I had my third surgery (primary surgery - removal - revision surgery) at a one-doctor clinic specializing in autologous costal cartilage. At 6 months post-op, I went to consultations at a few places to look into a fourth surgery. The main reasons were upturned nasal tip, columellar scar, torn alar reduction incision, and a silicone implant step-off. My goal is to remove the silicone, lower the nasal tip, and improve the scar-related issues. Since I was told my nose was still in an irritated state and to come back after 1 year, I almost completed the full year and went around for re-consultations. I also went to ㅇㄷㅇㅇㅇ, which I couldn’t visit during the first round.
* ㅅㅅㅇ I was surprised because the second consultation felt so different from the first one; It was my second choice, so I went because I wanted to hear answers again as much as possible about the things I was worried about, and also ask about additional things I was curious about. The vibe was like, We talked about all of that back then, so why did you come? What more are you curious about? I additionally had questions about the feeling that the bone inside my nose was crooked and about what they had said during the first consultation, that we should reuse my autologous costal cartilage, but I couldn’t get a satisfying answer about that part.. The things that bother me most are the columellar scar and the alar incision, so I checked again and again, you know? Because I had alar reduction and the sutured area burst open, so the space between them widened. I kept explaining this, but they didn’t seem to understand.. I seriously kept spreading my nostril area and argued back and forth for 10 minutes, but they only kept saying that the alar area naturally stretches, so while trying to explain that, I feel like I came out looking like the weird one I bet they still remember me as a weird person? The consultant was still kind, and I think she has a really good image.. The surgery cost was the same as before.
* ㄱㅇㅈ was as expected. This had been my top pick anyway, so this was the main purpose, but after being a bit shocked at the re-consultation at ㅅㅅㅇ, I went in nervous. I started getting anxious, thinking, Could it be very different from the first consultation? But as soon as the doctor saw me, they said, “Oh? I think I’ve seen you before? You came here, right?” and welcomed me brightly, so I felt reassured At the first consultation, I already felt confident about the shape, so I asked about the additional things I was curious about, and they looked carefully again inside my nose and at the incision area, and explained everything related to it. They said what I thought was a crooked bone seemed to be because, while fixing the autologous costal cartilage, it had been layered on, so one side felt narrow. They said it was indeed an incision scar and that it could be sutured again. I also asked about an area I had originally thought was cartilage show-through, saying it didn’t seem like that, and why it was protruding, and they explained that too, so it really felt like they scratched every itchy spot, and I felt so reassured. When I said the columellar scar was what worried me most, they said it wasn’t 100%, but it could be improved, so I felt relieved The consultant? Everyone knows she’s also someone who goes into the operating room, right? She also had such a good personality; during the first consultation, they told me to come back after 1 year, so I couldn’t even have a consultant consultation.. But the cost is seriously brutal ha.. Still, I made a reservation for now. I realized money isn’t what matters. I’m almost 99% decided.
* Lastly, after waiting 1 hour, I went to ㅇㄷㅇㅇㅇ. I arrived about 10 minutes early, but I was able to meet the doctor only after more than 30 minutes had passed beyond my appointment time; They didn’t tell me the reason and just made me wait. Later, it seemed like they had been doing surgery. First of all, there was construction upstairs, so it was extremely noisy, and as soon as the doctor saw me, they asked roughly, then the moment I brought up silicone removal, they said things like my nasal shape would collapse, and because the silicone had been high, my nasal bone would have been compressed and it would look bad. At that point I wondered if they were cursing me; But when I looked at reviews in a community, there were a lot of similar reviews. Maybe that’s just their style?; But if they’re this negative about removal, I got curious why they’re famous for removal surgery; Do they only do noses where removal is easy? That’s what I thought. As soon as the columellar scar came up, they said they couldn’t do it, asked if there was any place that would do this, and said, Why did they make an incision here? They kept saying they couldn’t do it, that even if this were done nothing would improve, and that it would be better to live like this for the rest of my life, and my world just collapsed. After surgery, with side effects and emotional distress like mine, there must be many people who go thinking they should at least get a consultation, so I wondered how they could speak so indifferently like that.. Even the same words can feel completely different depending on how they’re said. I mentally checked out there and was just blank.. then they said, You don’t have anything else to ask, right? and it ended I waited more than 30 minutes, had a 10-minute consultation, and paid 30,000 won. Thanks to that, I spent the whole weekend in shock over my columellar scar, searching only related information; If anyone here has had columellar scar removal surgery or treatment, please leave a comment.. For now, I’m planning to go to one or two more places related to columellar reconstruction. ㄱㅇㅈ is still my first choice, so before that, I’m going to go around for consultations and ask about it during the pre-surgery consultation! At ㄱㅇㅈ, they make the reservation and then do another consultation 1 week before surgery. I think that part is really good. I’ll leave another review after I go! Everyone with similar concerns as me, let’s share information! Leave a private comment!