One-Month Review After Primary Rhinoplasty with 3D Custom DCF at RU Plastic Surgery
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Reason for surgery
My nose was low and short, which made my face look flat.
I felt that even a small increase in height
would greatly improve my side profile.
I had always been unhappy with my profile,
and after nearly 10 years of thinking about it,
I finally decided to have rhinoplasty
because I knew I would keep worrying about it forever.
How I found RU Plastic Surgery and why I chose it
For about three months, I searched everywhere—
apps, communities, and YouTube.
I checked Babitalk, Gangnam Unni, Sungyesa,
and many other forums to look at reviews.
After narrowing it down, I visited
about five clinics for consultations.
I always brought my husband with me
when I went for consultations.
Before visiting RU Plastic Surgery,
he actually said it might be better
not to go through with surgery at all
because he was worried.
But after the consultation at RU Plastic Surgery,
he said, “If you're going to do it, do it here.”
To be honest, at the other clinics
I never felt completely confident
about trusting them with my nose.
But after consulting with Dr. Hyunjoo Kim,
I finally felt that sense of certainty.
Dr. Kim also had a great aesthetic sense.
After reviewing my CT scan and examining
the internal condition of my nose,
he took a photo and directly sketched
the expected design on top of the image.
He explained both the front and side views
while even considering the makeup style
I was wearing that day.
I absolutely loved the design
and felt excited that I had finally
found the right surgeon for me.
Surgical plan and materials
The CT scan showed that my septum
was significantly deviated.
Many clinics were surprised
when they saw the condition of my septum.
Dr. Kim explained that the deviated septum
was causing swelling of the inferior turbinates,
and suggested correcting this during surgery.
Since I also suffer from rhinitis
and studied singing, this was great news for me.
For the aesthetic outcome,
Dr. Kim said he would recreate
the exact nose shape we designed in 3D.
Because I wanted this to be my first
and hopefully my last rhinoplasty,
I didn’t want any foreign materials.
I preferred using only my own tissue,
which is why I specifically looked for
a surgeon experienced with rib cartilage.
The plan was to harvest rib cartilage
along with rectus fascia at the same time.
The diced rib cartilage would be molded
using a custom Inofit mold based on the design,
then wrapped with the rectus fascia
to form the nasal bridge.
I chose this method because I wanted
to avoid potential warping that can occur
when using a solid rib graft.
I also requested not to remove my hump,
and Dr. Kim respected that preference.
The nasal support structure, tip, columella,
and nasolabial angle were all created
using rib cartilage.
A small amount of rectus fascia
was also placed over the nasal tip
to prevent cartilage visibility.
For safety during rib cartilage harvesting,
the surgery was performed under general anesthesia.
Knowing that an anesthesiologist
would be present throughout the procedure
made me feel reassured.
Recovery and satisfaction
During the first three days after surgery,
I was actually surprised because
my face barely swelled at all.
There was no bruising either,
and aside from a slight effect
similar to subtle eye opening,
there were almost no visible changes.
My whole family was surprised.
On day 7, when the splint was removed,
and on day 14, when the internal silicone support
was taken out, Dr. Kim personally did it himself.
Every time I visited the clinic,
he directly checked my progress.
Whenever I wrote down questions,
he answered each one personally,
which was great for someone like me
who is naturally very curious.
Whenever I sent questions through KakaoTalk,
the head consultation manager also replied quickly,
so I rarely felt worried during recovery.
I’m not sure if it’s my body type
or Dr. Kim’s surgical skill,
but I barely had swelling to begin with,
and it disappeared very quickly.
Now I genuinely enjoy looking at my nose
every single day.
People around me are even fascinated
and keep checking how it looks.
Everyone says it turned out
very natural and beautifully shaped.
As the swelling goes down,
the nose I wanted is appearing more clearly,
so I wake up happy every day.
From the bridge to the tip,
the straight-but-soft line I wanted
came out perfectly.
The columella and nasolabial angle
also look exactly the way I hoped.
Honestly, the result looks almost identical
to the original 3D design.
Thanks to this successful surgery,
I find myself taking photos
of my nose almost every day now.
