Hi! I came to the clinic for a follow-up, so I’m writing a review for the first time in ages. My old account was suspended.. (I don’t know why.) If you check the profiles through the links, there are many reviews from before removal through immediately afterward, so please use them as a reference!
As for how I’ve been: most people seem to feel relieved after six months or more following complete removal, but I couldn’t. I had lived with a high nose for over 15 years (4-mm silicone), so I couldn’t accept my appearance after complete removal. Over the past year, I had filler injected and dissolved three times. T_T They say the removal surgery itself went well, but with various difficult things piling up, I think it was because my appearance had changed so much. I repeatedly wrecked my nose with filler even though other people didn’t care about it at all. T_T (The mentality that made me get nose surgery in high school never really went away ;)
I didn’t dissolve the filler because I disliked its shape. People who had a foreign-body reaction to silicone have a high chance of developing an immune reaction even to hyaluronic-acid filler, so you really have to be careful. My whole face felt hot and I kept developing unexplained skin problems. Since I repeated it three times, I’m 100% sure the filler was responsible. Dissolving it is difficult in many ways, and there is a lot to lose, so I really want to stop anyone from doing it. T_T
Still, I feel I may finally be able to graduate from fillers and everything else, so I’ll work up the courage to write another review! It has been more than three weeks since dissolving the filler, so this is my natural nose now. I think explaining it with photos will communicate things best, so I’ll go through them in order. Also, the nose comes across better when posted with the proportions of the whole face, so I’m uploading them despite feeling embarrassed. T_T
1: After removal, I became obsessed with filler because I hated the square bridge that looked as though someone had pressed it down like a walrus. In photo 1, the filler makes the bridge look slightly raised, but other people probably won’t notice much difference. There is a distinctive post-removal appearance.. Because the bone was shaved when the silicone was inserted, the bridge becomes square and somewhat foolish-looking.. haha. I was taking as much medication as possible to calm the immune reaction, but the heat still dried my skin and made it keep flaking; you may be able to see it in the photo.
2: Because my condition worsened from the continuing immune reaction to the filler, it began to affect my appearance negatively, so I had it dissolved again (the third time). It was taken right after dissolving, so there is a little fluid in the bridge.
3 and 4: This is my relieved nose after removal without filler. I swell very easily, but on days when the swelling is less, the square appearance disappears depending on the light. Once the filler was completely dissolved, the side effects disappeared too, which was such a relief. I prefer the side view to the front.. I really liked the side view with filler, but it couldn’t be helped. T_T
5: This photo was taken yesterday. It often looks square, broad, and flat like this. T_T Still, I should accept it and learn to love it.
6: The nostrils.. Since I had two open surgeries in total—my first surgery and the removal surgery—the scars probably couldn’t be avoided. T_T Most of the scars were made during the first surgery, and after removal they just seem slightly more noticeable.
I really miss my original nose.. It wasn’t square then, and it looked less upturned. Why on earth did I undergo such a painful surgery? My heart still breaks over it. haha. Still, when I look at life from a distance, I wonder whether this was a trial I truly needed.. How exhausting life becomes when you firmly believe you can only be loved if you are beautiful.. I still have attachments, but I’m trying to let go of my fixation on my nose.
The removal was not easy because the surgery also involved Medpor (I didn’t know that), but I’m satisfied because Dr. A handled it well. If I had had the surgery elsewhere, I don’t think they would have handled an emergency well. The clinic relocated and expanded to Apgujeong as [Clinic B]. I visited there for the first time today and was impressed by how nice it was, lol. Many people here seemed reluctant during Dr. A’s Hongdae days because the operating room was quite outdated, but that should no longer be a concern.
The columella sometimes becomes reddish, and I was told that this can happen even after surgery because Medpor is a material that can cause extensive inflammation. I think my inflammatory response was probably severe because I had abused filler so much. T_T I regret that, if I hadn’t used filler, recovery might have gone better and the contraction period might have passed more smoothly, allowing my upturned nose to descend a little more...
If you have questions, leave them and I’ll answer in detail. Let’s all get through this period well.