Leaderboard

Hi All, I have collated a list of consultation questions from my research and sharing it here for those who may find it useful. Please feel free to add on to the list. Wishing all with upcoming surgeries a smooth journey! PRE-SURGERY POINTERS Two weeks before trip Avoid alcohol for 2 weeks before surgery No smoking at least 1 week before surgery Take vitamin supplements if needed (vitamin c, vitamin a, zinc, vitamin k, vitamin b, vitamin d, magnesium, amino acids) Avoid Vitamin E (increases bleeding) or ginseng/ ginko/ garlic/ ginger/ dongquai/ omega3 fatty acids Take good care of your skin (surgery may be postponed if there is pimple) Stop taking any medication or dietary supplements 2 weeks before surgery and notify during consultation Do not take any drugs with aspirin as they may have an undesirable side effects that may affect your surgery (abnormal bleeding and bruising). You may take Tylenol as a substitute for discomfort. The following is a summary taken from the Journal of American Medical Association on eight herbs that can potentially pose harm during and after surgery. It is recommended that the following herbs be stopped before surgery in order to avoid any potential complications from their use: St. John’s Wort can significantly increase the breakdown of other routinely administered drugs during surgery, some of which are vital to the care of patients after surgery. This should be discontinued at least 5 days before surgery. Echinacea should be used with caution in patients with asthma or allergic problems and should be discontinued as far in advance of surgery as possible. Ephedra causes a potential increase in blood pressure and heart rate. This herb has also been associated with sudden death under anesthesia. This should be discontinued at least 7 days before surgery. Garlic supplements have a potential for reducing clotting function and platelet function and should be stopped 7 days prior to surgery. Ginseng has also been shown to have effects on clotting pathways and should be discontinued approximately 7 days preoperatively. Ginkgo should be discontinued 7 days prior to surgery because it can inhibit platelet clotting factors. Kava should be discontinued 7 days preoperatively because it can increase the sedative effects of anesthetics. Valerian can increase the sedative effects of anesthetics. This should not be discontinued abruptly because there is risk of physical dependency to Valerian and withdrawal symptoms may develop. This should be tapered over several weeks before surgery. Consultation Consult 3 Clinics / Day (space out start times by at least 2 hours, but spacing out by 3 hours buffer is recommended). Prepare some photos of how you want to look. Negotiate price - a) List example prices from other clinics b) State your budget is significantly lower than it actually is c) Offer to write them a review / before and after pictures for them to use on their site Always ask about the available dates for your surgery at the end of your consultation. Make sure you clearly understand the clinic’s revision policy and it is a good idea to get this in writing. You can get this by sending your consultant a mail/message where you summarize this policy and ask the consultant whether your understanding of this is complete and correct. Bring along something to take notes. MUST notify during consultation of any allergies or hypersensitive reactions towards certain medication LIST OF CONSULTATION QUESTIONS Doctor Are you certified by the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery? Were you trained specifically in the field of plastic surgery? How many years of plastic surgery training have you had? Is doctor X specialized in (procedure)? Or does he focus on other areas? Cost What is the exact breakdown of fees for this procedure? Are there any hidden fees? What is the total cost of the surgery including drugs and treatment aids needed after the surgery? What is included in my aftercare and what not? For example things like overnight stay, medications, scar cream, pumpkin juice, pressure garment, ice packs, deswelling treatment, hair treatment, etc.? Is there VAT refund? Where is the nearest downtown VAT refund point (i.e. apart from the airport refund counter)? What is the name of the VAT refund counter operator? If possible complications may occur, does the patient have to pay for the treatment? What is the cost for this treatment? If the patient decides to discontinue the surgery for any reason, does the patient still need to pay for the entire surgery? Surgery What procedures do I need to do or would you recommend me to do? Am I a good candidate for this procedure? How will you perform my procedure? Where will the procedure be performed? How many of these procedures do you perform a week? A month? What is the most popular surgical procedure you perform in your clinic? How many other medical staff will assist with this procedure? Will there be an anesthesiologist present during my surgery? What type of anesthesia method and anesthetic are used? Is some or all of the surgical equipment and instruments sterilized and used only for my surgery? What are the risks of the surgery? What are the complication occurrence rates and the surgeon’s surgery success rates of this clinic? How are complications handled? Can I see before and after pictures of the surgery? Post-Surgery What type of treatment will I need after the surgery? Will I need to take painkillers after the surgery? Does swelling or bruising occur after surgery? If so, is it treatable? How long will it take for me to return to day-to-day activities after the surgery? How long will the surgery results last for; if not permanent? If I need to consult the surgeon, can I meet him/her even months after the surgery? What is the clinic’s revision or refund policy in case there are complications or when I am not satisfied? What is exactly included & excluded in the revision policy, like revision excludes anesthetics costs? How many follow-up visits will I need? When is the next follow-up visit? When will the stitches be removed? How long does it take for the scars to disappear? Surgical Records Is any information about my surgery recorded? If so, how is it recorded? Will my surgical records or photos be shown to anyone else? Will my approval be sought before any of my records, including photos, are shown to someone else? Can I keep a copy of my surgical records? How long does the clinic store surgical records after the surgery? Where can I find my surgical records if the clinic which performed the surgery closes?

I am hoping to share my primary DES and rhinoplasty (nose tip) experience, and hope that all queries can be consolidated here to serve as future reference for others. Please add your query as a reply to this thread, and I will address them as best / as soon as I can. Eye Research & Shortlist I consulted about 35 clinics online (via KKT), and shortlisted 3 for face-to-face consultation. Please note that I shortlisted the following clinics for f2f consultations based on the following criteria: Doctors’ aesthetics sense for DES - high dramatic parallel crease style Doctors' specialty - must include eyes, and not primarily rhino or facial contouring or breast augmentation Doctors' stitching style - should be neat and consistent (i.e. no messy lines, sausage lids, hooded eyes etc) Doctor should ideally be from Korea's top 3 universities (Seoul National University, Yonsei University or Korea University) Plastic Surgery Board-certified (or if suspended, only non-renewal of fees accepted) (to check if a doctor is certified, please refer to my other post https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1012254-checking-if-a-doctor-is-certified-by-the-korean-association-of-plastic-surgeons/) Need not be on VAT refund list Sources that I based my research on include: KKT group chats (please only join the moderated chats and not those set up by clinic promoters), Beauty Hacker, Plastic Surgery apps for B/A photos (Babitalk (Korean), Gangnam Unnie (Korean and requires Korean phone number), Soyoung (Chinese)), Purseforum 1) Mate Plastic Surgery 메이트성형외과 Dr Kim Geun-Sik 김근식 Plastic Surgery Board-Certified Clinic not yet on VAT refund list (staff said that they are in the process of applying to be on the list) (Former Top Class – left in Aug 2019; Cinderella, Izien, Grand) Korea University graduate Nearest subway: Sinnonhyeon Website: http://mateps.co.kr/ 2) PR Plastic Surgery 피알성형외과 Dr. Rho Kyoung Hwan 노경환 Plastic Surgery Board license suspended, did not pay renewal fees Clinic not on VAT refund list (Former Jewellery, Banobagi) Nearest subway: Sinsa Korea University graduate Website: http://www.prprs.co.kr 3) Item 아이템 성형외과 Dr. Lee Jun Woo 이준우 Plastic Surgery Board-Certified Clinic on VAT refund list (Former BK) Nearest subway: Sinsa Website: http://www.itemclinic.com/ Consultation Experience *Please note that i have indicated an indicative price as price varies from person to person. For a list of sample consultation questions to ask, please refer to my other post. (https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1015406-pre-surgery-pointers-list-of-consultation-questions/). Please note that for Mate and PR, I went with a translator from Gangnam Medical Centre. She charges 30,000 KRW per hour, minimum 2 hours. I find her to be very professional and impartial. If anyone would like her contact, I have listed it below: Name: JJ (tell her you were recommended by Lee) Email: [email protected] 1) Mate Plastic Surgery - Dr Kim Geun-Sik 1st discussion with consultant: 10 minutes Waiting time to see doctor: 5 minutes Consultation with doctor: 25 minutes 2nd discussion with consultant: 15 minutes Recommended procedures & price: $2.2 - $2.7 mil (including tax) for Incisional DES + Epi canthoplasty + Lateral canthoplasty My personal take on consultant: Consultant was professional (read not friendly) and not pushy. She speaks only very basic English. My personal take on doctor I was specifically looking for Dr Kim and messaged TopClass but they said he was leaving in end Jul and did not share where he was leaving to. I searched the Korean apps and found out that he was starting his own clinic. Managed to book a slot right before I left for Korea as his clinic only opened in 3rd week Aug. Doctor seemed shy but confident. He did not seem to have a fixed aesthetics sense that he favoured. In my opinion, he also did not over-recommend unnecessary procedures. 2) PR Plastic Surgery - Dr Rho Kyoung Hwan 1st discussion with consultant: 15 minutes Waiting time to see doctor: 30 minutes Consultation with doctor: 15 minutes 2nd discussion with consultant: 15 minutes Recommended procedures & price: $4 - $4.5 mil (including tax) for Incisional DES + Epi canthoplasty + Upper canthoplasty + Ptosis (and you have to give them permission to use your pictures for marketing purposes) My personal take on consultant: Consultant seemed insincere and started quoting at $6.2 mil before lowering it down to $4.2 mil. My personal take on doctor Doctor was very friendly and spoke intermediate English. Doctor seemed confident. 3) Item Plastic Surgery - Dr Lee Jun Woo 1st discussion with consultant: 15 minutes Waiting time to see doctor: 30 minutes Consultation with doctor: 10 minutes 2nd discussion with consultant: 10 minutes Recommended procedures & price: $3.5 - $4 mil (including tax) for Incisional DES ($1.7 mil) + Upper canthoplasty ($950k) + Upper fat grafting ($950k) (price for cash payment) My personal take on consultant: Consultant’s English is good. She is also friendly and prompt in replies. Although I eventually did not select them, she followed up to offer assistance during my stay at any time - I found this to be a very nice gesture and thanked her for her kind hospitality. My personal take on doctor Doctor was very friendly and spoke good English. Doctor seemed confident. Choice I personally based my choice more on my research (I tried to sieve out real reviews rather than planted reviews) than f2f consultations. In my view, even if the doctor is friendly or confident during the consultation, there is no correlation to the doctor's surgical skills. I also highly suggest researching on doctors rather than clinics. I personally do not place much emphasis on clinics' reputation unless clinics' past reputation suggest unhygienic/unethical practices. Clinics do not train the doctors. If anything, the doctors' past experience, educational background and accreditation would be more relevant. I eventually chose Dr Kim (from Mate) for the following reasons: Based on my research, both Dr Rho (PR) and Dr Kim (Mate) specialised in dramatic high parallel crease. Dr Lee's specialty was more of overall transformation rather than eyes. While all three doctors seemed confident that they could achieve the parallel look I wanted, and shared that epi would be required to achieve the desired crease, Dr. Kim (Mate) was the only one that pointed out that epi would be risky for me given that there is already a large amount of pink at the inner corner of my eye to begin with. Dr Rho (PR) was the only doctor that recommended ptosis. He also initially suggested doing Lateral / Lower canthoplasty but the consultant dropped it from the quotes (after realising the other procedures already added up to $6.2 mil). Dr Lee (Item) had an ideal crease height (which leaned towards being conservative) based on proportion, which I respected but I really wanted a more dramatic transformation. Also, mixed reviews of Item clinic swayed my decision. During the consultation, Dr Kim (Mate) seemed to be more meticulous in designing the crease height and balance with my other facial features Surgery Morning of Surgery Wake up early & wash your face Make sure you are not wearing any accessories or nail polish Bring your contact lens case to store your contact lens (if applicable) NO breakfast (not even a small biscuit or a cup of water) Wear comfortable clothes (button down shirt) and bring cover-ups like caps or sunglasses to protect your eyes after surgery Prepare your appointment card including fees for the operation in advance so that you are on time for the surgery. Go over to clinic early to check in Bring socks - The surgery room can be a bit cold and socks can keep you warm thus calming you down before the surgery. Make sure that in the contract you sign with the clinic before your surgery, it is clearly stated what the full name is of the doctor that is operating on you. The clinic is legally obliged to put this in the contract. This is to avoid a clinic using another doctor for your surgery. Pre-Surgery Process Change into your surgery clothes. Take everything off except for your underwear. Tie your hair back Wash hands first, then your entire face. Make sure it’s completely cleaned. Wait in patient waiting room Consultant brief you about the risk, liability, warranty (in my case, for the 1st year it's free revision, and in the 2nd year it's free revision but you have to pay anesthesia and consultation fees). Sign the waiver of liability form. Go into another room to take a photo of you pre-surgery Doctor comes in and analyses you for the second time (the first time should be at your consultation). He will make small notations on your face and discuss the shape again. This process for me took about an hour. Go into surgery (mine took about 2 hours). Rest in recovery room (I requested to leave immediately since I was super hungry; almost 24 hours since my last meal). The consultant helped me book a taxi and on my way back, she called the driver to check if I reached my Airbnb (the driver took the call on speaker mode). Recovery Day 0 / 1: I was tearing non-stop for the 1st 24 hours and most were tears with diluted blood. There was also a fair bit of bruising at my undereye area (which I religiously used Auriderm and found it to work like a charm). I did not ice much but should get down to being more diligent on icing my eyes. The recovery process has taught me the importance of patience; and the reassurances from the KKT chats were really helpful. Day 2: My eyes still seem very swollen after 40 hours. Will be following up with the doctor later in the day and hopefully, I can return to the clinic to remove the stitches on Day 5. Day 3: The swelling in my eyes has gone down a bit but still significantly swollen. Day 4: Much more bruising at the under area of my eye to my cheeks area but excited for stitch removal tomorrow. Day 5: Stitches are finally off. Stitch removal did not hurt at all. Hopefully my crease height doesn't drop too much from now on. Day 12: Eyes are still significantly swollen - I haven't been icing the past few days and when I visited Hanabi for a nose consult, the doctor said my eyes are still swollen because I did incisional and asked for high crease. I shall be patient and start working on icing and applying the ointment to bring down the swelling. Week 2: Eyes are still swollen and I noticed some small cysts. I went to the pharmacist and he prescribed me antibiotics. He said could be an infection since I did not take the antibiotics right after my surgery that I was prescribed. Week 3: My left eye is still significantly more swollen (even more swollen than Week 2). I contacted clinic and they requested for me to go down to see Dr Kim. Dr Kim said that I had an infection (I didn't tell him that I didn't take the antibiotics earlier prescribed) and asked the nurses to give me two shots of different antibiotics. The swelling subsided after but the left eye remains more swollen than the right as of writing. Week 4: The swelling on both eyes has gone down significantly, although the swelling on my left eye (which was earlier infected) is still slightly more than the right. I am liking the crease height now and I hope it only falls slightly more and not significantly more. Nose I separately decided to proceed with nose tip surgery. Both doctors (my DES doctor Dr Kim and Dr Chang from Hanabi) recommended slight hump reduction on my nose bridge and to adjust the nose tip using ear cartilage for a more refined nose tip. I eventually went with Dr Kim as I did not quite identify with Hanabi's recommendation of raising my nose tip significantly. Price quotation wise, Hanabi's quote was in the range of $5-5.5 mil and Mate's quote was in the range of $1.5-$1.8 mil (hump reduction was free but I opted out of it as I felt it would make my nose bridge appear flatter from the front profile) Day 0: Had a rough night with slight fever and vomitting, and a runny nose with blood trickling down. Woke up with a blocked nose from the dried blood. Day 1: Had cleanup for the dried blood done at the clinic. To return to the clinic on Day 6 for removal of external stitches for nose. (Day 8 for ear stitches removal and Day 10 for removal of internal stitches for nose). I managed to get my hair washed and blow-dried at the salon for 10,000 KRW. Day 2: The fever has gone down and hopefully there is no infection. Day 3: I did not have much bruising but I noticed some swelling on my left cheek. Day 4: I woke up to even more swelling on my left cheek and some swelling on my right cheek. I am still having a low-grade fever that gets better after I take my medicine but comes back again every few hours. Will get it checked when I return to the clinic on Day 6. Day 7: Splint and stitches removed. My nose and the area around it became really oily for the next few days after. Day 12: Left Korea despite there being a slight infection for one of the inner stitch site within the nose. To continue leaving the 3M steri-strip on for another week. Also, the bruising behind my ear was really bad at around Day 10 but has now changed to a yellow/green colour. Week 4: The bulk of the swelling went down by Week 2 and I could resume my daily activities without looking strange or odd. There is faint scarring which I hope it will fade eventually but nothing obvious unless I point it out to others. I have shared my before and after on the KKT group chats. Please do not re-upload or circulate my photos without my permission. Thank you! Here's wishing all with upcoming surgeries all the best.