Hi! I’m back to share my surgery-day and current review, two weeks after my consultation at five clinics for complete nose removal. I was always curious about week-by-week reviews when researching, so I’m writing this in as much detail as possible.
[Condition before removal] - First surgery in 2014: 4 mm Surgiform, ear cartilage at the tip - No problems, but I chose complete removal because I felt uneasy
[Procedure] - Closed approach, complete removal - The clinic was mentioned in my previous post.
[Second consultation before surgery] All the other clinics said an open approach was necessary, while this clinic said a closed approach was possible. I was curious how that could be done, so I booked a second consultation. There was no separate consultation fee, and they explained everything much longer and more thoroughly than at the first consultation.
[Day of surgery] I arrived by 9 a.m. for a morning surgery. I wasn’t worried about the surgery at all—only about having to return to work afterward, lol.
Before surgery: payment > changing clothes > taking many photos > first consultation and instructions with the coordinator > consultation with the director about the surgical plan > final signature > entering the operating room.
During surgery, two nurses prepared me with an IV, disinfection, trimming of nasal hairs, and posture adjustment. The director came in, checked my weight and alcohol tolerance, decided the sedation dose, and started the first sedation. I’m not sure whether I was awakened or woke up myself, but I opened my eyes once, then received the second dose. My eyes opened again and I felt something scraping my nose, so I said, “I can feel it~.” The director asked whether I was awake and administered the third dose. When I opened my eyes afterward, the surgery was over! lol (11 a.m.) Don’t worry—even waking up from sedation does not hurt at all!
After surgery: I stood up by myself and went to the recovery room > used the bathroom, lol > lay down briefly with a cold pack > the coordinator gave my prescription and my husband went to get the medicine > they gave me the removed implant as a keepsake (that was when it finally felt real!) > consultation with the director about the surgery > went home.
[What was done] Although I had put in a 4 mm implant, it had been compressed over time and came out at about 1 mm, lol. The ear cartilage had also almost completely disappeared, so there was hardly anything to remove. They removed the adhesions caused by the implant and lightly scraped away the capsule. That was what they were doing when I briefly woke up.
They reassured me that the tip cartilage had been repositioned well, so my nose would not look very different from before removal. T_T
[After surgery] Fortunately, the surgical site did not hurt. I received about a week’s worth of medication and took it regularly. I also bought pumpkin juice in advance, and the pain was truly zero.
However, the cotton packing in both nostrils was extremely difficult. The clinic said I could remove the left one the next day, Saturday, but recommended keeping it in until Sunday if it was tolerable. I endured it until Sunday, but I could not taste anything and my mouth became extremely dry.
I removed it around 6 p.m. Sunday and found paradise. Breathing through my nose is such a wonderful thing...
The swelling really began suddenly from day 3, just as everyone else said. There was little change on days 1 and 2, so I thought I was lucky, but then it suddenly started swelling, lol.
I kept sleeping because of the medication, probably for five days straight, so that may have made the swelling worse too. On Tuesday, the clinic called and asked me to send photos of my nose from below and from the front. They called again afterward and said I could remove the packing on one side too, so I removed it immediately.
I visited on Wednesday to have the splint removed. I was excited, but my nasal bridge was extremely swollen, and I honestly looked like an avatar. My skin is fairly thin, so I had an incredible amount of bruising. I still have bruises on the bridge. The nurses and director were surprised too. (Director, you said I wouldn’t bruise... T_T lol.) Fortunately, they were yellow bruises just before fading, but my entire face around the area was yellow like Batman.
They said the other surgical areas were healing well and there were no major problems. They asked me to visit once more this month to remove the stitches and receive one oxygen treatment. I haven’t set a date yet, haha.
[Going out and returning to work] I first went out on day 9 to meet a friend. My friend said nothing had changed at all and that it was boring, lol.
The day I was most nervous about was returning to work on day 11. A few people who knew about the surgery looked at me and asked what had changed, lol. After I explained it, they noticed that my nose looked rounder when they looked closely.
As for everyone else, it seems nobody has noticed. I still have some bruising on the bridge, and wearing glasses hurts that area, so I go around bare-faced, but they don’t seem to know. Maybe they’re pretending not to notice?
[Satisfaction] The best choice. I love it so much. When I look in the mirror, my eyes feel more comfortable and my rounder nose looks so cute, lol. I think I actually feel more affection for myself now.
I don’t think it’s time for the contraction phase yet, so that will probably come soon. The bridge will become a little lower as the residual swelling goes down, but I feel so relieved anyway!
The best thing is that I no longer feel anything foreign when touching my nose while washing my face.
I went from a straight nose back to a curved, upturned nose, and I like it even more.
[Photos] The photos everyone is most curious about.
First, I really scrubbed out all my photos of my original nose, so I don’t have any. I disliked them even more because they were from before correction, so I deleted them all.
Thank you for reading this long post. If you have questions, please leave them in a public comment so we can share information. I’ll write another review if I can. I hope everyone can worry a little less and make a choice they’ll be satisfied with!