From Botched US Rhinoplasty to Korean Revision Success - My Two-Year Nightmare Ends

This review is for anyone who, like me, is living with the aftermath of a failed rhinoplasty and wondering if revision surgery is worth the risk. Spoiler alert: when done by the right surgeon in Korea, it absolutely is.

In 2022, I had rhinoplasty with a board-certified plastic surgeon in Chicago. He came highly recommended, had great reviews, and his before/after photos looked promising. What I did not realize was that those photos were cherry-picked successes, and revision rhinoplasty was not his specialty.

Six months after surgery, my nose had collapsed. The tip was pinched, asymmetric, and I had developed a visible notch on my bridge where too much cartilage had been removed. Worse, I could barely breathe through my right nostril. I was devastated.

My Chicago surgeon offered to do a revision, but at this point, I had lost all trust. I started researching revision rhinoplasty specialists worldwide and kept encountering the same recommendation: go to Korea. Revision work requires a different skill set than primary rhinoplasty, and Korean surgeons, due to the sheer volume of cases they handle, have developed expertise that simply does not exist elsewhere.

I found 21 Plastic Surgery through medical tourism forums and Dr. Lee Wons published research on revision techniques. His YouTube channel, Paper Factory, showed real revision cases with honest discussions about what went wrong in the original surgeries. This transparency convinced me he understood the complexity of my situation.

The consultation at 21 Plastic Surgery was unlike anything I experienced in the US. Dr. Lee spent two hours with me, examining my nose, reviewing CT scans, and explaining exactly what had gone wrong with my primary surgery. He identified that my previous surgeon had over-resected my lateral crura (the cartilage that supports the nostrils) and removed too much from my dorsum without providing adequate structural support.

Dr. Lees plan involved using rib cartilage to rebuild what had been destroyed. He explained that ear cartilage would not be sufficient for the level of reconstruction I needed. This was major revision work, and he did not sugarcoat the difficulty or the recovery time involved.

The surgery took nearly five hours. When I woke up, I was nervous - revision surgery has lower success rates than primary surgery, and I had been burned before. But as the weeks passed and the swelling subsided, I watched my nose transform into something I never thought possible: it looked natural. The pinched tip was gone, the asymmetry was corrected, and most importantly, I could breathe.

It has now been one year since my revision at 21 Plastic Surgery, and my nose continues to improve as the final swelling resolves. The rib cartilage graft has maintained its shape with no warping - something Dr. Lee had specifically addressed in his surgical technique.

What I want anyone considering revision rhinoplasty to understand is this: revision is harder than primary surgery, and surgeon selection is even more critical. Do not let your original surgeon fix their own mistake. Do not settle for a surgeon who does not specialize in revision work. And seriously consider Korea, where the concentration of experienced revision specialists gives you the best chance of a successful outcome.

The total cost of my revision in Korea, including rib cartilage harvest, was approximately $9,500 USD. My failed primary rhinoplasty in Chicago cost $12,000. I wish I had spent that money in Korea from the beginning.

To anyone living with a botched nose job: there is hope. Research thoroughly, choose a true revision specialist, and consider making the trip to Korea. My two-year nightmare is finally over.