I have undergone revision surgery three times, and it has been five years since I began living with…read morethe results of my fourth surgery.
The surgery utilized silicone and rib cartilage, but I believe the biggest problem was that the silicone was placed too high, exceeding the height my nose could handle. After the surgery, unable to bear it any longer, I briefly smoked an e-cigarette a few times on two occasions; the hospital explained that the rib cartilage had collapsed due to the nicotine. About two months after the first surgery, my nose completely collapsed. They performed an urgent revision surgery and rebuilt it.
A year later, although it hadn't completely collapsed, my nose had sunk too low, so I underwent a second revision surgery. At the time, the sight of my completely collapsed nose gave me such severe trauma that I became terrified and avoided e-cigarettes and nicotine altogether. Ironically, thanks to this incident, I quit smoking for the rest of my life. In any case, as time passed, the rib cartilage was absorbed much more than expected, causing the tip of my nose to sink significantly once again, even more than the silicone. The hospital suggested that it might be due to the nicotine remaining in my body, but honestly, it was difficult to accept that they continued to attribute the cause to nicotine even after a considerable amount of time had passed. Ultimately, similar results occurred during both the second and third surgeries as the rib cartilage was reabsorbed.
When I underwent my fourth revision surgery, they said they would perform the final procedure if I signed a document stating that the hospital would no longer be held responsible for the outcome. Since my nose had already collapsed significantly at the time, I felt I had no other choice, so I signed and proceeded with the surgery. Although the result is better than before, my nose still looks crooked. Even though it has been several years since I stopped smoking, my nose, having undergone four revision surgeries, still looks unsightly; at this point, it is safe to say that it is clearly unrelated to nicotine.
During the fourth surgery, I also asked if the silicone could be lowered slightly, as it seemed too high relative to my nose. However, the hospital stated that doing so would require removing the silicone entirely. As someone who had already undergone rhinoplasty, I did not want the silicone completely removed, so I proceeded with the revision surgery as is.
However, after researching various sources later, it appeared that the height and angle of the silicone were somewhat too much for my nose from the start. I also learned that there was an option to adjust the shape by refining it without completely removing the silicone. Although it hasn't completely collapsed yet, I ended up with a hooked nose after paying a high price for the surgery.
The hospital performed revision surgery three times, but since I couldn't work, I had to fly from Atlanta every time I visited, losing my income for a week. I had to cover all the costs myself--airfare, hotel fees, and food--during my time off. Even though I didn't pay for the revision surgery itself, the need to make four separate visits while losing a week of work was a significant financial burden.
Now, I feel that undergoing further revision surgery might actually place an even greater burden on my nasal tissue. It is painful to look in the mirror at the current result, but considering the risks and burdens of additional surgery, I think accepting my current condition and living with it is the most realistic choice. The photo shown is from today, which is at least better than when it collapsed before. Every time I had to wait a year for my nasal tissues to heal before undergoing revision surgery, I had to look at my collapsed nose. The anxiety of waiting and the entire process of wondering if it would work this time, along with the sight of my nose collapsing again after each surgery--all of this was such a huge trauma that I was in agony looking at myself for the entire five years. I know I will continue to be in agony in the future.