My Revision Rhinoplasty Experience(July 2017)

[glampux]

smile07 said: ↑

Hanabi clinic? Haven't heard about that clinic at all! is it famous with locals??

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I got to know it from the website ...understand the dr is specialize in Revision rhinoplasty but i did google have not found any review yet

 

[glampux]

As I am planning to do it early next year 18. Any good recommendations?

 

[meintea]

Vivavita said: ↑

Introduction
Hi everyone! I'm three-week post-op from my revision rhinoplasty surgery done in Seoul. I’m very happy with the outcome now. I could have posted this review earlier but I didn’t want to give any false hope or testimony. I waited until all the swelling was completely gone and the shape of the nose is really what I have always wanted. I am glad found a very skilled surgeon to realize my ideal nose shape despite all the odds.

Thanks to Purseforum members' reviews, I've learnt a lot about Korean doctors, insights and tips, so I would like to share my experience and hope it will help you all in finding a good surgeon.

Background of my previous nose
I had a flat and short nose with a wide nasal bone and a round nose tip to begin with. 9 years ago, I had my primary rhinoplasty at a famous clinic called Shimmian(also known as ****mian to me now lol) where the surgeon was known as the "King of Asian Nose Jobs" and a famous ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT). I had 2 layers of Gort-Tex(5mm tall) from the radix to the bridge, and ear cartilage + septal cartilage for the tip. On top of that I went back to have the unbalanced nostrils corrected a couple years ago.

After a few years, unfortunately, my nose became odd with these problems
- the radix being too high
-upturned nose tip
- the nostrils showing too much from the frontal view and too oval
-scar at the bottom of the nose showing more with the upturned nose tip
-the bridge still being high and narrow with the 2 layers of the 5mm-high Gore-Tex implant inside
My friends and coworkers were so polite that they never made any mean comments about it. They just stared knowingly at it when they thought I wasn't looking. Feeling increasingly self-conscious about my nose, I planned to have a revision rhinoplasty surgery done by the original surgeon in the beginning as he offered to fix my nose, only charging me USD$1,000 for anesthesia.
View attachment 3786792
Consultation with the original surgeon(Dr. Jung)
-I waited for an hour for the consultation. Jay Lee, the English-speaking manager asked a rookie translator who just worked there for two months to help me with the translation. I didn't mind as I never liked Jay Lee anyway as he never returned my calls or texts and charged the clinics he recommended me(for other surgeries) a hefty commission fee behind my back.
-To my surprise, Dr. Jung found there was nothing wrong with my nose as many desired to have this kind of “pointy” nose tip and high radix. I said it was upturned, like a piggy nose. He denied it and said it was just pointy and I should live with it. However, if I insisted, he could revise the nose the way I wanted.
-To make it look a natural radix, he proposed to remove 1 layer of the Gort-Tex implant but he made it clear that by doing this, my nose’d be 50% lower, no in between, and the curve between the radix and bridge would be gone.
-To correct the upturned nose tip and improve the nasal tip projection, he proposed to relocate the ear cartilage graft from the nose tip to the columella area.
- He warned me that I would end up getting a very straight and long nose which would age me a lot.
-He insisted on using Gore-Tex, saying it was 20 times more expensive than silicone and ignored my suggestions of using silicone or dermal fat grafts.
- After 10 minutes, the clinic manager barged in during the consultation. I overheard their conversation in Korean. He rushed the doctor to wrap up the consultation as there were other patients waiting outside. The doctor said he tried but I didn’t seem to agree. He was planning to simply take out the inflamed Gort-Tex implant and give me the long nose as I wished. Then the manager asked the doctor to hurry again.

As you can imagine, I was terrified! After a few more questions, the doctor ran out of his patience and sent me out of his office for the next customer. Without hesitation, I called off the surgery scheduled the next day, turned on my heel and ran out of the clinic as fast as my legs could carry me(I must have seemed crazy to them)! Fuelled by adrenaline rush and anger, I binged read rhinoplasty research papers as well as posts on different forums without getting a shut eye for two nights, and shortlisted real plastic surgeons specialized in revision rhinoplasty.

The clinics I have consulted
I set up consultations with a total of 11 doctors from 11 different clinics namely (in the order of the consultation dates):
-Dr Suh @JW
-Dr. Kim@April 31
-Dr. Choi@Apujeong Seoul
-Dr. Ha @grand
-Dr. Lee@Trend
-Dr. Paik@101
Dr lee @Banobagi
Dr lee @Regen
Dr Kim @Item
Dr Park @Dream
Dr. Seong @GNG

I took my time to compare and contrast the doctors in terms of their aesthetics, proposed surgical methods, recommended materials, patience/ attitude, after-care service, 3-party comments and price. I even made my an Excel chart in which I weighed the surgical methods and aesthetics most and the price the least of my concerns as I just wanted it to be my last rhino surgery).

1. Understanding of Aesthetics:
· Dr Kim@Item didn’t find my nose tip upturned at all and suggested only having the Gore-Tex replaced by silicone.
· Dr. Lee@Regan suggested quite the opposite, keeping the high radix and performing tiplasty.
Apparently these two docs’ aesthetics were different from mine. So bye bye!
· The noses in the B&A photos I saw at Top Class & Trend were pointy and dramatic, and each of them was so tall that it looked like a block of wood. Maybe rib cartilages were used in them. A reliable friend in the PS business warned me that Trend had a high revision rate. So I steered clear of them.
· After having an unnatural nose for years, I just wanted a natural-looking nose like those noses made by Dr. Kim@April 31, Dr. Choi@Apujeong Seoul, Dr. Seong @GNG or Dr. Kim@Item. Dr. Suh @JW was kind of in the middle of both.

2. Recommended materials:
· Dr. Seong@GNG recommended donor rib for the tip but whether to use it or not in the surgery would depend on the size of the septum cartilages after cutting open my nose. The price for using donor rib cost additionally 2mil wons and I had to pay firsy, just in case it’s needed. I felt ambivalent as what if I paid for it but I ended up not needing it. Plus, I was worried that the tip with rib’d be too hard and unnatural.
· Both Dr. Ha@Grand and & Dr. Paik@101 recommended using dermafat to create a natural nose bridge. Dr. Kim@April 31 proposed both dermafat and silicone implant. I found that a nose with dermafat on the bridge would look natural but undefined, like a sausage nose in the first few months before the dermafat is dissolved out to about 50%. So If I went for dermafat, my bridge would either be too high in the beginning or too low after a few months.

3. Language Barrier
· My most dreaded kind of doctors is those who speak no English or impatient, or both. Two Dr. Lee@Banobagi and @Regen unfortunately fell into both categories. The Banobagi one even refused to answer my questions about his surgical methods and the whole consultation was rushed.
· The translator/ consultant plays an important role, especially when the doctor speaks no English or not very expressive. However, the consultants @Regan & Apujeong Seoul just made things worse. Not only did they either not duly translate or merely summarized the doctors’ 10 sentences into 1 or 2, they did not know medical terms well enough, for example one of them called “columella strut” as “that thing between here & here”). How could I count on the clinic when the doctor couldn’t get his point across himself or through the translator?
· Luckily, Brian@April and Hazel@GNG knocked my socks off with their fluent English, knowledge in PS and friendly demeanour. I happened to be tossing between their clinics before making my final choice.

MY FINAL CHOICE!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, the Oscars goes to....(drum rolls plz)
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Thank you so much for your informative and insightful experience with your consultations at each clinic with the doctors/staff down to the rhinoplasty methods and your goals. I really appreciate it and it's been very helpful! Please keep us updated!

 

[chicaloca0711]

meintea said: ↑

Thank you so much for your informative and insightful experience with your consultations at each clinic with the doctors/staff down to the rhinoplasty methods and your goals. I really appreciate it and it's been very helpful! Please keep us updated!

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Hi!!! I’m glad you surgery when well. My case was diferent than your Nd I was very very un even my Nd I was having very breathing problems so My case was more functional than cosmetic but it turn out good. I know asian nose is very complex to especially if u want perfection. Enjoy your new look!

 

[missnewface]

I went to Hanabi, they are really nice. They do a full out consultation for you. I need a revision because I went to JJ. That place was hell.

 

[kellyz]

MissNewFace said: ↑

I went to Hanabi, they are really nice. They do a full out consultation for you. I need a revision because I went to JJ. That place was hell.

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How was Hanabi?
I was going to see them too. What did you have done with your nose? How is your nose healing?

 

[missnewface]

Kellyz said: ↑

How was Hanabi?
I was going to see them too. What did you have done with your nose? How is your nose healing?

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Hanabi was great, they were very patient and went through my CT scan to assure that there wasn't any foreign implants in my nose.

So I had a nice small nose, but the only thing wrong was it was a bit bulbous. So I wanted a 1mm extension and tip narrowing. What the guy did instead is raise my tip forward and up, and did not narrow my nose. So now it looks like I have extra skin on top of my nose. My nose looks like an exaggerated bulbous tip now, and it looks a bit piggy, worse than before I'd say. Only thing I'm ok with is the bulbous part on the lateral cartilage that he got rid of. But ya, its healing ok, but the shape is messed up, now I have to contour everyday, where before I never ever had to do that.

 

[kellyz]

MissNewFace said: ↑

Hanabi was great, they were very patient and went through my CT scan to assure that there wasn't any foreign implants in my nose.

So I had a nice small nose, but the only thing wrong was it was a bit bulbous. So I wanted a 1mm extension and tip narrowing. What the guy did instead is raise my tip forward and up, and did not narrow my nose. So now it looks like I have extra skin on top of my nose. My nose looks like an exaggerated bulbous tip now, and it looks a bit piggy, worse than before I'd say. Only thing I'm ok with is the bulbous part on the lateral cartilage that he got rid of. But ya, its healing ok, but the shape is messed up, now I have to contour everyday, where before I never ever had to do that.

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Thanks for writing.
At least they were patient with you and didn't rush. Maybe give it more time and see how it looks. Its good that Hanabi kept your original small nose. How many months since you had it done?
PM me your kakao if you have one

 

[kayart0803]

Hmm, I was considering April13 for a while but keep hearing they opt for a very natural look which I don't want. i am looking for dramatic but natural. My primary nose was "natural" and now I wish it was more refined at the tip, a bit taller, and a bit longer :/ Thank you for sharing your experience, I am glad you are happy with April13