HISTORY OF RHINOPLASTY
Nose surgery began with dignity, not beauty. The changes Dr. Kim Hyung-taek has watched over 24 years.
6th century BC — India
In the India of that era, cutting off the nose was a punishment for crime. To be without a nose was a brand and a social death, and so there was demand for surgery that could rebuild one. Making a nose was not about giving a face back — it was about giving a person their dignity back.
Read the related original — Surgery to restore dignityUp to the early 2000s
How far a silicone implant could raise the bridge was the whole of the operation. If it looked high from the front it was considered a success, while the flow of the profile and the angle of the tip came second. Over time, problems began to surface one by one: implants showing through, tissue contracting.
Read the related original — The age of heightMid-to-late 2000s
It became clear that raising the bridge alone does not produce a natural nose. Techniques using septal and ear cartilage to build the tip took hold, and with them the view that the impression a nose gives is decided at the tip, not the bridge.
Read the related original — Discovering the tipThe 2010s
The first generation of patients began coming back for revision. Contracted tissue, implants still in place, repeated incisions — difficult noses multiplied. From then on, “what to put in” mattered less than “what to preserve, and what to leave reversible.”
Read the related original — The age of revision2020s — today
We look at the nose as a structure, not a shape. Breathing and appearance come from the same structure — and to still hold up twenty years later, it has to be your own tissue. That is why KOWON concentrates on autologous rib cartilage (RIBFIT™) and muscle correction.
Read the related original — Structure and autologous tissueRead Dr. Kim Hyung-taek’s series on the history of rhinoplasty in full.
The History of Rhinoplasty ① — When did nose surgery actually begin?
The History of Rhinoplasty ② — India, 2,600 years ago: the original nasal reconstruction
The History of Rhinoplasty ③ — 1794: the moment nose surgery reached Europe
The History of Rhinoplasty ④ — Tagliacozzi, the surgeon who defied the will of God
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑤ — Saddle nose, and the implant that began as concealment
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑨-2 — Taking it out is harder than putting it in
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑥ — 1887: the first nose surgery done for appearance
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑦ — Jacques Joseph, and an age when the shape of a nose became a mark
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑧ — Harold Gillies: reconstructive surgery forged by war
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑨ — What we have put into the nose: a century of rhinoplasty materials
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑨-2 — Taking it out is harder than putting it in
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑩ — Why we take from our own body to repair our own body
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑪ — How we came to change our noses at all
The History of Rhinoplasty ⑫ — What has not changed in 3,600 years
POINT OF VIEW
The J-curl is the line running from the tip through the columella, the nasolabial angle and the philtrum. Only when that curve survives naturally does an improved nose actually settle into the face. It is the part a front-facing photo will not show you.
It is a process of erasing as much of the previous surgery as possible and building again. I do it hoping this will be the last operation.
When I operate, I still often think back to that ancient history. In the end, what surgery has to give back is not a shape but that person's sense of self-worth.
Research and academic activity Dr. Kim has taken part in.
He takes part regularly in plastic surgery societies and symposia in Korea and abroad, researching rhinoplasty technique. Published papers and academic material will be posted here as they become available.
Consultation
Dr. Kim Hyung-taek takes personal responsibility
from diagnosis through surgery and aftercare.
Outcomes and side effects vary from person to person. Bleeding, infection, swelling and asymmetry may occur. Please consult our medical team before making a decision.
