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I am booked for my surgery for the end of June. I have my hotel and everything. I will be heading to South Korea on the 23rd and my surgery day is the 25th. I gave myself a few days to settle in. I am a bit concerned though that I will be spending most of the time there in a hotel because of swelling. I have heard people say some are worse than others but I also see so many people exploring the city they are in after surgery. Won't I look like a mess? LOL

I wanted to post this as a PSA for new members and anyone considering a clinic in Korea. Most clinics are up to code, registered/licensed, and follow their strict laws but some skirt them. One of the biggest and easiest to spot red flags are a lack of CCTV in the operating rooms. Korea requires this BY LAW. If a clinic does not have cameras in the operating rooms, decline service with them and fine a different clinic.

I don't know about surgeries but for hormone balancing stuff, you could just go to a regular doctor and they sort that. There is no profit or high requests for it. That is why. Most people that get these surgeries are happy.

It sucks cause I don't really see people talking about this online a lot either. I am wondering if this is normal or if I was getting brushed off and need to find a better clinic or something.

I am glad you got to go through the process. I was a bit confused by it. One clinic had me waiting for nearly 45 minutes to do a zoom call with the doctor. He was done with his chat with me in like 5 minutes. It was so fast I felt a bit rushed and uneasy about. I am going to try a few other clinics. I don't want to feel like I am being pushed to the side especially when I am flying all the way out there for surgery of all things. Same experience for me

@mariemarieis right about the botox injections. Tons of people, especially women have seen success with it. The red light therapy works too but from what I understand, the results aren't as good but still decent. I think most people notice 30% regrowth.

I was going to say similar. If there is a market for it, they will have clinics for it. Most people do not seek to reverse these changes because they are happy or they end up getting more surgeries as they go through their journeys.

YES! I was looking into these options myself. My husband's co-worker has a wife that got Botox injections done for her scalp. She had lost hair after having covid-19 and it never came back. So she found a clinic last year that offers it. Within 6 months her hair had filled back in. I saw the pictures!

As far as I know they follow WPATH protocols and do not have anything for "reversing" these surgeries. Some of them can't be reversed at all. I would imagine if there is a trend for it, they will adapt for those trends but most people that get these surgeries seem to be happy with their results and have no regrets

How long were they? I am curious as I had one recently and I swear it went a lot faster than I thought. I was only on a video chat for maybe 7 minutes. I figured it would be at least a 20 to 30 minute thing but I guess they are busy.

It depends on the surgery. Just ask the doctor or clinic, they will be able to tell you what to expect in terms of recovery time. Some people don't need anything beyond a check-up a few days after and can go home. Others need a week or two for check-ups before they should go home.

I am just wondering once I book something with a clinic, should I try to get a hotel near the clinic? I am not sure how busy Korea is or how hard it is to get around. I have heard of people saying they were "late" to appointments because they stayed too far away.

I don't know but I do know that if/when I book something for fixing my scars, I will be staying as close as possible to where the clinic is so if I have to walk, I have that option. I don't want to be stuck in traffic!!

All sorts. Simple face lifts is an example. There is nothing really to check outside of if the healing process is going well. The skin takes care of itself. They most just check the healing process, bruising, and if there are any signs if infection.

Yes, I have heard of clinics doing that. It is much easier to manage patient needs when you have separate days for what is handled. I wouldn't be shocked if most clinics do this but if they have multiple doctors, people wouldn't notice. As they would always have some doctors doing surgery and others doing appointments.

A friend had lipo for love handles done and she said it was the most expensive lipo at the clinic she went to. This was in Canada. I am not sure what makes that one of the more expensive ones there but not in Korea. Maybe the tools and methods they use?

They allow for this? I mean showing other people's before and afters. I would imagine if they do, the patients had to sign off on it. I figured everything they had just got posted online anyways.

I must have had the wrong information. Thanks for pointing that out. I did look it up again and you are right, they are cheaper on average in Korea. I guess that makes sense considering everything else is plastic surgery wise.

So you want a neck lift and a partial face lift from the sound of it. You can start with that by looking into the top rated clinics or doctors in South Korea for those particular surgeries. You will likely end up with a sizable list but it can help you narrow things down.

I know they offer gender-affirming procedures and a lot of trans people have gone to Korea for these surgeries because they are more affordable. I am curious if they offer anything to help correct things people regret having done. Someone I work with has a sister that would like to get work done to correct previous gender-affirming surgeries but she is having trouble finding any clinic that does this where her sister can afford it. It seems like only America and some areas of Europe even have doctors that help with this. I feel like for any kind of cosmetic surgery, there should be a means for it to be reversed in the same clinic or it should not be offered. Like breast implants, for example. If a clinic offers them, they should also offer their removal. I don't want to get into the politics of the topic so please do not turn my thread into that. I am just asking so I can help a work friend.

Thanks everyone. I was just curious. I am not sure what my friend's sister will do but I will mention the Texas thing. Maybe she already knows about it, who knows. I mean there are clinics that offer help but it is so expensive, it is insane!

Holy cow! That sounds absolutely terrifying! I am sorry that happened to her but thank you for sharing. I know people don't like hearing about this stuff but it is better to be throughout with all doctors and clinics than risk anything like this!

I know, I just want to make sure people know all their options as laser costs and other options like this can add up fast. It is not always ideal to travel that far to get treatment either.

Not everyone gets relief from this stuff and do need other options. I have a friend that nothing worked for her and she did laser work and it made it much better. Her skin even looks younger too!

I will, thanks again. I have been reading up more on it and it is easing my worried. I was a bit nervous about the surgery in general and was considering putting it off but I think it will be okay. haha

Look into Han Gang Soo hospital, they only burns and scars.

I was going to mention this because I saw it mentioned at a lot of the clinics I was looking into. I am not getting this kind of work done or anything but it seems very popular over there!

Both my consultations were about an hour but when I spoke to the doctor directly, it was about 10 to 15 minutes. The rest of the time I was speaking with other people that handle all the information.

A friend of mine had a ghost doctor incident but not in Korea, it happened in Mexico. She ended up losing a kidney. We went there for dental work and they stole her kidney to sell on the black market. Thankfully she ended up being okay. I don't think things like this happen in Korea but I am just sharing this to make sure everyone triple checks everything about these doctors before going under the knife!

I wanted to point something out that back lipo IS cheaper. I know this because of a friend who had a lot of it done. I am not sure why people think it is more. All your organs and stuff is in the front and there is way more loose skin to work with.

I am sure you could find a clinic willing to remove breast implants or whatever else is done, maybe correct scaring and such. I don't know much about these surgeries but I never heard of a clinic specifically for this. There isn't even a clinic only for gender affirming surgeries. A lot of them offer this stuff on top of other plastic surgery.

Yes, this is something I am struggling with. So many of them are FAKE! I am sure a lot of them are real but they only show the best of the best and I have heard of them removing bad reviews.

Oh right, I didn't think of that. I guess the conversations they have must be scheduled or kept short. Maybe they only do surgeries on certain days and take calls/consultations on other days.

I don't think this is correct. I looked up the cost comparison and while back lipo isn't listed, you could assume the costs are similar where the US charges more. Abdominal Liposuction: Korea $2,000–$4,000 vs. US $5,900–$9,300+ Thigh Liposuction: Korea $1,500–$3,500 vs. US $2,400–$5,700+ Chin/Face Liposuction: Korea $1,000–$5,000 vs. US $3,000–$7,500+ Flank (Love Handles): Korea $1,500–$3,000 vs. US $5,000–$10,000

What sorts of surgeries are like that? I heard even simple nose jobs you have to wait to get on a plane for because you risk excessive bleeding from the pressure changes.

I don't even think I have seen or heard of these in other countries. Although I saw something about Texas opening a clinic but I think this may have specifically been for minors. I am not entirely sure. Either way, Korea does not provide anything of the sort.

Sorry for the delay, been super busy and haven't been on the forum in a bit! But yes, it is free. You do not need to pay anything to access the information as it is for public safety purposes.

This is correct. You can even mention to the clinic that you have children. Some of them have places where kids can sit and wait with TV they can watch or games they can play. I have heard of clinics even bringing in special items for kids like gaming consoles when they know a parent is going to be in surgery for awhile.

I think it is fine to have them inform you as well as show you the quality of work done. But not every surgery is going to be a good one. I think most people tend to be happy though when they choose to get work done in Korea.

Yes I have heard of this too! Someone I watch on YouTube got her teeth done in Mexico and they look amazing and she paid something like 25% of the cost she would have had she gotten them done in America.

You should be able to go over all that and send it via e-mail before you even travel. Most clinics would prefer to have the information ahead of time anyways and not have to scan physical documents.

It is okay Most people don't go on forums daily. I know life can be busy offline. I am just glad you got help here. It can be hard to plan for plastic surgery locally much less in Korea. There is a lot of consider and plan for.

Just give yourself the standard recommended time off. From what I have read, that is 4 to 6 weeks. So start counting at your post-op exam before you leave Korea.

I think you can use them to can an idea of the work the clinics have done but you shouldn't base your decision on them. I have seen a fair number of them that are obviously faked. Like they used AI or something idk.

It has been an annoying process for me too. You are not alone. I feel like I am being pulled in different directions. A lot of useful information online about this will give you the basics but they leave so much information out. It is exhausting. I am happy I found this forum. Hoping to get some help myself.

I had considered all of these but I don't feel like they line up with me. Is there a chance they just didn't like me or something? lol It is really bothering me. I did end up e-mailing them again but they never responded.

This question gets asked a lot and there is no honest way to answer this because every surgery is different. Even when you compare the same surgery and different people, recovery times differ. It is always better to have extra time though.

That sounds amazing and honestly better than I had imagined. Everything I looked into, nothing like this was mentioned in the US although I was looking closer to the border. I will be going to Korea for sure to get my work done. Thanks!

This is what I have heard, yes! Some clinics will do pictures and adjust them to show you want it would look like from various angles. It makes it easier to get an idea of what you'd see when looking in the mirror.

Yes this is good to point out and I think it is a good idea for anyone looking for a doctor to check the medical board in Korea too. Don't just go based on nothing but online reviews, especially not with AI being such a massive thing these days.