I’m posting this in case my experience helps anyone, since I know all the difficulties I went through until the removal. Since it’s only day 7 after removal, I plan to post the rest of the process too. (Long post warning)
I’m a woman in my 30s living in the provinces. I had nose surgery in Nonhyeon-dong 13 years ago, and because I gradually felt my nasal bridge and nostril sagging slightly to the left from the columella as the 기준, I started thinking about revision surgery about 5 years ago. It was getting very, very slightly sunken little by little, but other people didn’t notice even when I told them. Just before the surgery, when I mentioned it, I got responses like, “Oh, now that you mention it, yeah, I can kind of see it.” (It shows well in photos)
It was a progressive change. My skin is thin, and as I got older it became even thinner and weaker, so I think that also made it more noticeable.
At first, about a year ago, I decided to go for revision surgery. A younger acquaintance had her revision done at a clinic there, and it turned out nicely, so I even paid a deposit of 300,000 won. Then that clinic closed down. Haha, I can laugh about it now, but even up to the revision surgery I went through a lot of emotional stress, and after making time to travel from the provinces to Seoul, I ended up losing money and feeling even more confused. Since the clinic had closed, I thought it was actually a relief that I lost 300,000 won and didn’t go through with it. (I never found out why it closed.)
Because I’m an office worker, I couldn’t do the surgery during vacation, and a whole year passed like that. While I was obsessively going through several sites for days trying to find a place for revision surgery, I decided on removal.
First of all, I developed rhinitis after the nose surgery, which I never had before, and it was severe. The runny nose was bad enough to soak through tissues. It was pouring out. (I’ve been taking medication for 5 years.) Since there was a problem in one nostril, I ended up breathing almost entirely through the other nostril, and the inside of the problematic nostril often had mucosal swelling, which caused a lot of stress. External issue + rhinitis
I consulted a total of four clinics, including the one where I had my surgery. At the clinic where I had the surgery, they quoted 1.2 million won for removal and said, “Why remove it when it’s a waste?” They only kept insisting on nonsense like, “Let’s put filler into the area that looks a bit sunken.” Still, they did seem to have an eye for things; once I explained it, they immediately identified the problem areas. I’ll skip the clinic-selection process - you really do need to go for a lot of in-person consultations. Because of COVID and because I live in the provinces, I couldn’t go around much. The cost was very expensive.
When I asked the clinic where I had the surgery what materials had been used, they said silicone, AlloDerm, septal cartilage, and Medpor as support. Even when I spoke while looking at the surgical record, they absolutely would not give me the record. I just recorded what they had used and left coolly. Keep the record for yourself~
Surgery day. (12 hours fasting before surgery) I removed my contacts (without them I’m basically blind), washed my face with foam cleanser, took photos, met the director, and went into surgery. They removed nose hair inside my nose (it hurt because my mucous membrane was weak). They applied disinfectant all over my face. I briefly fell asleep and woke up; the director said he was starting the surgery. Having surgery while awake was hard. I had an open procedure. (Especially when they were stitching, it was really hard. T_T I just kept praying, wondering when it would end...) During the surgery, the director told me to take a photo of the collapsed left alar cartilage. So that was why it had gradually tilted to the left. Since the cartilage wasn’t supporting it... (My guess was right.) He said my original nose shape wasn’t bad, and the surgery ended. Afterward, in the recovery room, I had an ice pack on and lay down for a bit. The manager showed me photos of the surgery process and explained them. My nose had tape, a splint on top of that, and both nostrils were packed with cotton. I didn’t get to meet the director. They said it didn’t seem like the septum had been used and that it was okay; if the septum had been used, the surgery would have been difficult. The shocking part was that, once removed, it turned out to be L-shaped silicone. The clinic where I had the surgery said it wasn’t L-shaped. (They even gave me the removed L-shaped silicone and Medpor as a keepsake, so I took it home.) I got a prescription for 7 days of antibiotics. They treated the damaged part of the alar cartilage and said the capsule had been removed well, so I came straight back down.
Surgery +1,2. I tried to stay seated, and when I lay down I kept my pillow high, and I used ice packs off and on, not too diligently. Because of the cotton inside my nose, I had to breathe only through my mouth, so I ran a humidifier and took vitamins because I thought they would help wound healing.
Surgery +3 Since I live in the provinces, after consulting with the manager I had the cotton inside my nose removed in my neighborhood. (I took photos of the condition of my nose and sent them.) The director who removed the cotton said I wasn’t very swollen and it looked like the surgery had been done cleanly. Once the cotton is removed from the nose, the nostrils become completely round and large. They go back. Don’t be surprised. On top of that, the columella below seemed too low, so I was stressed and shocked - I went through a lot emotionally. T_T It stuck out under the splint like a bean sprout. It looked like a nose cone. But as soon as the cotton came out, the narrowed, stuffy area inside my nose opened up, and I could breathe through both nostrils, which felt like a whole new world... T_T I was crying and laughing like that.
Surgery +6 I go to Seoul for splint and tape removal, suture removal, and a follow-up. Ah. Going back and forth to Seoul is so exhausting..... The first thing I was told after the splint came off was, “Don’t be surprised.” It was so I wouldn’t be shocked. The director came in, removed the splint, and showed me a mirror. Only then did I finally understand why people said that after removal it looked like it had been stepped on, or like an Avatar nose. Ah! It hit me hard... and I was shocked. He said the surgery went well. The nasal tip and nostrils had almost completely returned to symmetry (before surgery, the left alar side had been slightly lowered). The lowered columella wasn’t to a degree that was hugely bothersome, (and after the splint came off, it didn’t look like a cherry tomato), but the bridge area was really pressed down, with the exact shape of the gauze that had been inside under the splint still left there. It felt like my nose had completely disappeared.... Flat? And before the shock could wear off, they removed the sutures. They taped it again. He said not to be surprised and that if I looked from the side, the nasal tip would have returned to its original shape. From the side, it didn’t look bad, even though it was flat? Strangely so. He said it was because of swelling, and that if I kept taping and waited, as the swelling went down my bridge would rise back up. He said I had to keep taping it so it would rise up slim and pretty. They put DuoDERM on the open rhinoplasty scar (planned for 3 days). The director said to come in a few more times to check it, but the manager explained that I live in the provinces. For now, we agreed to send progress photos by KakaoTalk and discuss things later, and wrapped up. Once the splint was removed and it became my natural nose, I thought, ah, so this is what a natural nose feels like - this feeling of having nothing there.
Surgery +7 The director told me not to look in the mirror for a month. But how am I not supposed to look Interestingly, my rhinitis is gone and breathing has improved too. But because my bridge is almost flat and broad, I’m worried and anxious because I don’t know what will happen later. When I look in the mirror, I wonder whether it will return to my original nose.
This is the process up to today. I plan to keep posting if it helps. I really hope the recovery and the result both turn out well, equal to all the physical and emotional suffering
For those of you with the same worries, and those going through emotional hardship, stay strong. Everything will work out. Through this, I realized how precious my original nose was (when I looked up photos of my original nose, it looked so pretty sob) and because surgery can bring side effects, damage, or shape distortion at any time, I’m grateful that I was able to have the surgery now, while I had the money and time... Someday, when you want to do it, you might not have the money. Or you might not have the time, or the situation may not allow it.
I hope this is helpful to anyone thinking about nose removal. Everything will turn out well!!!!!!