1 Month After Revision Rhinoplasty and Paranasal Augmentation
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The reason I decided on revision surgery
was because about 10 years ago,
I originally had rhinoplasty to correct a crooked nose.
At that time, I underwent septal deviation correction,
crooked nose correction,
used septal cartilage for the tip,
and silicone for the bridge.
But as time passed,
the tip gradually became longer and droopier,
and the bridge even started looking S-shaped,
so I finally realized
I couldn’t keep delaying revision surgery any longer.
Since my entire facial axis is quite asymmetrical,
I never expected perfect correction,
but I strongly hoped for visible improvement,
and more than anything,
I wanted my nose to look shorter.
Before surgery,
I kept repeatedly saying
“shorter… please make it shorter,”
which I still remember joking about now.
I looked very carefully at each clinic’s nose style,
and especially searched for cases
with facial structures similar to mine.
Because I not only had asymmetry
but also malocclusion,
I felt that understanding my facial structure
was the most important part.
During consultation,
a facial CT scan was taken,
and I was honestly shocked
when I saw my septal cartilage.
It was severely deviated
and there was barely any cartilage left,
which made me realize
how much had been removed 10 years ago.
The surgical plan was to reinforce
the weakened septal cartilage
with autologous rib cartilage on both sides,
creating a stronger support structure,
while also lowering and extending the columella
to improve the recessed appearance
around my philtrum from both the front and side.
So I proceeded with revision rhinoplasty
using autologous rib cartilage and silicone,
and because my midface volume loss was significant,
I also underwent paranasal augmentation
and fat grafting together
for overall facial balance improvement.
Right after surgery,
I actually felt surprisingly normal,
and wondered if that was really it.
But later that evening,
things became difficult—not because of pain,
but because of severe nasal congestion.
I honestly wondered
if my nose had ever felt this blocked
during my first surgery.
I barely slept for two days,
and only felt human again
after the nasal packing was removed.
The fat grafting was also fine at first,
but gradually became very swollen and tight afterward,
which honestly scared me a bit at the time.
And from about 1 week to 10 days post-op,
I genuinely felt like
I looked terrible because of the swelling.
My face felt extremely puffy,
and I even thought
I looked overly masculine at one point.
But now, my forehead looks beautiful,
and even though I complained a lot early on,
I almost feel like I’d want
a little more volume there now.
As for the front cheek area,
because my cheekbones lacked volume originally,
even a small amount of fat
created a slightly heavier appearance for me personally,
so I probably wouldn’t do front cheek grafting again.
Before the splint came off,
all I could really see was the tip,
and even with swelling,
I was amazed that my nose looked shorter
and my recessed philtrum looked more projected.
When the splint was finally removed,
I was shocked that my bridge
no longer looked crooked.
At first, I thought my philtrum looked too long,
and honestly believed
I would stay that way forever.
But now, after one month,
the philtrum already looks much shorter again.
Because my face is naturally asymmetrical,
the right and left sides of my nose
still look slightly different,
but compared to before,
the asymmetry has softened significantly,
to the point where it’s barely noticeable from the front.
The tip now has much better projection,
which makes the nose appear shorter overall,
and I’m honestly glad
I kept emphasizing that point before surgery.
There were definitely ups and downs during recovery,
but overall,
the positive changes feel much greater now.
Even if I could go back before surgery,
I think I would still make the same decision.
I just hope that
I continue feeling this satisfied
at the 6 month and 1 year marks as well.
