※Long post warning※
- For my pre-op nose features, please refer to the consultation/walk-in review - I just wrote out my whole day like a diary because I was bored, so it probably won't be very helpful..
Pre-op essentials (recommended): Extra sterile gauze, fixation tape, sterile cotton swabs, dry shampoo, nourishing rice porridge, pumpkin juice, Tylenol (you might get body aches), cleansing tissues, a humidifier, lip balm, mouthwash, a water bottle with a narrow opening (+ straw), button-up or zip-up clothes, a teaspoon (when eating, you should use a small spoon so it doesn't get on the gauze and is more convenient), a beak-style mask (since the nose is higher, other masks are really uncomfortable)
• Surgery day (Day 1) I went early and had another consultation with the consultation manager and the surgeon before starting surgery prep. They explained the symptoms and side effects that could appear after surgery. They said the problems from the deviated septum surgery and asymmetry would not be completely fixed, but would improve compared to now. I also wasn't expecting a 100% correction, and I just wanted it to be better than it is now, so I said okay. The surgeon said to ask if I had any questions, and I had prepared several questions about side effects, but when it came time to ask, I felt a little shy... Since he's a specialist, I thought he'd take good care of it anyway, so I only emphasized the line I wanted one more time. (Refine the hump, lift the drooping tip a little, improve the bulbous nose, emphasize the nasolabial angle.)
We had originally decided on no implant, but during the pre-op consultation they said that if cartilage turned out to be very insufficient, an artificial dermis might have to be used. At the consultation I was like, okay.. but I have a very strong aversion to artificial implants, so while preparing for surgery I told the nurse to please tell them that even if the nose ended up lower, I did not want artificial dermis used (As a result, the plan was to use only septal cartilage + ear cartilage + (artificial dermis if needed), but there was enough with septal cartilage alone, so only septal cartilage was used to lift the tip.)
I went into the operating room, got an IV, had my arms and legs restrained, my face disinfected, my nasal hairs trimmed, and then anesthesia started. I didn't even realize anesthesia had started, but all of a sudden I felt sleepy and, in my perception, two seconds later it felt like someone was waking me up, so I jolted awake and it was already over and I was in the recovery room. I was so dazed I couldn't even walk properly, so I lay in the recovery room for a while. Maybe because it was the first day, there were no bruises and no swelling at all (or maybe there was and I just didn't notice). Because of the splint and gauze, I couldn't really see the exact line. It was a one-doctor clinic and I could check the surgery live on CCTV, so I wasn't worried about problems during surgery, which was nice. But my older sister said that while I was under sedation I kept muttering to myself like crazy and flailing around saying to let me go, so I'm insanely embarrassed.. How am I supposed to go back there... ha......
My nose was packed with gauze so I had to breathe through my mouth, but in the taxi every three minutes my mouth and throat would literally turn into a desert. It felt like all the moisture in my throat was being stolen away and I was drying up completely. I even ran out of water to drink, so I thought I was going to die from how miserable it was...... (People who are scheduled for surgery, definitely bring water.) But strangely, once I got home, my mouth wasn't particularly dry, so I barely drank any water.. I wondered if maybe I adapted quickly since I was already used to breathing through my mouth when I got a cold in winter, or if the house being a bit humid gave me a humidifier effect (lol)... People who are scheduled for surgery should practice breathing through their mouth and have a humidifier ready. (At this point I thought I was actually good at mouth breathing..^^)
When I got home, the anesthesia was starting to wear off and the area where the hump was shaved down throbbed, but the tip felt like nothing. I drank pumpkin juice, ate porridge, and took the prescribed antibiotics. My pain wasn't severe, so I was fine, but if you're the type who worries a lot about pain, you should prepare painkillers in advance.
For some reason, I didn't bleed much from my nose. Right after surgery, while I was at the hospital, maybe three times? I felt blood seeping into the gauze inside my nose, but after that it only happened when I sneezed. They also gave me several pieces of gauze to place under my nostrils, and they were clean. But I got some food on one while eating, so I changed it once. When I watched other people's vlogs, their gauze was soaked with blood, but weirdly mine wasn't.. There wasn't much nosebleed, but I did feel like mucus was going down the back of my throat. Ugh.. Anyone with rhinitis and lots of times where their nose was completely blocked will know how awful that feels..
Some people say they can't open their mouth well after surgery, but I didn't have that problem.. In fact, I could open my mouth way too easily when yawning or sneezing, so I was nervous the stitches might burst... I even ate so well it was embarrassing;; I brushed my teeth diligently because I was worried about bad breath, but because of the gauze it was hard to brush my front teeth.
• Day 2 I got a cold and body aches early in the morning and kept sneezing, so I took antibiotics and Tylenol and slept for a bit. The throbbing around the hump area also went away, so the pain was almost gone. The only thing was a slight sting near the columella when sneezing? I still had cold/body-ache symptoms.
I went to the clinic in the afternoon for a checkup. I got an antibiotic shot, had the gauze changed, and they disinfected the area around the nostrils and the blood that had come out. The surgeon was probably busy, because he looked at my face for about 20 seconds and then immediately went to see someone else, so I was like, huh...? They had originally said they'd tell me how the surgery went today, but the nurse said they'd gone to see another patient and I should ask when they come back to remove the packing. I went all the way there and back and that was it, so I was a little disappointed..^^ Since the manager I consulted with before surgery had said that based on my nose condition, they might be able to remove the packing today, I was kind of looking forward to it, but no chance,, they said they'd remove it on Day 3, so I was like, okay. Thinking I'd have to suffer two more days from now on made me sigh....^^ But I guess there's a reason for doing things by the book.
They said the bleeding control was good. The reason for the nosebleed was that the gauze placed inside the nose was being compressed and leaking. They also said there were no wounds inside the nose and the bleeding control was good, so the swelling probably wouldn't be too severe. That made me happy!
I couldn't really taste anything, but I craved sugar because of stress, so I wolfed down snacks and bread.. I still felt heavy and exhausted because of the cold/body-ache symptoms. The stress from the packing was driving me insane, seriously. Even opening my mouth felt careful, and breathing through my mouth made my chest feel so suffocating I thought I was going to die.. My mouth was dry, swollen, and my voice was hoarse too From tomorrow I planned to go back to porridge.
From nighttime, the eyelids started to swell a little. I take photos every day in between, and the eyelid area definitely felt a bit swollen. It wasn't badly swollen yet, but I thought by tomorrow it would probably swell a lot.. I should really do cold compresses diligently.
• Day 3 From dawn the swelling started rapidly.. The eyelids got puffy and the cheeks also swelled, so my cheeks felt heavy. Since the swelling came up, I couldn't help but keep compressing, but when I was doing the compress, breathing became even harder, so it was really tough..
I don't have much cheek fat, so the swelling actually filled out the cheek area and made me look better, which was funny...(What is this?) Rather than feeling bloated, it seems more accurate to say I swelled up plump and taut. Puffy cheeks were my ideal, and this was the first time I ever experienced it... My lips were also swollen, and since I have thin lips, it gave me a lip filler effect...
Tomorrow I was going to get the packing removed, and I was worried my eyes would be so swollen I couldn't wear contacts, but it wasn't swollen that much. I hadn't slept properly at all since surgery, but I finally got a good sleep and felt refreshed. As expected, humans are creatures of adaptation! Because I slept properly, the body-ache/cold symptoms were almost gone, which felt so good. Only my throat was still a desert...
I had somewhat gotten used to mouth breathing, but even while breathing fine, there were times when my chest would suddenly feel suffocated and I would act like I had gone mentally unstable. I wonder how I'm supposed to last until tomorrow....^^ My mouth was so swollen and uncomfortable so I ate porridge, took my medicine, and just got through the day somehowㅇ
• Day 4 Maybe because I had only been doing cold compresses around the eyes, the swelling in the eye area had almost completely gone down. But then the swelling had all moved to my cheeks, so I looked like a puffy dumpling, which was kind of funny. Maybe because there was so little bleeding? Thinking about it, I remembered that when I had double eyelid surgery, there was no bleeding and I didn't swell much then either, so I wondered if I was the type who does well with surgery. Anyway, I was glad I didn't swell as badly as I had worried. I had been too lazy and just half-heartedly did the compresses, so I regretted that maybe if I had been more diligent, the swelling would have gone down more. I hope others do their compresses diligently.
Finally, the day came to get the packing removed. While the packing was in, it was really..; from Day 3 onward I had gotten used to it and could sleep well, so the body-ache symptoms were reduced, but seriously,,, it felt like I was breathing in every germ in the air 그대로 I felt like I was going to die.
When I got to the clinic, I got an antibiotic shot and had the nasal packing removed, and I truly realized for the first time how grateful it is to breathe through the nose... I really learned how important nasal packing is. It was a completely new world. They briefly removed the splint, gave me swelling laser treatment, and I checked the mirror and wow......... the combo of swelling + overcorrection lol I was really shocked when I looked in the mirror
From the front, the bridge had disappeared because it was swollen on both sides, and the nostrils looked very visible like a snub nose. And when I turned to the side, it was so elevated that it was literally a nose tower, with only the nose visible. It felt like the collapsed-nose look from failed rhinoplasty posts online... Even the cheeks were swollen, so my face shape was a mess, so this was just.... really a total disaster. Seeing that actually made me feel relieved.. I had seen that if you feel satisfied at one week, it means it failed.. I thought once the swelling went down and the tip lowered a little, it would probably turn out okay.. Even if it turned out a bit off, I figured I'd just live with it; I don't have the courage to go through revision surgery
I thought there would be a lot of blood when the packing was removed, but surprisingly it wasn't all red and soaked with blood or anything. I was worried there would be a nosebleed after removal, but there wasn't really any! I used to breathe only through the left side and could hardly breathe through the right, but now I can feel air coming in through both sides, which is so, so amazing. That sensation only happened when my nose was wide open after using rhinitis medicine.. It's like a whole new world!! They also told me the surgical method. They said they lifted the tip with septal extension grafting, and tied cartilage to the septum. (The hollowed area of the bridge was also filled with the septum.) Because of the swelling it's still puffy so I don't really know yet, but it's definitely visible that the bluntness at the tip of my nose, which used to stress me out, has improved. I should say there wasn't any highlight on the tip before? That was the case, but now when light reflects, there's a straight highlight from the bridge to the tip. It's so amazing!!!
I was told to come back next Monday to remove the splint, and from here on I don't think there'll be much else besides the swelling going down, so I'll post the next review after the splint comes off!