Same-day review after complete removal of 14-year-old silicone + nasal tip cartilage

I had posted privately a few times, but since I plan to keep posting progress reviews going forward, I’m leaving this as a public post for the record. Today I had surgery to remove the silicone + ear cartilage from the nasal tip, and I also had a perichondrium graft to the nasal tip. My first surgery was 16 years ago at the ENT department of a university hospital, for deviated septum surgery and hump removal, and my second surgery was 14 years ago because the hump area was uneven, so they put in 1–1.5 mm silicone and ear cartilage in the nasal tip. Since 2 years ago, my nasal tip would sometimes turn red, and I felt like the cartilage was becoming more and more visible. My skin also seemed to keep getting thinner, so I decided to remove it before a bigger problem happened. I had removal consultations at 3 places, and because I didn’t want to touch my nose anymore, I decided on surgery at a place that would only do complete removal without tying the nasal tip or adding extra reinforcement. I came to Korea from overseas because of this surgery. The hospital is not one of the commonly mentioned top 3, but it is a place that is often mentioned next for removal. Before surgery, I didn’t have major inflammation, so I wasn’t extremely worried. I vaguely thought it probably wouldn’t look very different from the pre-op shape, and that the nasal bridge might become a little uneven after removal. But when I actually came out of surgery, what I heard was that the condition was worse than I expected. They said the surgery itself went well, but I remember them saying that the cartilages inside were adhered. Since I heard the explanation while I was still out of it after surgery, the exact wording may not be right, but the main point was that the internal condition was worse than expected. Also, I thought there was only silicone in the nasal bridge area, but they took photos and showed me that there were cartilage fragments there too. They explained that after removing that cartilage as well, that area may look sunken, and this is what I’m most worried about right now. Also, regarding the part inside the nostril where the nasal ala looked bent and protruding, they said that the cartilage had already been deformed that way for a long time, so even before surgery they said it would be difficult to straighten it so that it would be completely invisible. Since that part is inside the nostril anyway, I think it’ll be okay unless the nostrils are lifted upward and visible. Honestly, I’ve already lived like this for 14 years too… To be honest, the pain is quite a bit more than I expected. Right now I have stiffness, throbbing, and a constant feeling that something is flowing. For now, because my condition wasn’t good, I have to keep cotton packing + a splint on for a week, and I’m scheduled to go to the hospital on day 5 lol. As for the shape, they also mentioned filler later if, after the swelling goes down, the sunken area or things like that bother me, but in my current state I really don’t want to put anything in unless absolutely necessary. They said they did an ear perichondrium graft, but not on the nasal bridge, only on the nasal tip, and they said that looking at the condition of my nose, it seemed like the right choice. I’ll keep leaving updates if there is any indentation or shape change while watching the progress. Since they said the condition was worse than expected, I am worried about what the shape will be like after the splint comes off, but I’m trying to tell myself that it was actually fortunate that I had the surgery now instead of leaving it in this bad condition for even longer.