt sincere. He said during the first surgery, "if it were me, I would regret doing it this way," and that felt sincere.
I said I had rhinitis, but there was no talk or estimate for a functional rhinoplasty component. When I texted the staff asking what would happen with the functional part, he said two types were possible, which sounded like, "well, if you really want to, just do it." I think I had received an autologous costal cartilage quote of 900 at Fitmico. For choosing autologous or donated rib cartilage, there seemed to be someone else handling rib harvesting, and I remember it was done under general anesthesia. But I clearly felt he seemed specialized in slightly upturned noses and a half-arched line style. The steps/assistants had a professionalism and kindness gap, which was disappointing. If you prefer a flashy nose, this might suit you. 3. ㄹㅋㅋ After two failed noses, this was a place I had wanted to visit after reading blogs, and my expectation was the highest. As expected, an expert. He said right away it was not silicone foreign-body reaction, not inflamed nose; it seemed just the shape changed over time. I said, "No," haha, it suddenly collapsed, then changed little by little to look like this now. I asked why it suddenly collapsed, and he responded with a tone that it was hard to explain. For correcting a lowered/pinched tip, removing excess widened alar area, cat-angle alar surgery, and so on, the quote was 1150. For the nasal dorsum support, he said autologous costal cartilage was better than silicone strut. I had previously done septal cartilage and ear cartilage procedures long ago, but he said retention is better with autologous costal cartilage. And sleep anesthesia. 4. ㅇㅇ To be honest, the shape and system appealed to me the most, but it felt like there were only artificial-sounding reviews and no practical ones from this newer place, so I hesitated. Still, I decided to go for consultation. The nurse-manager I consulted with (not here now) seemed to focus a bit more on aesthetics and cost than on safety. There were some parts I dislike, including same-day reservation pressure, but because it was a place I had in mind, I wavered. If fully disclosed with autologous costal cartilage, around 800; partially disclosed, 1400. With silicone, the gap seemed to be about 200. Choosing between silicone and autologous costal cartilage, it seemed the doctor thought support should be rebuilt more firmly by reconstructing the septum with autologous cartilage to increase durability, and that was his original method. General anesthesia only. In design, he proposed the direction I wanted most. Unique. Other places set the dorsum according to jaw-lip line, but because my mouth-to-lip line is an inward E shape, that would make the dorsum too low; he did not do it that way and instead drew and showed a design at my desired height. The design was accepted. I kept thinking about amount, tip/bridge costal cartilage, incision site, and this new hospital. 5. ㅍㄴㅅ Both the nurse and the surgeon were good. The nurse was sincere and most empathetic about safety. The surgeon read CT well, carefully checking slight silicone curvature and septal issues. Got a 1100 quote for customized silicone with autologous costal cartilage support. In a broad sense he diagnosed it as a contracted nose, and said that if opened, there may be spaces from prior inflammation, a resolved hematoma, and areas where tissue or scar covered things where the alar region had been pulled in. It was my first time hearing a diagnosed contracted nose, but he seemed to mean it looked that way by shape, though not necessarily in every sense. He diagnosed that the alar region was pulled into empty space, and since septal cartilage was small and support was made weak after cutting it, this seemed to have caused deformation. That was his diagnosis. It was the most comprehensive and convincing diagnosis. He explained the diagnosis and solutions clearly and intelligently. The consultation fee was free, which was good. General anesthesia, and a separate anesthesiology doctor. I had other places I wanted to visit more: ㄷㅎㄷ ㄹㅂㄹ ㅅㅇ ㅇㅂㅈ ㅂㅇㅂ but once I decided to do surgery, I wanted to do it quickly. I worried, but I decided on a place that drew me during the clinic-hopping. The clinic-hopping itself was enjoyable and all of it helped. But because I went all in one day, I think I got tired from so many CT scans. It would be good if visits could be split or done in separate sessions. At ㅁㅎ, because the consultation fee is 30,000 won, I asked if they would do it with payment, but they said no. Other places either had no consultation fee, or they did not request CT, so they did not ask. Anyway, thinking about radiation exposure, I recommend splitting visits. Don’t do a first nose surgery lightly. I hope this helps people needing shape improvement who have to mind social life. And I worry this may look like ㅂㄹㅋ, but I think there are many better hospitals than this.