I had consultations for a contracted nose that is getting shorter. Because this is my third revision, I am a case that needs reconstruction with autologous costal cartilage as a last resort.
Since I have had contracture twice from silicone, I went in on the premise that if I had surgery with silicone, contracture was 100% guaranteed. What does it matter if it is the safest material for others? There are always exceptions, and I am that exception...
And because I have already had several surgeries, there probably is not any usable tissue inside, so I am not hoping for a flashy nose. I want a nose that lets me live daily life without worrying about how my nose looks. And there must be no aftereffects, so I filtered out doctors who were too focused only on shape. (Of course, I also dislike ENT doctors who make everyone the exact same witch-like nose...)
I want a place with an anesthesiologist on-site and a good safety system, but if a place is famous, I still went to check it out even if there was no anesthesiologist.
I’ll write about just three places today. I only go around the Gangnam area...
Clinic ㅇㅇㅇ(ㄱㄹㅇㅅㅇㅇㅇ) Consultation fee 10,000 won (deposit when booking) CT scan 30,000 won (said to be free during events) Anesthesiologist on-site
Recommended procedure Stem cells for 8 weeks after implant removal Autologous dermis from the buttocks for the nasal bridge, costal cartilage for the nasal tip Sedation anesthesia
The director seemed skilled and, how should I put it, had a kind of dexterous craftsperson feel. They showed a lot of before-and-after references, and for some, I could check the current state more than 5 years after surgery. But while stem cells may have been effective for people with crushed or sunken areas, in my case, I honestly wonder how much effect it would have.
I cannot bring myself to open the nose, remove the silicone, get injections for 8 weeks, then open the nose again for surgery... Even opening it one last time for surgery is already a huge burden.
The plastic surgery clinic where I just recently had silicone put in and then got contracture was also huge and had an anesthesiologist, and the head nurse there is my relative. But even my relative did not say, “If you get stem cells, this will really be solved well,” you know? (Then again, they also did not tell me that silicone could cause contracture. I’m suddenly getting heated...)
Anyway, that is why I dropped stem cells. If the condition is really bad, it seems that removing the implant first can move up the good timing for revision surgery a bit, so people who need it can do it, but I do not think I will choose it. I have no inflammation at all; it is just getting shorter little by little...
Clinic ㄹㅋㅋ Consultation fee 10,000 won (deposit when booking) No CT or X-ray imaging. A director I had been keeping an eye on for a long time. Their skill is already famous. Their aesthetic sense is good too.
Recommended procedure Silicone for nasal bridge, autologous costal cartilage for nasal tip, nostril lowering
They said that if surgery is done with autologous dermis, because you do not know how much will be absorbed, there are ultimately many patients who want revision. So if I really want it, they will use autologous dermis, but they recommend silicone. But because I got contracture because of silicone, I no longer want silicone, so it was disappointing that they pushed silicone. I understood it as being because many patients do not know about aftereffects and just want it to look pretty. And with a nose like mine that has had many surgeries, it is obvious without even looking that if dermis is inserted, a lot will be absorbed.
Clinic ㄷㅌㅈ Consultation fee 25,000 won X-ray imaging at an additional cost Anesthesiologist on-site They are an ENT specialist, and as an ENT plastic surgeon, I read through their blog because they are one of the most authoritative.
Recommended procedure Autologous costal cartilage for nasal bridge, autologous costal cartilage for nasal tip, and if the nasal tip, clumped with scar tissue more than expected, does not come down well, add a procedure that has a nostril-lowering effect
They did not say a lot, but I had studied before going, and it matched my needs the best, so I trusted them the most.
When I got my surgical records from various plastic surgery clinics where I had surgery, they were so simple and did not even properly state what procedures were done, just records like a diary written roughly because they were annoyed but afraid of getting scolded. But I know this place records things properly, almost comparable to a university hospital system.
Records may seem like nothing special, but in the worst case where I have to open the nose again later (repeated 3 times, lol), you have no idea how important they are. I paid money to get the records, and they were just paper trash... They were impossible to use as reference. The person who wrote them probably cannot even remember what they did.
My relative also had nose surgery at a really famous clinic with no anesthesiologist, then developed breathing difficulty, and the doctor got startled and dropped the scalpel; it was complete chaos. So I really want to choose a clinic with an anesthesiologist on-site...
I have a few more appointments booked going forward. I’ll write again after I go!