I had my first nose surgery in 2021, and I’m writing because I want to hear opinions before booking a complete removal surgery! For my nose surgery, I had 3 mm silicone, nostril reduction, hump correction, three types of rhinitis surgery, columella lowering, ear cartilage, and septal cartilage used. Right now, the silicone has shifted to the right, a step-off has formed on the nasal bridge, there is columellar indentation, and the nasal tip is drooping, so I’m considering removal.
The hospitals I had consultations at were ㅅㅅㅇ / ㅇㄱㅈㅇㅇㅂ / ㄱㅇㅅ / ㅍㄹㅁ / ㅅㅇ.
Two places, ㅅㅅㅇ / ㅇㄱㅈㅇㅇㅂ, said it would be removal, but they talked about leaving the nasal tip material in place.
ㄱㅇㅅ said it would be removal too, but because the nose is functionally deviated, they recommended septal deviation surgery, and because there is columellar indentation, they suggested leaving the nasal tip support strut.
When I was going to consultations, I thought it would be okay to leave my own cartilage in the nasal tip, but while searching about nose removal, I saw posts saying that even leaving autologous cartilage can sometimes cause problems, so when removing it, it’s right to remove everything completely. After seeing that, I excluded the three places above.
And the hospitals that can do complete removal are ㅍㄹㅁ / ㅅㅇ, so I’m deciding between these two.
1. ㅍㄹㅁ As soon as they looked with ultrasound, they said complete removal was possible. When I was going around for revision surgery consultations, one place said my nose had been operated into a pinched nose, so that was when I first found out my nose was pinched. Among the hospitals I went to for removal consultations, this was the only one that saw it as a pinched nose. Also, because of the columellar indentation, I asked several times whether the columella might retract after removal, and they firmly said that would not happen. I told them other hospitals had recommended leaving the support strut or nasal tip because of the columellar indentation, and they said the indentation happened because my originally wide and low nose was raised too aggressively and the columella was pulled out. So it felt like something that had never been resolved until now was finally explained. Also, even though another hospital had done septal deviation surgery, they recommended doing it again, so I asked whether I needed it. They asked whether the deviated nose had been corrected, and when I answered that it had not, they said a deviated nose is not something that gets fixed simply by adding material on top, and that it requires a maxillofacial approach. They said that even if you make the nose look straight, it does not mean it actually becomes straight. For the nasal bridge, they decided not to rasp it separately and to remove all materials.
Capsule removal included / sedation anesthesia and local anesthesia, takes 1 hour 30 minutes / cotton removed on day 2 after surgery, and if there is a splint on day 5, it is removed and changed to taping.
Before the consultation, they took facial photos and did an ultrasound. Both the consultant and the director were very kind. Especially when you go to removal hospitals, you often meet directors who act like, “Is there anything else you want to ask?” But this director looked at the photos, palpated my nose, and answered everything really warmly and kindly, so I liked that it felt like the surgery would be done the same way as the consultation.
2. ㅅㅇ As soon as the director looked at my nose, they said that externally, the nose surgery had gone wrong, and they also said the nostril reduction result was not good. They said many people from the hospital where I had my surgery come there for removal, so they know it well. I asked whether columellar retraction could happen because of the columellar indentation, and they said it was scarring caused by incorrect suturing after surgery. They said that even if the materials are removed, the indentation itself will not completely disappear, but columellar retraction will not occur. However, because the columella was pulled out from my original nose, the columella may look slightly more recessed than now, but it will not be a curled-in shape. They said compared with my original nose, the nasal tip will be more refined, but it will be low and wide. Also, for the incision, some parts may overlap with the existing incision line, and a new incision line may be created, but they said it is not something to worry about. Also, during the consultation, the consultant came in together, listened to the explanation, and organized it again afterward, so I liked that it wasn’t just a consultation, but that they understood and explained the consultation together. We decided to do complete nasal removal without touching the functional aspects at all. Since the silicone is deviated to the right, there may be bone deformation, but because it can grow back, they decided not to rasp it.
Because my skin is thin, they usually do not remove much capsule, but they will do capsule removal / sedation anesthesia and local anesthesia, takes 2 hours / because it is far, if I cannot visit the hospital, they said they would write a medical opinion letter so I can have the cotton removed nearby.
The director explained things very honestly, and the consultant also explained things as professionally and clearly as the director. They said they do not schedule many surgeries per day; on weekdays, they do only one case in the afternoon, and on Saturdays, only one case in the morning. While reading surgery reviews, I saw a post saying someone was awake throughout the surgery, so I asked about it. They explained that the usable dose is determined by the person’s body weight, so depending on the case, you may wake up midway. If I’m worried about that, they said they would let my guardian watch the CCTV throughout the surgery.
Both ㅍㄹㅁ and ㅅㅇ have similar directions for complete removal, and I don’t particularly feel more drawn to one place, so choosing the hospital has become difficult.
For my first surgery too, I went to 13 consultations before deciding. At that time, my obsessive anxiety about my nose was cured, but in the end, another big concern, removal, came up. This time too, I made my choice after thinking it through in my own way, but I keep thinking, what if I regret it? Since I’ve been reading a lot of posts related to removal, I feel scared, wondering, what if I also have problems? So I think about postponing it, but in the end, I feel like I’ll have to remove it, so I want to hear various opinions and decide. Before going to ㅅㅇ, I had settled on ㅍㄹㅁ, but even with the same director at each hospital, skin characteristics, surgical method, materials used, current condition, and so on are all different, so the results seem extremely case-by-case. Seeing some people do fine without issues while others struggle with side effects makes it even harder. Everyone, if you were in this situation, which hospital would you choose?