Hi everyone. I paid the reservation deposits for complete nose removal and am waiting, so I’m posting this as a record in case it helps. While researching surgery, I realized how important information is.
September 2025, first surgery: autologous costal cartilage + septal cartilage + silicone + bulbous-nose correction + dorsal hump trimming + Venus nose removal (mint-colored dissolvable threads had been inserted inside my nose and were removed during surgery as well).
Why I’m considering removal: From the moment I left with the splint on, I thought I would be dissatisfied with my nose. The splint itself did not look very high. After it was removed, I looked like a legendary avatar with a masculine appearance. There was also a slight step at the point where the nasal line dropped, and the shape was simply a straight line with only the tip pointed.
I looked into early removal, but I happened to travel to Vietnam for 3 nights and 5 days about 10 days after surgery, so I missed the timing. I was so busy looking for a hospital for early removal in Vietnam that I could not even enjoy the trip. The consultation coordinator shouted that it was not the time to be considering early removal. If I had had early removal at the first hospital, I probably would have been in trouble, haha... I guess this was a blessing in disguise.
Anyway, I decided on surgery because of my bulbous nose and the drooping tip seen from the side. The bulbousness improved, but the shape of my nose was really unattractive. Anyone could tell it was a botched nose. It did not improve for more than a year, and the shape had no answer while my overall impression had changed into something neither here nor there. Then the cartilage at the tip started showing through in a round shape, which bothered me terribly. So I made up my mind, visited hospitals for removal consultations, and scheduled surgery.
1. [Clinic A] — Consultation fee: KRW 10,000; ultrasound. I had a 2:10 p.m. appointment, but the previous patient’s visit seemed to run long, so I waited about 30 minutes.
When I went in, it had the neat feel of a small private plastic-surgery clinic. The order was coordinator > doctor > coordinator. At the desk, they took one photo so the nose could be seen clearly, and I explained my concerns to the coordinator. She also pointed out the tip showing through and the basic issues, and was generally kind.
As soon as the doctor came in, he said my face was somewhat asymmetrical. I had contouring surgery, and I was surprised that he noticed immediately. Using a cotton swab, he explained that my nose was currently deviated to one side and needed to be corrected this way, and that it should improve if the implants were removed. I think he was referring to a deviated columella. He also said the silicone was curved toward the left. I had not looked carefully in the mirror since my first nose surgery, so I did not know the silicone was crooked; I found out for the first time at a removal clinic, haha.
He said this was not a difficult nose that had collapsed because the tip had been raised excessively. He suggested leaving the tip cartilage, rearranging it, and removing the silicone. When I asked whether complete removal was possible, he said it was. He applied gel to my nose and examined it with ultrasound, explaining what had been inserted, but it had been several days since the consultation, so I do not remember the details well, T_T.
The doctor at my first hospital had definitely told me he had shaved the dorsal hump very thoroughly, but this doctor said it had hardly been shaved at all, lol ^^... When I asked how many millimeters of silicone had been inserted, he estimated about 3 mm. He looked at photos of my preoperative nose and said he would lightly trim the remaining hump as well. As with other reviews, they naturally did not show me photos.
After the doctor’s consultation, the coordinator said that choosing complete removal or removing everything except a support placed inside the alar cartilage was up to me. When I said I wanted surgery in January, she told me to contact them in November because the schedule would be arranged starting two months in advance.
The splint and nasal cotton may or may not be used. Treatment ends after visits on postoperative days 3 and 5.
After completing all the consultations, I heard at another hospital that my columella was deviated, so I asked by KakaoTalk whether it could be corrected. They replied that they would correct it as much as possible, but if my original nose had been deviated, it might not return 100%; removal should improve it considerably.
They said the capsule would be removed within a safe range. Cost including VAT: KRW 4,000,000.
2. [Clinic B] — Consultation fee: KRW 10,000; palpation. When I arrived, there was not a single person there. My appointment was at 3:30 p.m.
From the outside, the clinic really looked like an old neighborhood internal-medicine office, lol T_T. The inside was ordinary. The doctor consulted first.
The doctor was extremely cynical and wrote on the chart very diligently. He said the silicone could be removed. After removal, the nose might become broad and uneven, but the broadened and uneven areas could be refined. The tip would not return to its original state even if removed; it could become upturned or collapse. He would reposition the tip and alar cartilage as much as possible.
When I asked whether the tip could return to how it was if it was removed, he said it would not be identical, but similar. Whenever I asked something, he kept saying it could turn out this way or that way. There was nothing positive, and about my nose he only said that the silicone was somewhat shifted to one side. He did palpate it after I stood up, but apart from the shifted silicone, I only heard generic comments he probably gives every patient.
This was my first time visiting hospitals for consultations, and I had not prepared many questions, so I did not ask much. He kept making generic comments and asking, “Anything you’re curious about? Anything?” while writing on the chart without making eye contact. I was not drawn to the clinic, so I left without asking many questions.
The coordinator’s consultation also felt like a shortened version of what I had heard from the doctor, and I did not find it particularly professional. I do not remember whether they explained when the cotton would be removed or when the splint would be removed, T_T. Since the doctor’s consultation was disappointing, I did not ask.
For complete removal, KRW 3,600,000 if the shape is reconstructed, apparently meaning septal reinforcement; KRW 4,600,000 excluding VAT.
3. [Clinic C] — Consultation fee: KRW 30,000 (KRW 10,000 consultation fee + KRW 20,000 CT fee). My appointment was at 2 p.m., and this was actually the clinic I was most looking forward to. It was the hardest to book, and when I searched, it also had the most positive reviews. I waited only about 10–15 minutes.
The order was coordinator > doctor > coordinator. As soon as I went in, the doctor said the silicone was shifted to the left, the tip was showing through, and the shape was unattractive.
I asked whether he recommended removal. He said that if the nose were attractive and had no problems, he would tell me to think more carefully, but given the current shape, unattractiveness, and deviation, removal seemed better.
I said I had heard another hospital’s opinion about leaving a support in place. He said he did not recommend leaving one when the shape was not attractive, and that if I was going to operate, I should have complete removal.
When I mentioned trimming the hump, he said it had not really been shaved and added, “Well, it does not look like it was shaved very diligently.”
I asked whether a capsule would form and whether it would be removed even though it had been a year since surgery. He showed me photos of foreign material produced after surgery—silicone capsule, scar tissue, and so on—and said that this thin layer was a capsule, that doctors without sufficient skill simply leave it, and that removal was the right thing to do.
He did not show pre- and postoperative photos. He said that after complete removal, my nose would almost return to its original state.
He repeatedly gave me opportunities to ask questions by saying, “Anything else you’re curious about?” When I asked about contracture, he said it usually takes one to two months, and the consultation ended.
After seeing the coordinator again, I was told that the silicone was also inserted relatively short and that the columella was deviated.
The nasal cotton would be removed on day 2 or 3; the splint and columellar stitches on day 7; the internal nasal mucosal sutures on week 2; and the final follow-up would be at two months. General anesthesia would be used for 10–15 minutes at the end, with the rest apparently under local anesthesia.
Photo-use consent: KRW 4,800,000 / KRW 5,500,000. I also asked by KakaoTalk afterward whether the deviated columella would be corrected. They replied that they would not correct it separately, but unless my original nose had been deviated, it would generally return.
4. [Clinic D] ([Doctor A]) — Consultation fee: KRW 30,000; palpation. This was the only place that accepted the KRW 30,000 consultation fee as a reservation deposit.
My appointment was at 4:30 p.m. I asked whether I could come a little early because the consultation at [Clinic C] had ended so quickly, but they told me to come at the scheduled time because of the doctor’s surgery schedule. I am from outside the area, so waiting was difficult. I thought I might choose between Clinics A and C and considered not going, but I had paid a deposit and failed to go when I looked into early removal before, so this time I decided to go and spent time until the appointment.
The clinic definitely had a flashy interior, though I had never visited it during its Hongdae period. The order was coordinator > doctor > coordinator.
The coordinator asked very thoroughly about my needs: whether I wanted the deviated columella improved too or whether removal alone was fine. She wrote everything down carefully. When I said I had visited several hospitals for removal consultations, she asked where I had gone, which places I named, which consultation I liked best, and why. She wrote all of that in the chart, even marking which one I liked most, which was a little embarrassing.
The doctor had finished surgery late, so I waited about 1 hour and 40 minutes and was not expecting much. I felt awkward saying I had come because of the deposit, even though the consultation might last only 10 minutes.
After waiting so long, I met the doctor. He definitely had a strong professor-like presence. I knew the clinic focused on removal and reconstruction. Since my first surgery was not extremely difficult and I had no inflammation or contracture, I expected him to recommend only complete removal.
However, he said my septum was deviated and that the deviated septum also needed to be corrected along with complete removal. Internally I was thinking, “What? I had heard about a deviated columella, but this is the first time I have heard about a deviated septum,” and I was confused. The doctor kept asking me to make hand shapes and explained how it was deviated.
When I asked whether it could not return if only the implants were removed, he drew a picture of a nose and explained that the deviated septum also had to be straightened. He showed me several before-and-after cases of patients like me whose deviation had been corrected.
He definitely had a professor’s style: he kept explaining things to me and asking questions throughout, lol. The consultation lasted about 10 minutes. I had already asked other hospitals most of my questions, so I ended it quickly.
When the coordinator asked how the consultation went, I said it was my first time hearing about a deviated septum. She explained it once more. When I mentioned the cost burden, she said complete removal alone was also possible.
Straightening the deviated septum: KRW 3,000,000. Complete removal: KRW 4,600,000 + KRW 200,000 for general anesthesia, charged separately.
There seemed to be a discount for booking on the same day, but my surgery is in January and not urgent. Once I heard the price, I lost interest and left, lol. The coordinator did not separately explain when I would visit the hospital after surgery. Maybe she did not because I did not seem very interested in having surgery there, haha.
After agonizing over Clinics A and C, I chose Clinic A and booked surgery for October. I cannot take a long time off work, Clinic C’s follow-up schedule was too unclear, and its focus seemed to be simply removing everything, with the goal of restoring the original nose. I also could not tell how they would handle problems during surgery. Clinic A seemed to offer more options, and I felt they would pay more attention to shape during the consultation.
I tried to write this from memory as much as possible in the hope it helps, but I had lost interest during the consultations at Clinics B and D, so I did not take very detailed notes, lol T_T. This was also my first time visiting four hospitals for cosmetic surgery.
I was worried about revision surgery because removing everything might bring back my bulbous nose. But my nose deviated and started showing through so soon after the first surgery, and there is no guarantee revision surgery would prevent the same thing from happening again. I would rather remove everything and live with peace of mind. I guess I just have to set out a bowl of water and pray that the removal goes well.
I will post a detailed review with photos after surgery! If you have any questions, ask me.