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Hi All, Have compiled a guide below, for those who are new to PS in Korea. Thank you to all who have selflessly shared your research/experience; which I have credited in the respective sections. 1. Navigating Korea 1.1 Travelling 1.1.1 Travelling from Incheon Airport to Seoul Airport Bus Cost: Approx. 15,000 won to Gangnam area Time: Approx. 1.5 hours Airport buses travel to all major areas of Seoul. Tickets to Gangnam area are around 15,000 won and the travel time is approximately 1.5 hours, depending on traffic and the destination. Tickets can be purchased at designated ticket booths outside the passenger terminal. The fare can be paid in cash, T-money, or credit card (at Incheon Airport). AREX Cost: Approx. 5,000 - 10,000 won to Gangnam area Time: Approx. 2 hours The AREX operates two types of trains: the Express train, which makes no stops along the way, and the All-Stop train, which makes 10 stops before it reaches Seoul Station. All stop train: The tickets are around 4,500 won and the estimated travel time is around an hour. The train departs regularly around every 6 to 7 minutes and operates from 5:20 till 23:57. Express train: This train does not make any stops and goes to Seoul station directly, and the tickets are around 8,000 won and the estimated travel time is around 45 minutes. The train departs around every 40 minutes and operates from 5:20 till 22:33. Keep in mind that the all stop train can be crowded especially during peak hours and if you cannot get a seat can be quite a long ride. The benefit of the express train is that there are pre-assigned seats and there is also WiFi. Once you arrive at Seoul Station you can easily transfer to other subway lines or get a taxi with your luggage, as the station has facilities like escalators and elevators (this is the case with most other stations in Seoul as well). Taxi Cost: Approx. 60,000 won to Gangnam area Time: Approx. 1.5 hours There are 4 types of taxis: Standard, international, deluxe, and jumbo taxi vans. International taxis are 20 percent more expensive than standard taxis and drivers speak English, Japanese, or Chinese. Deluxe taxis are approximately 40 to 50 percent more expensive than standard taxis, but use larger, more luxurious sedans. Jumbo taxi vans can accommodate up to 8 passengers at once and are the same price as deluxe taxies. Taxi stands for each type of taxi are located outside the arrival terminal. 1.1.2 Travelling around Korea Google Maps is not as updated as Naver and Kakao maps. Kakao and Naver have been the lead when it comes to navigation apps in Korea. If you understand Korean, Naver maps tend to be more detailed, including real time updates on arrival/departure timings for buses and trains. Naver maps instructions are in English – so that would be the recommended app if you do not understand Korean. Subway Korea (by Malang, yellow colour icon on Google Playstore, blue colour icon on Apple Store) is a handy map app that not only gives you the subway routes, but also lets you see to-the-minute train schedules, calculate the quickest routes to your destination, and even tell you which train car to get on for the quickest transfers. Best of all, it works offline, making navigating in transit a breeze. There are several online guides on how to use the app (https://thechelseabracket.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/best-apps-for-seoul-subway-지하철-2/) 1.2 Sim Card It is advisable for you to get a SIM card that allows you to get online with your phone, so you can use kakaotalk and maps. There is a detailed link here on the different type of sim cards (https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Korea_(South)). There are usually discounts if you pre-order ahead of your trip (https://www.krsim.net/). Do take note of the pickup times if you are arriving very late / super early. 1.3 Food Delivery Apps For English speakers, UberEats and Shuttle Delivery are some possible options. McDelivery is another option. If you understand Korean or are willing to spend some time to read up other online guides on Yogiyo app, there are a lot more food options there. 2. Research 2.1 Best time to visit Korea Credit to JLBCGP (https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1010768-best-time-to-visit-korea/) JLBCGP has made a detailed post, taking into account variables such as temperature, local holidays, high school/university students and yellow dust. Please refer to her post linked above. 2.2 How to check if a doctor is Board-certified There are several pointers to note: The Korean website is more updated than the English version (a few years dated). The mobile version of the Korean website allows you to search by clinic's and/or doctor's name (whereas the web version only allows you to search by doctor's name). Sometimes, the clinic's name may be spelled differently (e.g. DA Clinic may be reflected as 디에이성형외과, 디에이 성형외과 or DA성형외과). It may be better to search by doctor's name in this case. Also, sometimes when a doctor moves to a new clinic, the site may not be as updated and the doctor's name may still be reflected under the old clinic's name which he practiced at. For oral and maxillofacial dental surgeons, there is no English database to check board membership status. For ENT doctors, there are 2 medical societies in Korea (Credit to Kino on Discord): i) Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-head and Neck Surgery Email: [email protected] Website: http://eng.korl.or.kr/ ii) Korean Rhinologic Society Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.ksrhino.or.kr/eng/ I have attached screenshots (see this link https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1012254-checking-if-a-doctor-is-certified-by-the-korean-association-of-plastic-surgeons/) on: How to search by clinic name (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/mobile/search/search_h_name.asp) How to search by doctor (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/mobile/search/search_h_dr.asp) If there are no results, it means that the doctor is not certified by the board to begin with. See the link above on the screenshots on how to differentiate those who were suspended because they did not pay their membership renewal fees vs other reasons. For other pointers on how to check if a doctor is certified, you may refer to the English write-up on the page (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/English/mobile/sub/sub_02.asphttp://www.prskorea.co.kr/English/mobile/sub/sub_02.asp). 2.3 What to research Types of procedures: Clinics’ websites, Plastic surgery concierge services Pros, cons and risks of procedures: Realself Recovery: Makemeheal Simulating how the PS procedure looks on you: Meitu (the app is easy to use and you can simulate smaller alars, higher bridge, smaller nose tip, philtrum reduction, zygoma reduction, vline surgery, etc). Clinics / Doctors: Purseforum, Beautyhacker, Soyoung (Chinese), Gangnam Unnie (Korean), Babitalk (Korean), Anti-PS cafes (http://cafe330.daum.net/_c21_/home?grpid=KY9Q), Korean forums on Naver, Nate *As there are many fake/planted reviews online, please use discretion and do not take everything you see at face value. Some clinics also photoshop their before/after photos. 3. Pre-Surgery 3.1 Packing List Notebook and pen to write notes during consultation Medical history / Drug allergies to inform clinic Button tops or loose fitting tops Electrical adapter Cotton bud / Q-tips (to apply medicine, dig nose, remove food particles for those with stitches inside mouth) Antibacterial wet wipes Lip balm (for rhino and FC as lips will get dry from breathing through the mouth) Pain relief medication Tissue paper (for running nose/teary eyes post-surgery & bleeding) Camouflage items (hoodie, sunglasses, face masks, caps) Vitamin K cream (e.g. Auriderm) (for bruising) Scar healing & reduction gel (e.g. Kelocote, Dermatix) Simple dressing set Arnica (e.g. Sineech) (for bruising) Bromelain (for swelling) Collagen powder (promotes healing) Vitamin C (promotes healing) Protein powder (if you have to be on a liquid diet) Dry shampoo 3.2 Pre-Surgery Pointers 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. 4. Consultation 4.1 General consultation pointers to note 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 4.2 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? 5. Surgery 5.1 Anaesthesia Credit to Lemontea1234 (https://beautyhacker.com/topic/996406-anaethestics-terminology-and-general-thread/) 5.1.1 Anaesthetics 101 What exactly is Anaesthetics? According to webdictonary Anaesthetics is 'a substance that induces insensitivity to pain.' It’s a pharmaceutical substance in which is directly injected into your veins or inhaled. This thread hopefully can impart some knowledge of anaesthetics and the importance of pre-operative, post-operative care. Types of Anaesthetics: Gas: The simplest form of inhaled sedation drug. Commonly known as sevo gas or nitric oxide. Simply known to most as laughing gas to most. It is used for induction of surgery. The half life of those gases are only 15seconds. It won’t take away your pain, but distracts you and relaxes you so that they can insert a cannula. Gas form of anaesthesia isn’t common for the duration of the surgery as it’s too unpredictable. Rather it is used to help calm the patient and allow them to feel relaxed. It leaves the body when you exhale. Twilight sedation or Sedation: Twilight sedation is simply sedation. It is used so the patient can be conscious but also like a trance. It’s a state where you're awake but not aware. Most common sedation medication is known as Midazolam. Half life of midazolam is approx 1.5hours to 2.5hours. The common side effect of such drugs is grogginess, headaches, dizziness and memory loss in the period that the medication is used. If twilight sedation is used, the patient should be breathing on their own and can protect their own airway. Thus reducing the need to be 'intubated' or having a breathing tube down. Blocks or Local Anaesthetic: Another form of anaesthetic is just using a nerve block or spinal block for the surgery. It means the patient will be fully conscious and aware of their surroundings during surgery. The medication is injected directly into the nerve and should completely numb the area. This is not often fool proof and upon wearing off. Can cause pins and needles sensation. Spinal blocks are commonly used to paralyse the patient from the waist down in order for surgeons to perform surgery. However, it can cause permanent paralysis if not correctly administered. There's also simple local anaesthetic that surgeons use intraoperative by directly injecting to operative site. Some of them contain adrenaline which in small doses in healthy adults be no problem. But those with underlying heart conditions should be mindful of. General Anaesthetic: Often associated with what Michael Jackson got for sleep. Medication of choice is generally propofol. Half life is 2 to 24 hours. However actual pharmacological effect peaks at 2 mins mark, and effective for only 5 to 10 minutes. It puts you to complete sleep, and makes you unconscious. A side effect of this, is it causes respiratory depression. In which you don't breathe enough or deep enough to maintain optimal oxygen level in your body. Thus, patients undergoing GA usually will have a breathing tube, and will be connected up to a ventilator (machine that gives calculated breaths). However, you may still move some of your muscles in your chemically induced sleep. Much like natural sleep. Common side effects are dizziness, nausea, grogginess, headaches etc. Some are known to 'shiver' post anaesthetics, as their bodies try to get rid of the medication from your system. These are the most common form of anaesthetics. There are some that used combination of GA with local infiltration by surgeon or can give twilight sedation to start off. But then put into deeper sleep by general anaesthetics. 5.1.2 Importance of following pre-operative instructions For those who are new to surgery. You may be given a set of instructions to follow in order to prepare yourself for surgery. But! I bet you have questions on why it is important to follow them. Most important rule is DISCLOSE any medication and medical history that you may have. EVEN if you do think it’s relevant. Sometimes something small that happened a long time ago, may be important when you do surgery. When you're being operated on, your body will be under stress. And some old medical conditions can flare up under body stress. So please be mindful of this! Fasting: Fasting means to be nil by mouth. This means no water, no food, nothing that can stimulate saliva production in mouth to stomach. The only things you can take orally is your medications. ANY medication that is used to treat medical conditions can be taken, with as minimal water as possible. Ideal fasting times are: If your surgery is in the first thing in the morning. Try to have a small meal at midnight, and then nothing from 12 o'clock midnight onwards. If your surgery is in the afternoon, (after 1pm). You can have a light breakfast at 5am in the morning then it’s nothing from then onwards. •Why fasting is important? In the evident that you may involuntarily vomit, you would want no chance that whatever you vomit may end up in your lungs. The chances of this happening under GA is low, as your airway is protected. BUT, after the removal of your artificial airway. You may vomit and may be too groggy to protect your airway. If any solids or fluids that are foreign end up in your lungs. You may end up with a condition known as aspiration pneumonia. Treating it is much harder, and often mortality rate is high if you acquire this. Medications: Some people take supplements to add to their diets. Please still always seek medical advice before stopping some of your medications. ALWAYS disclose whatever medication you take as it can affect how your recovery and anaesthetics are metabolized. Importance of declaring allergies: Allergies are vital to be declared to treating doctors and anaesthetists. Did you know some medical products contain same protein as foods? Parts of latex gloves have the same protein as kiwifruit. So please tell your doctors and explain your symptoms of allergies when you go for surgery. Even if you think it’s just minor, please let them know! 5.2 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. 5.3 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. 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. 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/body and discuss the shape again. Go into surgery. Rest in recovery room 6. Post-surgery 6.1 Recovery tips General Avoid spicy and high sodium food Sleep with head elevated 45 degrees for several days to minimize swelling Apply antibiotic ointment (if prescribed) to the incision site as directed Use ice packs (~10 mins on 10 mins off) for the first 3 days after surgery as often as you can to reduce swelling and bruising Do not take aspirin or any aspirin based pain medication unless approved by your surgeon Do not use scar reduction cream/gel on the incision site until the wound has fully healed No alcohol for 3 weeks as it causes fluid retention Do not smoke, as smoking delays healing and increases the risk of complications Limit your activity right after surgery (for the first 3 days) to reduce post-operative swelling and bleeding. Start walking as soon as possible from the 4th day onwards, this helps to reduce swelling and lowers the chance of blood clots Avoid activities that raise your blood pressure, including bending, lifting and rigorous sports Before you attempt to pull any dead skin, be absolutely certain that it’s not a stitch. Eye surgery-specific You can take showers from the neck down any time after your surgery. Don’t take full showers until your surgeon tells you it’s safe to do so. This is usually after stitches are out (~5 to 7 days). You may gently wash below your eyes with wipes or a soft washcloth. You can use dry shampoo for your hair. Once you can take full showers, you can wash your eyelids and shampoo your hair with mild products, such as baby shampoo. Wait at least 2 weeks before wearing contact lenses Do not apply any irritants or make-up on your eyelids or incision line for 2 weeks after the surgery Your physician may recommend Natural Tears (OTC eye drops) or OTC ophthalmic ointment or antibiotic eye drops as part of your post-op treatment. Don’t pull on your eyelids while using the eye drops. Nose surgery-specific You can take showers from the neck down any time after your surgery. Don’t take full showers until your surgeon tells you it’s safe to do so. This is usually after the nose splint and stitches are out (~7 to 10 days). For the first month after rhinoplasty, you should not rest your glasses on the bridge of your nose. Either wear contact lenses or suspend the glasses with the use of a small tape from your forehead. Bruising around your nose in your cheeks and lower eyelids is very common after this type of surgery. Numbness over your nose is also quite normal. You will slowly regain sensation over the top of your nose. But you can expect the tip to be slightly numb and “stiff” feeling for up to three months after surgery. Breathing through your nose will slowly improve after we clean your nose out at your first clinic visit. Go to bed on time. Yawning may cause you quite a bit of pain, so prevent it by getting the right amount of sleep during the proper hours. FC surgery-specific Post-Surgery Keeping your head lifted up and above your chest (for at least a week) will speed up the healing process. Use the ice pack for at least 3-4 days and after the 4th day, change to a hot pack. Be sure to treat both sides of the face equally. Any bruises or swelling will lessen in a week and heal after 3 weeks, so you do not have to worry. After the surgery, you must abstain from food for one day. You may drink 6 hours after the surgery, and eat after 48 hours. For those with jaw or cheekbone surgery, you may eat rice porridge after going on a liquid diet (such as juice, milk, rice gruel) for a day. *Spicy or salty food: You may eat after 2 weeks; tough and chewy food after one month When blood comes out of the mouth, spit it out. If you think you have swallowed too much blood or too much blood is coming out, then please contact the doctor. Gargling with the disinfectant that we prescribe is very important. If you do not want any wounds or infection, you must gargle at least 10 times per day. First, gargle your mouth with water a couple of times then use the disinfectant last. Until the seam in your mouth is completely gone, you must gargle for at least 2 weeks. You may use a toothbrush 1 week after the surgery. At first, use a smooth children’s toothbrush to brush your teeth (do not brush your gums). Keep the bandage around your head for at least one day. Wearing the bandage will help reduce the swelling faster. You may wash your face or hair after taking off the bandage and you may go to the sauna or the hot springs after 2 weeks. After the surgery, if the bandage is too tight or your neck feels uncomfortable, please tell the doctor. You can wash your hair after 3 days, you can take a shower after 5 days Fitness workouts (sports, health centers) after one month In order to prevent infections, you must take the prescribed medicine. No matter how perfect the surgery came out, if you do not diligently take precautions after the surgery, problems may arise or your face shape may change. Therefore, caring for your face after the surgery is just as important as the surgery itself. Diet Even though you can open your mouth a small amount, you still will not be able to chew for approximately 6-8 weeks. You therefore will be on what we term as a swallowing diet. This means anything that you can swallow without chewing. Anything blended or liquid is acceptable. You may also have any foods that are soft enough or small enough to be mashed between your tongue and teeth without chewing. These things may include any liquids, soups, scrambled eggs, applesauce, pie, cake, ice-cream, yogurt, pasta that is well chopped and small and soft, as well as meat which is ground up fine. High-calorie, high-protein meals are the best with plenty of liquids. This may require eating a small meal 5-6 times a day rather than three large meals. Use a cup or glass when eating. Pull the lower lip forward on either side and just pour the contents of the cup into your mouth. Straws are okay to use, but you may find this difficult at first. The reason it is difficult is because your lips may be swollen and with decreased feeling in the upper or lower lip creating a vacuum necessary to use a straw may be difficult. If you can use a straw, it is okay. Take in smaller amounts and eat more frequently, it may be necessary for you to eat 5-6 times a day in order to satisfy your body requirements. Try not to miss any meals. A small, plastic syringe with a piece of rubber tubing or catheter at the tip can be helpful in the feeding process. You may use one of these at the hospital and this may be helpful when you go home from the hospital. These syringes and rubber tubing may be picked up at any pharmacy or drug store and may be quite useful Try to get something fresh every day. A malt or a shake with fresh fruit and a vitamin supplement blended in it is ideal. (e.g. juices, smoothies, puddings, yogurt, etc.) Start drinking from a cup as soon as you’re physically able to. Your upwards trek back to having full energy begins the day you can throw your syringes in the garbage. Eat solid food as soon as your surgeon gives you the go-ahead. It’ll be a slow, tedious and frustrating process, but you need to go through with it in order to build your jaw muscles back up and learn how to chew properly once again. Hygiene Brush and rinse using a small amount of toothpaste and mouthwash. Oral hygiene is the single most important thing you can do to minimize possible infections. After each meal, brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush (child-size works well). Stand over the sink with your head tilted down and use a circular motion and angle the brush at 45 degrees toward the gum line. Use Peridex or a mouthwash without alcohol such as Biotene instead of toothpaste. Brush to the best of your ability and take your time. You may not be able to brush the inside of your teeth. Rinse your mouth with a solution of warm salt water (1 teaspoon salt in one 8 oz glass of warm water). Oral rinsing should be done after every meal. A moistened Q-tip or cotton swab may be used to wipe over the gums and tooth surfaces when brushing is impossible. You may follow brushing with a mild fluoride mouthwash to leave your breath and tongue feeling refreshed. Avoid the use of products such as lemon glycerin swabs and commercial mouthwashes containing alcohol (these products can have a drying or irritating effect on the mucous membranes in the mouth). Use a Waterpik ONLY if ordered by your surgeon. If any skin incisions were made, clean them with 50% peroxide-water solution, remove scabs and apply Neosporin. At times, your breath may be indicative of the fact that you are not allowed to brush your teeth or floss during the first several weeks of recovery. To aid in freshening your breath, try gurgling with warm salt water a few times each day. Soon enough, you’ll be given the go-ahead to brush and floss again. Activities Take it easy the first week. You may resume most of your normal routine after the first week as tolerated. Avoid activities that might cause an injury to the face (athletic like football, basketball, racquetball, weight lifting, etc.). Aerobic exercises may be started after two weeks. For the first 3-4 days following surgery please limit your activity. It is important that you not confine yourself to bed. Try to spend most of the day sitting in a comfortable chair and taking short walks around the house. You should limit your visiting time to 1-2 hours. Although you may feel well, you have had a major procedure and your body needs to recover. Uninterrupted rest is very important in your healing period. Do not participate in sports or strenuous activities, or return to work until permitted by your surgeon. Driving any motorized machinery or vehicle or signing any legal documents while taking pain medications is not recommended. The pain medications may cause alterations of visual perception and impair judgment. Medications Antibiotics use only the first 4-6 days following surgery. Use pain medications only as needed. Anti-nausea use as instructed and notify doctor if relief is not quickly obtained. Acute pain management should always start with over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). If your surgeon approves these medications for you, you should take them as directed on the pill bottles, or by your surgeon. If you take the first pill before the anaesthetic has worn off, you will be able to manage any discomfort better. Precede each pain pill with a small amount of food, and chances for nausea will be reduced. The effects of pain medications vary widely among individuals. For severe pain, you may take your prescription opioid (narcotic). Do not take more opioid pills, or more often, than prescribed by your surgeon. If prescribed, Vicodin / Norco may be taken every 4-6 hours for pain. DO NOT USE TYLENOL. If you notice that the pain medication is not providing comfort for long enough, alternate the Vicodin / Norco and Ibuprofen throughout the day (ex: take 1 Vicodin, then 2 hours later, take ibuprofen. 2 hours later another Vicodin / Norco). If your pain is chronic (i.e. consistent and throbbing), you may have an infection and should schedule a visit with your surgeon just to be safe. On the other hand, if your pain comes in small bouts, it’s likely your nerves reawakening or your teeth being pulled by the elastics. In this case, just be patient and the pain will subside in due time. If you were prescribed pain medication, that may help as well. Nausea/Vomiting DON’T PANIC. Use medications as instructed. For mild vomiting or any empty stomach feeling lay in a face down position to allow fluids to drain out of mouth and nose. Notify the doctor of any nausea problems. Swelling The swelling will not become apparent until 1-2 days following surgery and will not reach its maximum until 2-3 days post-operation. However, the swelling may be minimized by the immediate use of ice packs. Two baggies filled with ice, or ice packs should be applied to the side of the face where surgery was performed. The ice packs should be left on continuously while you are awake. After 48 hours, ice has no beneficial effect. If swelling or jaw stiffness has persisted for several days, there is no cause for alarm. This is a normal reaction to surgery. Thirty-six hours following surgery, the application of gentle moist heat to the sides of the face is beneficial in reducing the swelling and stiffness. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows for the first week. Exercises Most often following these type of procedures, teeth must be kept together with wires or elastics after surgery. This allows the jaw bones to be held still while healing. Most of the time small bone screws and plates are used to hold the bone segments together during the healing period. With the use of these screws and plates, the jaws can still move slightly during the post-operative period. It must be remembered that the bones are not healed and are simply held together by screws and plates. Therefore, a gradual progression of movement and use of the jaws is encouraged, keeping in mind that complete healing does not take place for approximately two to three months after surgery. Immediately following surgery: Since surgery causes soreness in the muscles and bones of your jaw, movement will be difficult initially. We do not recommend any specific exercises during the first week to ten days after surgery. 10-14 days following surgery: Stand in front of a mirror and attempt to open and close your mouth. At ten days you should be able to get at least 1 finger between your teeth. This will increase gradually in the next several weeks. Simply move your jaws open and closed then side to side. Moist heat to the side of your face prior to these exercises can be beneficial. Do not use your fingers to force open your jaw. 4-8 weeks after surgery: At this time you should be able to get 2 fingers between your teeth comfortably and can begin using gentle finger pressure to stretch your jaw muscles. By week 8 you should be able to get 3 fingers between your teeth. Again, stretch the muscles open and closed as well as side to side. Breathing Difficulty Following your procedure, you will develop difficulty breathing through your nose. This is a transient problem that peaks at about day 3-4. You may feel that your airway passage is being blocked by the swelling, but be assured that there is plenty of room to breathe through. Limit your activity to reduce post-operative swelling and bleeding. Dried blood in the nasal passages is best cleaned by the spraying of saline spray and gentle suction with the bulb. Repeat this process as needed until nasal passages are free of dried blood. You may use a facial humidifier or steam in the shower to help loosen nasal secretions prior to suctioning. DO NOT blow your nose following surgery for a minimum of two weeks. Use Afrin Nasal Spray as directed by your surgeon. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows for the first week. Miscellaneous Use nose spray if needed and no more than twice a day. Use ointment on lips to reduce swelling and avoid drying and chapping. Sleep with head elevated (2 pillows) the first week then normal elevation after that. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows or in a comfortable recliner chair for the first week following surgery. Before you attempt to pull any dead skin off of your lips, be absolutely certain that it’s not a stitch. Start using medicated lip balm immediately following your return to your own home. If you don’t, you’ll end up with flaps of dead skin that are half an inch in diameter, and I promise you they won’t feel good when they catch on your braces. Begin each day at a decent time. If you sleep most of the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night, and you’ll hate yourself for it. Get out of bed, shower, eat some breakfast and brush your teeth and you’ll enjoy each day a lot more. (This is good advice for any day of your life, but it especially applies when you’re on the verge of depression from having jaw surgery.) Go to bed on time. Yawning will cause you quite a bit of pain, so prevent it by getting the right amount of sleep during the proper hours.

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?

Title: Best time to visit Korea. When planning for plastic surgery, we often focus on achieving the main objective of getting ourselves to Korea and finding the best clinic and doctor for our price range, however there may be several things we overlook which contribute to a smooth plastic surgery journey. One such overlooked factor is the time (in the year) of the trip. For example, there were several instances in which visitors have arrived at Korea and experienced inconvenience in the waiting room due to a high influx of locals, or stayed in their rooms due to the heat which prevented them from taking deswelling walks, or experienced a service interruption because of a local holiday. Since these factors indirectly affect the success of plastic surgery, I believe it’s important to consider the timing of your visit. Variables I have compiled several hypothesized variables which I believe will impact the plastic surgery experience. Temperature. Months that are warmer will be less conducive to healing because the heat is only therapeutic for sore muscles and chronic pain, and not the inflammation and injury resulting from plastic surgery. Additionally, there is the general grime that comes with walking around in a major metropolitan city in the humid summer. Colder temperatures will be better for deswelling and walking. Local holidays. Most business close down for at least one day for major Korean holidays. To ensure a more streamlined plastic surgery experience, one should avoid visiting during Korean holidays. Plastic surgeries also have promotions around the holiday season so this leads to an influx of local customers, which decreases the amount of individual attention one may receive from their surgeon and consultant and increases the likelihood of mix-ups and dropped communication. Ideally, to get the most attention, care, and continuous service, it would be better to go during a time that is not so popular. High school/university students. Apparently, it is very popular for Korean high school/ university students to get plastic surgery during the weeks after their university entrance exam and during their summer vacations. This also leads to an influx of local customers, resulting in the same problems in the above point (Local holidays). Yellow dust. Yellow dust (also known as Asian dust) is a yearly weather event occurring in April in which the winds originating from Mongolia sweep over China, Kazakhstan, North and South Korea. This is a problem because the wind picks up pollutants on its way to South Korea and poses a respiratory risk if there is extensive exposure to it. Based on common sense, I don’t think it would be beneficial or convenient to visit Korea when there are major issues with its air quality. Chart I created a chart (see attached document) which integrates the four variables to determine the best time to visit Korea for plastic surgery. For every negative variable present in the month, I added 1 to the “cons” count. A higher “cons” count indicates that it would be more inconvenient/unpleasant to visit Korea during this month. Similarly, if a month has a lower a “cons” count, it means that the visit will be smoother/more pleasant during that month. Green = Most convenient; Red = Least convenient. Chart notes: I marked temperatures of 25C and higher as inconvenient because that is the threshold that I personally find the weather to be too hot to tolerate without AC. Temperature data was sourced from average taken from average highs and lows in the city of Seoul. Source (*) The holidays marked with an asterisk denote an approximated date. Since a lot of Korean holidays are based on the Lunar calendar, the dates shift every year because the Lunar and the Roman calendar don’t match up. Please be aware that the dates given may not be the precise dates. Results According to the chart, it seems that the best months to visit are March, May, and October. The most inconvenient month to visit is January. Of course, I’m not saying that you should never visit Korea outside of the three months I mentioned, but this information is here to help you determine what events you may encounter if you do visit Korea, so you can plan accordingly. Limitations There are limitations which I have omitted from this chart. I did not consider the patterns of Chinese medical tourists, because I assume (I don't know if I’m wrong or right) the Chinese holidays share considerable overlap with the Korean holidays, so this omission should not change the pattern of results. However, they do comprise a large section of the Korean medical tourism population and may influence the quality of treatment/care you receive from your surgeons/consultants if there are any differences in holidays. If anyone has any information about this please feel free to comment. After I finished this report, I realized that rainfall and humidity also play a role in how ‘icky’ one feels especially if they’re trying to get around and deswell. However, I found that rainfall and humidity generally follows the same pattern as the temperature, so I don’t expect them to change the results of this chart. The temperature ratings were subjective as they were determined by me. If you have a high tolerance of the heat (or a low tolerance of the cold), you may want to consider adjusting or removing the temperature variable so it suits your needs. Concluding remarks I hope you consider this information when planning for your travels. Hopefully we can all hack our beauty in the most painless way possible. Sincerely, Jennifer. -- Edit history: June 25, 2019. Added Memorial Day as pointed out by the user June. Added comment about approximate dates due to Lunar calendar. Clarified writing regarding swelling and hot temperatures. December 15, 2019. Fixed some grammatical errors and changed some wording bungles.

Hi guys. Just thought I'd make a thread to share some resources about the many PS clinics in Seoul. I understand many of us who are foreigners and/or don't have korean contacts and friends to give us some insider info on clinics find it hard to look for clinics other than the common few "tried and tested" places mentioned in the kakao chats and forums like PF. So I'll share two lists of clinic names for everyone's reference and research purposes. Those who are seeking out lesser known clinics or clinics that do less marketing to foreign patients can make use of this list to do your research. Please note this is just a list for reference and researching. Your ultimate choice of clinic still boils down to face to face consultation with the doctors. Credit goes to Esther from the kakao chats who shared the Google docs link that she found/someone shared with her and she posted on the chats. I'm just passing this on. Google docs list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR9uH4MbUMXQT0IgLv9BPSv7tekoRjeN6nk9OwZzTqsz304raTdh3Cj1HzLeYJhNXEmGGwl8sKfmRng/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true The 2nd list is a very long list of all medical institutions for cosmetic surgery in Korea where VAT refund is available. Besides plastic surgery clinics, the list includes skin clinics, dental clinics and clinics outside of Seoul as well. There are about 500 clinic names on the list, so be sure to sieve through those in Seoul if you only want to look for clinics located in Seoul. Clinic names and addresses in both English and Korean are listed in the document. It downloads as a PDF file from this website (download the "Available medical institution list for VAT refund" document): http://english.visitmedicalkorea.com/web/board/BD_board.view.do?domainCd=2&bbsCd=1001&seq=20160401141258262&pageType=&showSummaryYn=N&delDesc=&q_currPage=1&q_sortName=&q_sortOrder=&extColumn10=&q_ctgCd=&q_searchKeyType=TITLE___1002&q_searchVal= Here is also a link to the government website to check if your surgeon is a board certified plastic surgeon in korea. Note that some specialized surgeons like ENTs and maxillofacial surgeons will not appear in this database as they do not fall under the plastic surgeon category. http://www.prskorea.co.kr/English

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.

How to plan consultations and how long you should stay in Korea Many people go to Korea on a tight schedule in which they need to squeeze their consultations, decide and still spare enough time to have the surgery and complete their after care appointments. These are important factors and tips to maximize your time. Guideline: Consult 3 Clinics/Day 3 appointments per day is a general rule of thumb and space out start times by at least 2 hours, but spacing out by 3 hour buffer is recomended. Clinics Hours Monday to Friday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM (on average) Saturdays are 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM (on average) Sundays (closed) Example Schedule Clinic A: 09:30 AM Clinic B: 12:30 AM LUNCH Clinic C : 14:30 PM AFTERNOON/ EVENING: Research, Analyze and Decide Example Consultation Process A typical consultation time looks like this for seeing a single surgeon. If you are seeing more than one surgeon at a clinic (Nose Surgeon + Eye Surgeon + Contouring Surgeon) add an extra 30 minutes per additional surgeon 20 minutes: Hotel to clinic commute time 15 minutes: Clinic check in / paperwork 05 minutes Photos & X-Rays 15 minutes coordinator consultation 15 minutes wait time to see surgeon 15 minutes surgeon consultation 20 minutes to coordinator pricing, scheduling and bargaining 15 minutes to commute to next appointment Average Total Time: 2 Hours to complete the appointment and arrive at the next one (if you see more than one surgeon at a clinic add an additional 30 minutes per surgeon). Know your treatment course/timeline: Knowing how long it takes to finish your aftercare and follow ups is an important variable to plan your stay time. For example rhinoplasty requires 6 to 7 days. Factor Surgery Slot Float Time Surgery float is the time spent waiting for your surgery day to arrive once you made your decision. Always ask about the available dates for surgery at the end of your consultation. Sometimes your surgery can start the same day, next day, or you may have to wait as long as one week or more. Float times increase if it's a peak season (Winter/Spring) or it's a popular clinic or high demand surgeon TIPS: Be on time. Don't be rude to other patients and staff by showing up late. Don't flake, bad Karma. Be nice, your prices can be a reflection of your attitude and difficulty or ease to manage. Don't be a hero and stack too many appointments Don't have appointments the day you land in Korea Get familiar with the clinic location. Download Naver Maps App and virtually visit the clinic. Have the clinics address in Korean and take taxis that are facing the direction of your next appointment (if it's not walking distance) Keep max clinic number to 5. After 5 you will have diminishing marginal returns. Advice will get confusing and conflicting. You will waste time and energy.

The importance of following preoperative instructions For those who are new to surgery. You may be given a set of instructions to follow in order to prepare yourself for surgery. But! I bet you have questions on why it is important to follow them. Most important rule is DISCLOSE any medication and medical history that you may have. EVEN if you do think its relevant. Sometimes something small that happened a long time ago, may be important when you do surgery. When you're being operated on, your body will be under stress. And some old medical conditions can flare up under body stress. So please be mindful of this! Fasting: Fasting means to be nil by mouth. This means no water, no food, nothing that can stimulate saliva production in mouth to stomach. The only things you can take orally is your medications. ANY medication that is used to treat medical conditions can be taken, with as minimal water as possible. Ideal fasting times are: if your surgery is in the first thing in the morning. Try to have a small meal at midnight, and then nothing from 12 o'clock midnight onwards. If your surgery is in the afternoon, (after 1pm). You can have a light breakfast at 5am in the morning then its nothing from then onwards. •Why fasting is important? In the evident that you may involuntarily vomit, you would want no chance that whatever you vomit may end up in your lungs. The chances of this happening under GA is low, as your airway is protected. BUT, after the removal of your artifical airway. You may vomit and may be too groggy to protect your airway. If any solids or fluids that are foreign end up in your lungs. You may end up with a condition known as aspiration pneumonia. Treating it is much harder, and often mortality rate is high if you aquire this. Medications: Some people take supplements to add to their diets. Please still always seek medical advice before stopping some of your medications. ALWAYS disclose whatever medication you take as it can effect how your recovery and anaethestics are metabolized. Importance of declaring allergies: Allergies are vital to be declared to treating doctors and anaethestists. Did you know some medical products contain same protein as foods? Parts of latex gloves have the same protein as kiwifruit. So please tell your doctors and explain your symptoms of allergies when you go for surgery. Even if you think its just minor, please let them know!

My experience consulting with the Doctors in SK for Revision Double Eyelid Surgery (DES) This is pretty long, please bear with it. I hope this will be helpful to some. I am trying to give back to the PS community and to pay it forward. Some background. This is my third DES. I had 2 previous DES in SK. I will not mention where I had my previous surgeries in this post. I wanted revision DES because my last surgery had left my crease too high, asymmetric, unnatural looking and scars. My last surgeon had removed too much skin, so it left my eyelids with very skin and also sunken looking. The fact that I had very little eyelid skin and fat left, would make Revision DES & Lowering my crease even more difficult to do. Each person’s eyes and issues are probably different than mine, so please take note that these issues are specific to my eyes. I was looking for a Doctor that could best correct these specific issues. I contacted most of these clinics with photos before I arrived in Korea to narrow down my choices and see if the Doctor: 1-could lower my crease without excising (removing) any skin/fat or very little, if absolutely necessary. 2- I also asked whether I would be left with scarring, and if my existing scars could be improved and 3- improve the asymmetry. Most of the consultants said that I would need to come in person for a face to face (FTF) consultation with the doctor, to determine the surgical method and whether I had enough skin to lower my current eyelid crease. A couple of clinics told me straight out that my scarring would be worse or the existing scars could not be removed. I immediately crossed those clinics off my list. So it left me with the following clinics that I consulted with in SK:, Duhan - Dr Shin, Naturalism Dr Jung, Bio - Dr. Hong, SoonPlus, Dr. Kim, Shinseung- Dr. Shin, IVE - Dr. Jang, IOU - Dr. Kang, JW* - Dr. Hong Dae Kang, Garuso* - Dr. Jang. *These clinics I added to my list after I arrived in SK. Duhan This was my first appointment (9:30am) and I was hopeful since their website had a lot of photos similar to my case. However, soon after I walked in and met with the consultant and Doctor, I immediately crossed Duhan off my list. Dr. Shin had a very fierce look on his face and almost looked mad after I walked in. He looked upset that I was there. I honestly wanted to walk out almost as soon as I met him. But since I was there, I asked him some basic questions: if he could lower my crease, fix the asymmetry and scars. Dr. Shin said he couldn’t do much and I felt he wasn’t very confident or that interested in me as a potential patient. I left as soon as I could. On my way out, the consultant tried to charge me 10,000 won for the consultation. I said it was never mentioned to me during the kakao messages, so the consultant checked with Dr. Shin and let it go. I felt like they wanted to charge me something just because I walked out fairly quickly. I think my entire visit/consultation took less than 10-15 minutes. I left Duhan with a bad taste in my mouth. Shinseung The consultant confirmed in a Kakao message, that Dr. Shin is not PS Board Certified. Despite this fact, I still decided to consult with Dr Shin, because their website with all the Epi revision pictures looked promising. Also,the kakao consultant asked me to do a FTF consultation for an accurate assessment of my Revision DES. Upon meeting Dr. Shin, he was very friendly and I immediately liked him. Dr. Shin proceeded to examine my eyelids. He said I needed ptosis, but said that he couldn’t lower my eyelids or remove my current scars because of lack of skin. So Dr. Shin said he couldn’t recommend surgery for me since it wouldn’t address the main issues I wanted corrected. Dr. Shin told me I should wait a few more years until my eyelid skin stretched and sagged and at that time consider revision. But there was no way, I was going to live with these high, asymmetric creases for a few more years. I left Shinseung thanking Dr. Shin and the consultant for the Doctor’s honesty. Naturalism I arrived on time for my appointment. The waiting room was pretty busy and I waited for over 40 minutes, even though I had an appointment and the consultant told me not to be late because I may not be able to meet Dr. Jung. I had other appointments lined up that day, so I had to ask the front desk when I can see Dr. Jung. When Dr. Jung finally walked in, he looked like he was in his early 20’s. I honestly thought he looked like he just finished MD residency. After examining my eyes and feeling my eyelid skin, he said he needed to excise the skin to lower my eyelids and to remove the scar, but he wouldn’t be able to lower the crease by much. Also, Dr. Jung said I needed ptosis and regular botox to fix my eyebrow asymmetry and to prevent using my eyebrows to open my eyes. Dr. Jung said there was no way for him to improve the existing scar without cutting it out. The consultant didn’t have any photos similar to my case to show me. There are hardly any photos on their website either. I don’t think Dr Jung had too much experience with lowering high crease DES revision, similar to mine. I ruled out Naturalism. As a side note, when I initially contacted Naturalism, I really wanted to consult with Dr. Go more, but the consultant said he does mostly noses and was not available to consult for eyes. At the end of the consultation, I remarked how young he looked and Dr. Jung told me he was 40 and had 2 kids of his own. He said he was flattered that I thought he was young. So I’m glad that Dr. Jung didn’t take it the wrong way. Dr. Jung was smiling during most of the consultation and seemed pretty easy to talk to. BIO I met with Dr. Hong, one of the principal partners of BIO Plastic surgery. I had a 9:30am appointment. The BIO waiting room had a few patients already waiting when I arrived. There are several drs at BIO. Dr Hong was the oldest of all the doctors that I consulted with. Dr Hong examined my eyes and said I definitely need ptosis and that would be the main method to fix my eyelid asymmetry as I use my right eyebrow more than the left side to open up my eyes. Dr Hong said he would excise very little skin, and my old scars would fade after a few months -to a year. Dr Hong also told me I need to do eyebrow exercises after surgery to train my eyes to open them without using my eyebrows. He said he didn’t want me to do botox anymore to correct my eyebrow assymetry. Botox, in his opinion should be the last resort if I still used my eyebrows (esp RS) to open my eyes. Dr. Hong performed some eye tests with me covering one eye. He said my right eye is my dominant eye. Dr. Hong also said he would reposition the existing fat in my eyelids to improve the sunken areas. At times, Dr Hong, interrupted me when I was asking questions and didn’t fully answer my questions. I found this to be a little rude. Probably due to his old age..lol. Dr. Hong said my case was difficult, but he would try his best. He said my eyes would look better than now, but just not perfect. The fact that Dr. Hong did some different eye tests than other doctors, stressed ptosis correction and said botox should only be used as the last resort, made me want to consider Dr. Hong for my surgery. I really didn't want to do botox every few months to correct my asymmetrical eyebrows and higher RS eyelid crease. SoonPlus Dr Kim recommended non- incisional ptosis. Dr Kim said he cannot lower the crease or remove the scar without cutting out skin, so he didn’t really recommend revision DES for me. Non-incisional ptosis is Dr. Kim’s specialty. I decided to pass on Soon Plus. There were no patients waiting, but one did walk in as I was leaving. This eerily reminded me of the last clinic where I did my failed revision DES. There were hardly any patients at that clinic either. Soonplus was the only clinic who told me in advance that there would be a 10,000 won charge for the consultation. IVE I arrived 15 min late to my appointment. I did message the consultant and let her know I was running 15 minutes late. When I arrived Dr. Jang was consulting with another patient. Dr Jang recommended non-incisional ptosis, but said it could loosen. Dr Jang agreed that I didn’t have enough eyelid skin left to do incision and excision to lower my crease and remove my scars. Dr. Jang said there was not much he could do to improve my current scars. I noticed Dr Jang repeatedly looking at the clock behind me, after my 5-10 minute consultation with him. I found this kind of rude and I think he was signaling his consultant to rush the consultation. The consultant led me out of the room and gave me the quote. I left feeling unsatisfied with the consultation and rushed feeling. Garosu I added this clinic and Dr. Jang to my list, because I heard he was popular among locals for eyes.Dr. Jang was nice and friendly to talk to and ask questions. He Recommended 2 options. Option #1 Nonincisional ptosis and leave my current scar and line where it is. Nonincisional ptosis will lower the eyelid crease, but not significantly. Option # 2 Incisional and small excision for lowering the crease and removing the scars. But because I didn't have much skin to cut out, Dr. Jang said he cannot lower the crease too much. Dr. Jang said I need to continue to do botox and train my eyebrows not to use them for opening my eyes. Although, I liked Dr. Jang, he seemed rushed at the end. A nurse beckoned him and he abruptly left the consultation. My consultant and I were left waiting in the consultation room for him to come back, but he didn’t return even after 30 min or so. So I guess that was the end of the consultation. In the end it felt rushed and I didnt get a chance to have a final conclusion with meeting Dr. Jang. I asked the consultant and she told me he can do up to 10 eye surgeries a day. I found that number to be too many Even though some are minor eye surgeries, like lateral or epi only, which the consultant said only takes 30 minutes. I thought the doctor may rush during my surgery as well, since he has so many on his schedule that day. I had to rule out Dr. Jang/Garuso for this reason. JW A couple days later,I decided to consult with JW at the last minute, because I know they are popular with locals and I still wasn’t sure of the other drs and clinics that I had consulted with so far. I really wanted to consult with Dr. Hong Lim Choi, but as usual, this doctor’s consultations were booked out for weeks. I had tried to consult with Dr. Hong Lim Choi in 2016, but back then, the JW consultant canceled my appointment with him because I didn’t leave a deposit for surgery. The consultant said that without a deposit, I would not be able to have surgery with him during my short trip to Korea (~14 days) during their peak season. The consultant recommended Dr. Hong Dae Kang (Hong “DK”) for this time around. I was able to get an appointment with him the very next day. Dr Hong DK recommended ptosis with incisional DES. Dr. Hong DK said I didn’t have enough skin to lower my crease by much. When I asked Dr. Hong DK, he said he would try his best, but he didn’t know how well my eyelids would turn out. I could tell that Dr Hong DK was not very confident with my case and he definitely didn’t know how well my revision surgery would turn out. JW quoted me the most out of all the clinics coming in at a little over 7 million won. I took that as a sign that he didn’t really want my case, as it was a little complicated. IOU I consulted with IOU on my first day of consultations. I had very high hopes for IOU, since a few other girls in the chat group also went there. A couple of them also went there for high crease lowering and were mostly satisfied with their results. Caveat a couple of them have not updated me with their results recently, so I’m not sure how satisfied they are now. I had already emailed Dr. Kang my pictures, so he already knew what to expect. Upon the FTF consultation, Dr Kang was very confident and said he could improve my scars, lower my high crease and make my eyes look better overall by 70-80%. Dr Kang was the only doctor who actually provided %’s on his own, without me even asking. Dr. Kang said he would not excise the scar, but would do scar revision inside the eyelid. I’m not familiar with his surgical method and couldn't really understand this method. But he assured me that after 6 months to 1 year post-op, the scar would look much better than my existing scar. Please see the attachment below which describes his method. Dr. Kang emailed me this. The consultant showed me several before and after photos similar to my case. There were several monitors in the waiting room, with before and after pictures of Dr. Kang’s eye surgeries. Dr. Kang said he didn’t really think I needed ptosis, but would do ptosis adjustment only if necessary during the actual surgery. Dr. Kang said he would reposition the fat in my eyelids and do additional fat grafting , if necessary to address my sunken eyelids. Dr. Kang also said he could do medial canthoplasty. This is lowering of the middle of my eyes. I was very skeptical, as all the other clinics which I asked said I was not a good candidate for any canthoplasty procedure because my eyes were already weakened. In the end, I decided to rule out medial canthoplasty as I felt it would be risky in my case. One thing which also made me very hopeful for IOU, was that whenever I visited IOU before my surgery ( which was a few times), the waiting room was always busy and full of locals. There were patients there for treatment, and new prospective patients consulting. On average, I saw 6 or more patients daily at any given time. IOU seemed very busy and popular for a one doctor clinic.The consultant said the current month was much slower than January. I wondered how much busier the busy months could be. Although, I was leaning towards IOU, I hesitated choosing them for a few days, because Dr. Kang was the only doctor (besides Duhan) that didn’t really recommend ptosis correction, which I thought could fix my eye asymmetry, esp the right side overuse of my eyebrows. I asked for a second consultation with Dr. Kang to ask him about ptosis. I wanted ptosis to definitely be corrected as part of the surgery and not decided on during surgery, which was Dr. Kang’s original proposal. After the second consultation with Dr. Kang,, the consultant wanted to charge me more for definite ptosis procedure. I was very discouraged hearing about the upcharge. I thought about choosing Dr. Hong of BIO instead. I asked the IOU consultant again and she finally agreed that Dr. Kang would do the surgery at my original quote, and include ptosis. Decision My decision came down to either Dr. Hong at BIO or Dr. Kang at IOU, because those were the only two doctors who could do my surgery without cutting out much skin or fat. Pricewise, the highest was JW at 7.1 million won and second highest was IOU (4-5 million). The other clinics charges were generally between 3.5 - 4.5 million. Price was not my motivating factor. I would gladly pay a little more for a confident doctor than go for the cheapest quote. I decided on Dr. Kang at IOU, because he had the most confidence, in his words “70%-80% improvement” in my case. Also, I saw many patients before and after photos at IOU. Some had high creases like mine and were lowered nicely. I asked the consultant and Dr. Kang a couple times after my surgery if I needed a ptosis or other adjustment before I left. (Dr. Hong of BIO said he would do an adjustment if necessary) But whenever I saw Dr Kang after surgery, for a brief checkup, he was very confident that my results would turn out well. He told me I need to allow enough time to see my results, at least 6 months - 1 year. I am currently almost 3 weeks post-op. Right now, my eyes are still swollen and bruised. my crease is still slightly asymmetrical and a little too high for my liking. As IOU requested, I messaged them my pictures at 2 weeks post-op, and Dr Kang said my eyes would take much longer to see the final result and I need to be patient. I really hope this will be my last DES surgery! I encourage anyone reading this to do your own research and due diligence. Do Face to face consultations with the Doctor. Don’t rely too much on the consultant or other patients results only. Feel how confident the doctor is with your case. Ask a lot of questions. My case was complicated compared to most revision DES, so the doctor that was not confident in my case, May still be confident with your DES. Please Do NOT read my experience with any doctor I mention above as an indicator that particular doctor is not skilled. Each person's case is different. Good luck with your research and your DES surgery.

If you had surgery in S korea and your results ended up really bad. For instance, after rhinoplasty you have breathing issues, facial asymmetry or worse you got skin treatment but your face gets ruined. I searched a lot and was told it is hard to sue korean doctors and I just want to let you know that is not true, they have consumer policies and the below websites should help you get compensation. The Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency is available by calling (02) 1670-3545 or visiting www.k-medi.or.kr, while the Korea Consumer Agency can be reached by dialing 1372 or visiting www.kca.go.kr.

It should be OK a few days after surgery, and I've known a few people who had it with no problems just check with the doctor. Also, if the surgery has a skin clinic has a skin clinic too then they might be able to throw it in for free. This is one of the most common treatments in Korea so the vast majority of skin clinics can do it. I'm guessing the cost based on your moles will be 80,000 to 120,000+ won BLS Clinic, Tox N Fill, Oracle, Leaders, Araumdaum Nara, and Renewme are some common clinics and some have multiple branches. Aftercare is very important after mole removal. The clinic will give you this sticky dermal patches that you need to wear on the area. You should avoid getting your face wet for a week, and leave them on for a 1 to 2 weeks. If they fall off, replace them. These are specially treated and designed to reduce scarring.

hi everyone, i thought i’d talk about my consultation journey to help out others thinking about surgery as I found all these threads massively helpful! My goal is to get my surgeries done in Korea in early 2021 as travel doesn’t seem possible this year. Though it’s early to get consultations, I have a long list and lots of time, so I thought — might as well! it’s going to be LONG, sorry. I plan on creating a separate thread once I finally get my surgery done, so this will be a consultation thread only. I will continue to add as I get more consultations and sort out my thoughts and thought it would be interesting and helpful for anyone interested in these clinics. ** update as of 12/28/2020: You'll notice my mind going back and forth a lot, LOL. Better safe than sorry when it comes to something as big as surgery, right? I've edited it as much as I could to improve clarity as well as any glaring grammatical errors. ** BACKGROUND INFO Early 20s, East Asian female interested in primary DES + primary Rhino highly likely getting: forehead fat graft, masseter botox as well as partial buccal fat removal (as of 12/28/20) DES: incision method + ptosis correction (have monolids with lots of fat on eyelids) Rhino: higher nose bridge, slimmer + less bulbous alars and tip most likely silicone for bridge and septal cartilage for tip My eyes are really weak, one eyebrow is significantly higher than the other because I keep raising them up because of the lack of power my eyes have. It also emphasizes the uneven sizes between my eyes, as the one with more strength is also the one with less fat on my eyelid, making the difference in size really obvious, especially when I smile. This causes a lot of strain on my eyebrows and my forehead, and I find myself constantly forcing myself to relax my eyes because it causes me to get minor headaches. I was very hesitant on getting DES as I have an acquaintance who did their eyes here in America and ended up with the dreaded sausage eyes. As I have a lot of fat on my eyelids, I knew for sure I would have to go with the incision method, which has a higher rate of getting sausage eyes. However, the problems I mentioned above just led to me to deciding on getting DES. I will note that I am relatively proficient in Korean. However, I did tell them I was a foreigner (which they probably would’ve known anyways as I’m sure I made some minor grammatical mistakes), so I’m not too sure how much sway I had. Here are the clinics I consulted/plan on consulting: Wannabe Dr. Jin Premium Nose Clinic Cocoline Premier Item 1mm Luho (Previously known as Yonsei First) Marble Illumi WANNABE - Kakao Consult (in English) Like everyone says, Wannabe was very prompt in their replies to me and had perfect English. They recommended me to get the incision method and ptosis correction with an in out line, as I mentioned I wanted a very natural line. Thanks to them, I realized how badly I needed the ptosis correction. They also said I should get short nose correction, hump removal (I didn’t even know I had a hump?! I looked at the photo again, and it’s VERY VERY slight), alarplasty and an increased nose bridge. They recommended silicone, but said using cartilage was possible, but that they would need to see me in person. Initially, I had no intentions of going for silicone, as I noticed they tended to require a revisional rhino after, so hearing that made me reassured. They quoted me around 6 mil won for both rhino and my eyes. However, someone in the Kakao group I’m in noted that those were the exact quotes they had given them, so I assume they just have a baseline price and then adjust it when you actually have a face to face consultation. DR. JIN - Email Consult (in English) Dr. Jin was on my list for a while; he has bunch of credentials and I liked how he personally replied to me. He was also speedy in his reply and suggested using septal and rib cartilage for a higher nose bridge, mild alarplasty, and refining my tip with possible fat removal and cartilage reduction. I asked how high my nose bridge could be without being too unnatural, and he said that making it too high wouldn’t be harmonious with my face but that he can make it relatively high with rib. He quoted me 10k USD (yes, USD) which was mind boggling. I also began to read some negative reviews and that made me cross him off the list. COCOLINE - Facebook Consult (ENG) They were hard to reach. They read my FB messages relatively fast (I couldn’t find their Kakao) but replied HOURS later, but it could be due to the fact that I messaged them in English. They quoted me 5 mil won for my nose, and straight up said I would need to use silicone for my nose only. They recommended surgery for my nose tip and alarplasty as well as my nose bridge. So far, all clinics said the same thing, except Wannabe added both the short nose correction + hump removal. I am hesitant and will probably still visit them after for a face to face consultation as they are famous in Korea for their noses. I was very surprised that they suggested silicone as they are known for their autologous cartilage rhinos, but my nose is VERY flat lol. NAMU PS - Kakao Straight up ignored me LMAO. They didn’t read my messages, and honestly I’m not too miffed because I only reached out since other people in the Kakao reached out. PREMIER - Kakao (KRN) Another clinic I saw on the app; it seems to be pretty famous for eyes. They are having a summer event where the incision method is only around 890 thousand won (!?!!) which made me realize just how much more they charge for foreigners. They were very speedy in their replies, but I noticed after messaging them that they have an English website and offer consultations through Whatsapp (which I don’t have). I was curious how they would quote me after having a conversation with them in Korean and then telling them I was a foreigner. I asked if it would be possible to get a natural in out line (I mentioned Red Velvet’s Irene LMAO), as when I use double eyelid tape, the line gets very thick and makes me look weird. I asked if the line I get with double eyelid tape is the only line possible with my eyes, or if the line I want is possible. I also asked if I could participate in their events/promotions even though I was a foreigner. They basically said it’s hard for them to answer my questions completely accurately through just photos, and asked if I could come in for an in person consultation. They said I could participate in their promotional events as I hold dual citizenship in Korea (so I guess that’s the criteria), and without any events, typical base price for the incision method would be close to 1 million won but that the price would depend on what the doctor ultimately says as well as the level of difficulty of the surgery. They were very kind and polite and even told me to contact them again when I arrive in Korea, which made them place way higher on my list! ITEM - Kakao (KRN/ENG) I'll be honest, I got quite lazy and just copy pasted what I Kakao-ed Premier in Korean but I stated that I'm slightly more comfortable in English, so we had a mostly English conversation but there was some Korean, as an FYI. They said my eyes were big! (A lie. But it made me feel good LMAO) They were very prompt and kind in their replies to me. They recommended the incisional method and said it was too hard to tell right now if I needed ptosis correction. For nose, they said if I wanted a higher nose bridge, I would need to use silicone (T___T) and would reduce my bone base (Osteotomy) as I have a wide base (I have to look up what this means.. LOL). They also said they would use my septum cartilage to make my columella and tip, but stated that if I didn't have enough cartilage, I would need to use donor. They also were concerned about reducing my alars too much, for breathing functions. They said that I wouldn't be able to participate in promotional events unless I could speak Korean, so I guess I'll have to find out if I do a face to face. I'm very hesitant because so far it seems as though silicone is inevitable, and while I did like how specific they were in telling me what specific procedures they suggested, it seems as though all the rhinoplasty inquiries I have asked about have given me different suggestions -- generally a higher nose bridge and a slimmer tip are the consensus, but there are little different things all clinics so far have suggested. They quoted me 1.85 million won for incisional DES (no ptosis or anything), and rhinoplasty overall would cost 4.6 million won. So far, I am primarily interested in Premier and Wannabe. I think I'll have to make a face to face consultation with Cocoline before I finalize my thoughts. I also think I might be able to get some leverage with a F2F, since I was able to communicate fine with Premier in all Korean. I am still continuing to decide whether I want to do silicone or rib as they both have their pros and cons, and I might ask if I could do just tip plasty + alar instead. I am not interested in Item as I do not like how they suggested that I may need a donor, when I'm already very hesitant against silicone.

Hi all, I have been thinking about plastic surgery since October 2019 and been researching for a few months now. Originally, my plan was to go in May 2020 but things changed and now I have 3.5 weeks left before my trip. By the way, I dont get any discount for writing this because my trip not even start yet and I haven't talked to any clinic in person yet, so, plz don't. Today, I decided to write this post to begin sharing my journey and hopefully it can help some people. I know there are fake reviews everywhere, thats why I decided to start this topic early and will update frequently. This is also my one and only review on the Internet. I am in a few Kakaotalk group chats and I use my Kakao ID as my display name here, so feel free to add me in Kakaotalk if you want. Also looking for PS buddies as I will be travel alone and may be we can support each other through the tough healing process. In October, when I got so hype about the idea of getting PS, I watched shit load of PS reviews on Youtube and as a result I ended up to contact a medical tour agency through email. They replied me, suggested 4 big names that I believe everyone knows : Banobagi, ID, View, Cinderella. None of them ended up in my shortlist though and main reasons are: big factory type of hospitals, rumors of shadow doctors, botches stories or just being expensive. After few days of researches I decided not to go with a medical tour agency or any agent because: I ve been to SK twice, it is easy to travel around with subway system, many clinics got English translators/consultants, and simply I can get cheaper quote if i go direct to clinics plus going with agent will limited your choice. Later on, I went on Purse Forum, Kakao, Realself etc.. and online consulted with over 30 clinics. I changed my mind a lot in the first month of researching because everyday I will discover more reviews (both fake and real lol) and more clinics. I think talking with people on Kakao and seeing their real results day by day had the most impact on my shortlisted clinics. Also get a lot of tips to prepare for consults, surgeries and recover from people there so I suggest if you dont have Kakaotalk yet, install it and join some of these group chats. A bit about me, I never have any PS before so this will be my first trip. I have a slight hump on my nose, bulbous tip and my alar a bit wide. My eyelids are thin line and not even, left side drop a bit over my lashes. Face wise, I dont have super big cheekbone but my lower jaw is a bit square, nerves seem to be low, also have double chin and lot of fat on my face. I was supposed to lose some weight before the trip in May but now I have only 3 weeks so chin lipo is a must. What kind of procedures Im looking at and aesthetic style: - Eyes: double eyelids, dolly and outline style, want permenant result, dont want epi but lower cantho and may be lateral if dr said ok. - Nose: prefer no silicone, natural style with a slight curve on the bridge, dont want osteotomy if possible but might need hump removal. - FC: dont want zygoma, want natural result, no pointy chin, prefer less aggressive method if possible, chin lipo. Now let's get to the main point of today - my shortlisted clinics, their specialities and quotes. 1- The Face Dental (10% VAT not included): Speclised in Double Jaw, V-line, Genio, Zygoma. Aesthetic style: Natural Reasons I consider TFD : 1.Haven't heard of any botch from dr Lee yet. 2. Price for V-line is very reasonable. 3. Dr. Lee is high skilled and ethical at the same time = safe. 4. 1 doctor : 1 in house anesthesiologist = safe. Online quotes: 4.4 - 6.6mil V-line, 2mil dissolvable pin, 2mil chin lipo and muscles reduction. Note: He doesnt do eyes and nose, only face contour. He runs his own Kakao chat and you can consult with him directly there. Some of his media platforms and his website might be run by a lady name Olivia and don't go through her, she is a bit not clear about the price since she will take commision. 2- Wannabe ( 10% VAT not included): Specialised: not sure Aesthetic style: Natural Reasons I consider : 1. Havent seen any botch. 2. Price in general is reasonable. 3. Small clinic, seems to be popular among locals Online quotes: - Mini V-line 6mil, Full V-line 6.5mil - Primary DES start from 2.1mil, Ptosis 0.6mil, Lateral Cantho 1mil, Loweing Cantho 1.3mil - Primary Rhino 3.3mil, currently has promotion for 2.65mil on Instagram - Accusculpting per area 1.5mil Note: Alice is the English consultant, she is quite nice. Claimed that they use Resorbable screw for all V-line. 3- Braun: Specialised in FC ( Dr. Kim Tae Gyu) and Rhino/revision rhino (Dr. Kim Gui Rak) Aesthetic style: I dont know Reasons I consider: 1. Real review - One person on Kakao had a revision rhino there after a big infection from previous rhino, result came out nicely. 2. Their FC techniques. Online quotes: - DES incision 3.5mil, Epi Cantho 1.5mil - Primary Rhino 7mil - Jaw reduction 6.5mil, zyg 6.2mil, mandiblar angle 6.5mil or 17mill full FC or 11mil V-line - Accusculpt laser 3mil Note: quotes are very expensive but they offered me 50% off if reservation in Oct since these quotes are from Oct. 4- Item Specialised in Eyes (Dr. Kim Jin Sung for dolly, Dr Jung for natural) Aesthetic style: depends on dr. Reasons I consider: 1. Real review - been watching someone review since consult day till now which is 3 months post op, result is on point, dr gave what she wanted. 2. B&A look a bit photoshop but look like they fix many asymetrical eyes, and my eyes are not even. Online quotes: - Incision des + ptosis + epi + lateral cantho = 4.8mil - Rhino bridge + tip + alar = 6.3mil - Jaw reduction 4.6mil - Chin implant 2.6mil, Thread lift 3.2mil Note: I didnt ask for V-line quote, only long curve mandiblar cut. Sally is the English consultant and she wont break down the price, everything price wise jsut have to discuss in f2f consult. 5- Premier: Specialised in Eyes (Dr Jang), Nose (Dr. Choi) Aesthetic style: dramatic Reasons I consider: 1. Keep hearing about dr Jang work and love their B&A eyes. 2. Found 1 patient had same nose like me and her result is what i want too . Online quotes: - someone got quote 5.5mil for primary rhino from f2f consult Note: They don't have English consultant so cannot consult online, therefore, no quote. You have to bring your own translator for f2f consult. Clinic is known among locals. 6- Naturalism: Specialised in Eyes (Dr.Go), Nose (Dr. Kim) Aesthetic style : Probably natural Reason I consider: 1. People in Kakao keep talking about it and how hard to get an appointment so I assume they are worth a try. 2. I like their natural nose style as Premier is too dramatic when Wannabe is too little change from front profile, I feel Naturalism can balance between the two. Online quotes: - the same person got quote in Premier I mentioned above came here and get 4.5mil quoted for her primary rhino Note: Same as Premier, they dont have an English consultant. I am trying to organise my consultation booking at the moment, my translator is helping with appointments at Premier and Naturalism. Flight tickets and accomodation booked and paid. Currently I am focusing on making my own questions list for consultation plus collecting photos to show doctors. I will try to update this topic after all the consultations. Thanks.

Airbnb is a common alternative to hotels, but here are some Airbnb selection tips: Try to pick ones near the clinic area (Gangnam Station, Yeoksam Station, Non-hyeon Station, Sinsa Station). Picking places around here will generally put you in 8 to 15 commute from most clinics located in the Gangnam area (depends on traffic) Try to pick places that have an elevator or are only 2 or 3 floors max stair walk if there is no elevator. If you stay in a hotel or airbnb make sure you prepare it for your recovery. Move things that you might trip on, cover up sharp corners, buy plastic covers if you think you may leak from your wound site, make sure you get plenty of pillows, so you can sleep on a 45 degree angle. You could also try a homestay with a Korean family, and let them know if you are coming for surgery. Note of Caution About Hosts Be cautious when telling a host you are coming for surgery. Although we'd like to believe in the kindness of strangers, if they suddenly become invested in your surgery details and volunteering their time to assist you, then they may actually be brokering your surgery without your knowledge. You should not disclose the names of the clinic you plan to visit until you have confirmed your final prices face to face, and have decided upon which clinic will do the surgery. If they ask clinic details before that time, then give them a random clinic name that you don't actually plan to visit. You can tell them the real clinic name after everything has been confirmed and decided upon, since it may be relevant for them to know for emergency contact purposes after your surgery. Some red flags that a host may be acting as a covert broker is if they start volunteering services that are essentially done by medical tour agencies such as planing and arranging your clinic schedule, soliciting clinic recommendations, handling your personal information with clinics, escorting you to the clinic and interpreting for you. If you want all these things then you should just simply work with an actual medical tour agency from the get go, since they'll be upfront about these services and what their role and responsibilities are.

Hi all, During the course of my research so far, I have extensively used this site to check if a doctor is certified by the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons. This post is to share how to check if a doctor is certified. There are several pointers to note: The Korean website is more updated than the English version (a few years dated). The mobile version of the Korean website allows you to search by clinic's and/or doctor's name (whereas the web version only allows you to search by doctor's name). Sometimes, the clinic's name may be spelled differently (e.g. DA Clinic may be reflected as 디에이성형외과, 디에이 성형외과 or DA성형외과). It may be better to search by doctor's name in this case. Also, sometimes when a doctor moves to a new clinic, the site may not be as updated and the doctor's name may still be reflected under the old clinic's name which he practiced at. I have attached screenshots on how to interpret the results. To search by clinic name (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/mobile/search/search_h_name.asp) To search by doctor (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/mobile/search/search_h_dr.asp) For other pointers on how to check if a doctor is certified, you may refer to the English write-up on the page (click here http://www.prskorea.co.kr/English/mobile/sub/sub_02.asphttp://www.prskorea.co.kr/English/mobile/sub/sub_02.asp). If there are no results, it means that the doctor is not certified by the board to begin with. I have updated the post as the board has recently updated their database to indicate those who were suspended because they did not pay their membership renewal fees vs other reasons. Please refer to the 3rd post on how to differentiate the results for this. Hope this is of some help.

Hi everyone. Since there isn't an official list of clinics or association/board of doctors to locate ENT (Ear, nose, throat) specialist surgeons, AKA Otolarygologists who also perform rhinoplasty for aesthetic changes besides or while also fixing functional issues, I have searched and organized this list of ENT surgeons whose clinics are located in Gangnam-gu area. The doctors/clinics in this list have been filtered out from quite a number of ENT clinics in Gangnam-gu area, as some are solely focusing on functional issues and do not do rhinoplasty. Apart from ENT clinics, I have also listed 2 plastic surgery clinics that have ENT surgeons. For clinics with korean-only websites, please use a browser like Google and use translate the website to navigate, this should work for most of the websites. As I know some of you may be conscious of which medical college/school that doctors graduate from, I've listed where possible which school some of the drs have graduated from (as long as their website profile states it, if not too bad, not sure where to dig up such info). I'm kinda lazy to type out College of Medicine, so for short I just put "Med school". i have also listed the doctors names with last name first, followed by their given name/name, since this is Asia where we go by family/last names in front of our names. Many of these clinics are more catered to locals so apart from the ones where I mention there are English speaking staff or doctors, and the 2 plastic surgery clinics which have translators on site, the rest may or may not have someone who speaks English so it would be best to hire a translator. ENT Clinics 1) Samsung Dream ENT clinic 삼성드림이비인후과의원 https://www.ssdream.co.kr Korean and Chinese website. Samsung dream has 2 clinics in the Gangnam-gu area - near Gangnam station and Samseong station. The other branches are elsewhere in Seoul and ine in Gyeonggi-do. Gangnam branch has 4 ENT doctors, and Samseong branch has 2 ENT doctors. Gangnam branch: Fine Tower (화인타워) Level 5. Located near Gangnam Station Exit 4. Samseong branch: Samheung Building (삼흥빌딩) Level 5 (building is across the road from hyundai dept store). Located within walking distance from Samseong station Exit 4. 2) Fresh Rhinoplasty and Aesthetic surgery clinic 상쾌한이비인후과의원 http://magicnose.co.kr This is another ENT clinic that does rhino as well. Also has branches in other parts of Korea. Main branch is somewhere near Yangjae station in Gangnam-gu. They have an English and Chinese website, so view it on a PC browser as it requires Flash player to work. Click on "rough map" under the "medical information" tab on their english website to find their exact location. Main branch at Yangjae has 6 ENT doctors (head dr is Dr Ahn Tae Hwan), and one dermatologist. They've got quite a lot of B&As on their website too. Main location: Starclass Building (극동스타클래스빌딩) Level 2, 3. Walking distance from Yangjae Station Exit 4. 3) Barroco Nose Clinic 바로코의원 http://baroko.co.kr Only korean website It's a 1 doctor ENT clinic, located near Gangnam station Exit 10 (should be short walk down from where Namu is located). Dr's name is Kim Jun, profile stated he was previously at O&Young PS, with 16 years of experience. This ENT doctor seems to do a bit more dramatic results compared to others. Location: Daedong Building (대동빌딩/大同빌딩) Level 12. Short walk from Gangnam station Exit 10. Building has an Espoir and The Face Shop outlet on the 1st level. 4) Nplus clinic 앤플러스의원 http://wwww.nplusclinic.com Korean and Chinese website available. It's a 1 doctor ENT clinic, near Apgujeong station Exit 4. Dr Yoon Hyun Cheol here is also an ENT surgeon who used to be at Navi PS (for nose surgery) and Severance hopsital ENT dept. Graduated from Yonsei University Med school. One unusual thing about this clinic is that Dr Yoon also does double eyelid surgeries and aesthetic surgeries like botox, paranasal implants, fillers and facial fat grafting. Location: NEOS Building (NEOS/네오스빌딩) Level 6. Short walk down from Apgujeong station Exit 4. Building is located 2 blocks after passing JK Plastic surgery's golden building; NEOS Building has a Vietnamese restaurant Văn Lang on the first level. 5) It's B plastic surgery otolarygology clinic (잇츠비 성형외과 이비인후과) http://www.its-b.co.kr Korean website only 1 doctor ENT clinic, located near Sinnonhyeon Station exit 6. Dr Jang Hyeong jun was previously from Shimmian, Wonjin and Conopi ENT nose surgery departments. Location: 강남 태영 데시양루브 Level 2 (no idea how to translate the builidng name to proper English, it's something like Gangnam Taeyong Desiang Lubeu?). Building is short walk down from Sinnonhyeon station exit 6, and has a Magnum Seoul and Minigold shop on Level 1. 6) Conopi clinic (코노피의원) http://www.conopi.co.kr Korean and Chinese website 1-doctor ENT clinic, located in Sinsa-dong Apgujeong area. Dr Jung Taeyong is an ENT specialist at Sinchon Severance hospital, and alumni of Yonsei Uni med school. Ex-Apgujeong Seoul PS surgeon and Ex-ID Hospital surgeon (probably a long time ago when it was known by Park Sang Hoon [head director at ID] Plastic Surgery before renaming to ID hospital). Location: 136 Apgujeong-ro, Gangnam-gu, Level 5. (강남구 압구정로 136) Building has shop/petshop called Cherry Cat on level 1. 10 mins walking distance along Apgujeong-ro main road from Apgujeong station Exit 5. 7) Yonsei Coen ENT Clinic/Coen Clinic (연세코앤 이비인후과) http://www.coenclinic.com 3 doctors, all ENT trained (2 of which graduated from Yonsei Uni med school, head dr is from Ajou Uni med school) Location: Changlim Building (창림빌딩) Level 3. Building has a Tous les Jours cafe on level 1. Walking distance from Gangnam Station exit 11. 8)Dr Jin's Premium nose clinic (닥터진 이비인후과 의원) https://doctorjinent.modoo.at Korean website but has English descriptions as well. 2 ENT surgeons, head surgeon Dr Jin Hong-Ryul and Dr Yi Jongsook (lady dr). Dr Jin is alumni of Seoul National Uni (SNU) med school, visiting scholar of University of Virginia, renown ENT professor. Based on my prior visit to his clinic in May (for mum's bad flu and not rhinoplasty, his clinic was recommended by our hotel concierge staff), Dr Jin is also very fluent in English and friendly. Dr Yi was from University of Ulsan's Med school, also visiting scholar at 2 US hospitals. She is friendly but does not speak English well (from my memory). Location: K Tower Level 2. Short walk from Sinsa station Exit 5. Building is a glassy building has a dal.komm coffee cafe on level 1, and is just beside a building with a huge Panasonic billboard. 9) Cocoline clinic (코코리인의원) http://www.cocoline.co.kr Korean, English and Chinese website 2 ENT surgeons here, Dr Kim Tae Hwan and Dr Kim Seon Gu, both were previously from ID Hospital, and are Yonsei University med sch alumni. Based on my consult experience with Dr Kim Tae Hwan, he can speak some English but is not so fluent and appears more comfortable speaking Korean. I'm not sure about Dr Kim Seon Gu. Location: 579 Sinsa-dong Level 5. About 5 mins walk down along main road (Apgujeong-ro) from Apgujeong Station Exit 5. Building location is quite discreet, on the main road, walk till zebra crossing just before Hyundai Oilbank gas station, and turn left. Building is just behind the one with Hana bank and some Udon takeout eatery. 10) Hanabi rhinoplasty clinic (하나비의원) http://hanabiclinic.com Multiple languages available on website 1-doctor ENT clinic, located just outside Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 5. Dr Chang Geun-Uck, was previously at Shimmian Rhinoplasty Clinic. Dr Chang speaks fluent English (although not as fluent as Dr Jin but good enough to have a smooth consultation with him). In-house English translator available. Location: Chunglim Building (충림빌딩) Level 9. Just outside Sinnonhyeon station Exit 5. Building has Shinhan bank signboard on it. Plastic surgery clinics with ENT surgeons (non-ENT based clinics) The 2 clinics I list here currently do not have a very positive reputation among some people due to past scandals or some beef that some ex-patients had with them (Google it and you will find out). However, since they have ENT surgeons in their list of doctors, I shall still include them here. 1) GNG Plastic surgery hospital (지앤지병원) http://www.gnghospital.com/en/ Website has multiple languages. Plastic surgery hospital that started out as ENT hospital. Multiple doctors, with a few ENT surgeons. Most notable doctors for rhino among foreign patients are Dr Hong Seong-Mun and Dr Seong Yong-Hae. Dr Hong was previously from Cinderella PS and Dr Seong was from Wonjin. Both are ENT surgeons. Location: 626, Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu. GNG has its own building, located beside Lamborghini building. Short walk from Bongeunsa station Exit 3. 2) Cinderella Plastic Surgery (신데렐라 성형외과) http://globalcindy.com http://cindyclinic.com (korean website) Website has multiple languages. Cinderella has 3 ENT surgeons (strangely 1 dr on the korean website does not appear on the list of drs on the global site, I think he's a new hire) - Dr Park Shin hong, Dr Kim Taeman, Dr Hong Seok Jung. Dr Park is alumni of Sungkyunkwan University Med School, and was formerly from Regen PS. Dr Kim is alumni of Yonsei University Med school, and Dr Hong is alumni of Seoul National Uni (SNU) med school. Location: ARA Tower (아라타워) Level 4. Short walk from Gangnam Station Exit 9. Building has a MegaBox theatre signboard.

Yes, Myeongdong near the Chinese Embassy has very good rates. Other than that your next best bet are banks for conveience, but rates won't be good. Banks in Korea close by 4PM on weekdays.

Disclaimer: This is a general guide to anaethestics and what is generally used. I'm not a doctor, please seek profressional advics in regards to your own health and suitability to under any anaethestics of any kind. I simply work in field that gives me this knowledge. TABLE OF CONTENT: I will link to different posts when they become relevant so people dont get lost seeking specific information. 1. POST ONE: Types of Anaethestics 2. POST TWO: The importance of following pre operation instructions. Anaesthetics 101: What exactly is Anaethetics? According to webdictonary Anaethetics is 'a substance that induces insensitivity to pain.' Its a pharmaceutical substance in which is directly injected into your veins or inhaled. This thread hopefully can impart some knowledge of anaethestics and the importance of pre-operative, post operative care. Types of Anaethestics: •Gas: The simplest form of inhaled sedation drug. Commonly known as sevo gas or nitric oxide. Simply known to most as laughing gas to most. It is used for induction of surgery. The half life of those gases are only 15seconds. It wont take away your pain, but distracts you and relaxes you so that they can insert a cannula. Gas form of anesthesia isnt common for the duration of the surgery as its too unpredictable. Rather it is used to help calm the patient and allow them to feel relaxed. It leaves the body when you exhale. •Twilight sedation or Sedation Twilight sedation is simply sedation. It is used so the patient can be conscious but also like a trance. Its a state where you're awake but not aware. Most common sedation medication is known as Midazolam. Half life of midazolam is approx 1.5hours to 2.5hours. The common side effect of such drugs is grogginess, headaches, dizziness and memory loss in the period that the medication is used. If twilight sedation is used, the patient should be breathing on their own and can protect their own airway. Thus reducing the need to be 'intubated' or having a breathing tube down. •Blocks or Local Anaesthetic Another form of anaethestic is just using a nerve block or spinal block for the surgery. It means the patient will be fully concious and aware of their surroundings during surgery. The medication is injected directly into the nerve and should completely numb the area. This is not often foolproof and upon wearing off. Can cause pins and needles sensation. Spinal blocks are commonly used to paralyse the patient from the waist down in order for surgeons to perform surgery. However, it can cause cause permanent paralysis if not correctly administered. There's also simple local anaesthetic that surgeons use intraoperative by directly injecting to operative site. Some of them contain adrenaline which in small doses in healthy adults be no problem. But those with underlying heart conditions should be mindful of. •General Anaesthetic: Often associated with what Michael Jackson got for sleep. Medication of choice is generally propofol. Half life is 2 to 24hours. However actual pharmacological effect peaks at 2min mark, and effective for only 5 to 10minutes. It puts you to complete sleep, and makes you unconscious. A side effect of this, is it causes respiratory depression. In which you don't breathe enough or deep enough to maintain optimal oxygen level in your body. Thus, patients undergoing GA usually will have a breathing tube, and will be connected up to a ventilator (machine that gives calculated breaths). However, you may still move some of your muscles in your chemically induced sleep. Much like natural sleep. Common side effects are dizziness, nausea, grogginess, headaches etc. Some are known to 'shiver' post anaesthestics, as their bodies try to get rid of the medication from your system. These are the most common form of anaethestics. There are some that used combination of GA with local infiltration by surgeon or can give twilight sedation to start off. But then put into deeper sleep by general anaesthetics.

Researching Plastic Surgery in Korea? Welcome to Beauty Hacker. We are a community of rational and informed decision makers. We are a drama free community that promotes sound and reasonable thinking for complex financial and medical decisions in Korea. Join our forum and get advice from past & current patients going to Korea We made this forum because other forums are not managed or focussed on surgery have have too many fake accounts / reviews We also have some chat groups below Our forum does not work or load in Korea. This is done to block disinformation spread by aggressive clinics. THERE IS A LOT OF FAKE INFORMATION OUT THERE ESPECIALLY ON FORUMS ABOUT PURSES One important thing you need to understand is if you are basing your research on a forum about purses, then you need to know that most of that information there is fake. Korean clinics and PR agencies employ armies of English speaking Koreans to fabricate 1000's of fake reviews and online personas about plastic surgery. This is why we made Beauty Hacker Beauty Hacker is 100% Blocked in Korea, and we are a community of experienced foreign patients who seek real information and our admin group is composed of programmers, research analysts, language experts, hackers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, artists and psychologists. This is so we develop a community that is well rounded in both information and security. These are chat groups where we share information and support for others planning to go to Korea for surgery. Download Kakao App: iOS | Android Kakao CHAT LINK: Eyes & Nose Kakao CHAT LINK: Facial Contouring To get the chat password / code: Step 1: Make an account on Beauty Hacker (this forum) Step 2: Sign into the forum click the below link and PM the admin to request chat pass code: https://beautyhacker.com/messenger/compose/?to=1 YOU MUST MAKE A MINMUM OF 3 POSTS ON OUR FORUM TO JOIN CHATS EXAMPLES: Introducing yourself and your goals Asking or answering questions travel, beauty, etc... Responding to some else's posts

Firstly, I will note that I am relatively fluent in Korean. However, here are some things that I compiled to make your trip easier, both surgery related and other random tidbits that I personally didn't see online! Note that some of these things are COVID/quarantine specific, so some advice may seem/become outdated. Note that I haven't had any bone shaving/cutting surgery, so I can't give tips regarding those things. Some people have reached out to me thinking I got zygoma or vline, etc, and I just want to state that I have not gotten any of those procedures and will not get them in the future either. - Post OP review (Primary DES/Rhino/Forehead FG) - Consultation Journey QUARANTINE TIPS First, book your airbnb in advance ( a month ahead if you can). I was able to save the PDF with the address (which was disclosed to me in advance because I booked it so early), which was massively helpful for filling out the quarantine forms as I had an address to put down. I did have to mention that I would be quarantining in a government facility, but it wasn’t annoying at all. Also, before you book, make sure to ask the host if they’re okay with being your point of contact at the airport, especially if you’re landing at an odd hour. I landed at 5 AM, which meant my clinic would be closed, so I made sure to ask my host before I booked the trip and also sent her a reminder the day before. Don’t take my word for it, but it seems that the quarantine rate is 1.68 mil. I budgeted 2 mil just in case, but it seems that 1.68 is the standard. I used the service CallnVan to book a private taxi out of quarantine as I was on a time crunch and wanted to get out ASAP, and it was very simple to use. The Google Translate works fine on their website, but they do not disclose the driver’s information until 24-48 hours before your drive. If you need to disclose that information to your hotel earlier (like I did), you can contact them and ask to have that information sent a bit earlier. You pay directly to the taxi driver, and they prefer cash but they also take card. TRANSPORTATION Secondly, I don’t really think it’s super important to book extremely close to your clinic, though of course that would be the most convenient. My airbnb was in Gangnam but a different neighborhood, so it was roughly ~25-30 minutes to get to my clinic. I think as long as you’re within 25-30 minutes away from your clinic, you’ll be fine. However, it didn’t really bother me and I got around just fine. Plus, it’s an easy way to get your steps in. Also, it’s incredibly easy to navigate the transportation system in Korea. I personally used Naver Maps, but I know a lot of people also like Kakao Maps. The taxis are also easy to call. You can just hail one from the street (if it says 빈차, that means the car is empty and you can raise your hand for it to come to you), but you can also call using Kakao Taxi and pay with your Tmoney card (that you can recharge at convenience stores or subway stops, and it can only be recharged with cash). Obviously, you will need a Korean phone number for this. THINGS TO BUY Buy a bucket hat! If you’re getting fat grafting, buy one with a huge brim so that even when it’s angled, it’s partially covering your face. I brought one and bought one while I was in Korea, and really liked the one I bought (though it’s ugly af) because the brim had a wire that I could use to adjust the front, which made it much easier to hide my eyes. Buy or bring some cleansing pads so that your skin is still looking nice as you recover. I went to Olive Young before my surgery and bought the cheapest blotting sheets, cleansing pads from Round Lab (highly recommend), and cotton pads to use to put on my toner and lotion. I only had one pimple that formed (on my nose), and the cleansing pads felt really great! I also bought qtips and used them to apply ointment, clean my nose, and also to clean my eyes from any gunk in the morning. The best thing I bought were reusable straws from Daiso. I had a couple days before my surgery date to look around Seoul, and bought a 5 pack of reusable metal straws from Daiso for roughly 2 dollars USD. It’s incredibly helpful, especially when you shouldn’t really be looking down. For the first couple days, it was hard to clean my mouth after brushing my teeth so I literally had to fill a cup with water and suck it up through the straw to spit the toothpaste out. Disgusting, but no one else has talked about this so I thought it would be helpful to mention. Also, when I went (late May-mid June), there were quite a few days where it rained. My airbnb had a lot of umbrellas, but keep that in mind and pack some light long sleeves and jackets, as well as big loose pants and long dresses, especially if you’re getting fg! I only brought one jacket and really regretted it. It's also disgustingly humid. I powered through and still went out nearly every day, but if you'd rather get your steps in at night, you can do that too. BUY GAUZE AND SURGICAL TAPE. I completely forgot to and constantly woke up throughout the night my first night because blood kept dripping down my nose and I straight up looked monsterous. These will save your life the first few days of rhino. GENERAL ADVICE It is NOT true that everyone is walking around in bandages, I honestly don’t know why people say that. I’ve seen two people total with bandaids, and both times they were at the lobby to get to the elevator to the clinic. Some people may react, but just know that you’re never going to see them and you need to get your steps in to deswell anyways. Most don’t really care though. I was a little self conscious since I was so swollen, but if you just take in stride no one else will care, as a lot of people get PS here and if you stay in Gangnam, there are tons of clinics, so they’re familiar with swollen faces haha. I stopped wearing a hat once I hit the two week mark, and it was obvious I got my eyes done but no one cared. GET A KOREAN SIM CARD. DON’T get KT’s, as it was incredibly annoying as it doesn’t work for authentication, meaning you can’t use majority of food delivery apps. If you can speak Korean, you can still directly call the restuarant and ask to have them deliver, but it’s obviously much more convenient to just be able to order delivery. Plus, they have way more coupons and deals online. You also have to have a phone number to make reservations at restaurants or to book your hair washing, plus nowadays you need to put down a number in case there was a confirmed case of COVID at a place you visited. I ended up using my phone # and calling way more frequently than I thought I would need to (I had to add more minutes actually), so I was really grateful I decided to get a SIM card instead of a pocket wifi. If you can speak or know just some words in Korean, a lot of people will appreciate it. They know you’re a foreigner, and they really like it as it’s seen as a sign of effort. I went to go get my hair washed at Juno Hair and had a very pleasant experience as they were incredibly kind and we were able to chat! They even said they wished they could see my face 2-3 months from now LOOL. Honestly, service here in Korea is really top notch and all the people I’ve met so far makes me wish I could stay here longer. You technically can get by without knowing a single word of Korean, but knowing some common words will help you out a lot! You can use Papago and endic.naver.com to look up pronunciation and more words that you think you’ll end up using frequently. 결제 = pay 현금 = cash 사후관리/사후케어/애프터케어 = aftercare 예약 = reservation 성함 = name 서명 = signature 호박즙 = pumpkin juice 쌍수 = double eyelid surgery 코수술 = nose job 무보형물 = no foreign implant 보형물 = foreign implant 여권 = passport

Hi Beauty Hackers, I have collected some articles to answer my question about what material to use in rhinoplasty. These articles are from top tier journals in plastic surgery, but you should use this as supplementary information to help you make your decision in addition to speaking with your doctor and your own personal preferences. If you don't want to wade through the language, I recommend you start with the overview by Barrett & Wang (2016). If you have more time to sort through the information, I highly recommend you read Liang et al (2018). Sincerely, Jennifer. Krzystof, Torgerson, & Gillman 2008.pdf Joo & Jang 2016.pdf Barrett & Wang 2016.pdf Liang et al 2018.pdf

Hi all, Feel free to add on to the list below. Hopefully this will come in useful for those planning for their upcoming surgeries. Cheers. 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/) For a list of pre-surgery pointers and sample consultation questions to ask, please refer to my other post. (https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1015406-pre-surgery-pointers-list-of-consultation-questions/). Packing List Notebook and pen to write notes during consultation Medical history / Drug allergies to inform clinic Button tops or loose fitting tops Electrical adapter Cotton bud / Q-tips (to apply medicine, dig nose, remove food particles for those with stitches inside mouth) Antibacterial wet wipes Lip balm (for rhino and FC as lips will get dry from breathing through the mouth) Pain relief medication Tissue paper (for running nose/teary eyes post-surgery & bleeding) Camouflage items (hoodie, sunglasses, face masks, caps) Vitamin K cream (e.g. Auriderm) (for bruising) Scar healing & reduction gel (e.g. Kelocote, Dermatix) Simple dressing set Arnica (e.g. Sineech) (for bruising) Bromelain (for swelling) Collagen powder (promotes healing) Vitamin C (promotes healing) Protein powder (if you have to be on a liquid diet) Dry shampoo Recovery Tips General Avoid spicy and high sodium food Sleep with head elevated 45 degrees for several days to minimize swelling Apply antibiotic ointment (if prescribed) to the incision site as directed Use ice packs (~10 mins on 10 mins off) for the first 3 days after surgery as often as you can to reduce swelling and bruising Do not take aspirin or any aspirin based pain medication unless approved by your surgeon Do not use scar reduction cream/gel on the incision site until the wound has fully healed No alcohol for 3 weeks as it causes fluid retention Do not smoke, as smoking delays healing and increases the risk of complications Limit your activity right after surgery (for the first 3 days) to reduce post-operative swelling and bleeding. Start walking as soon as possible from the 4th day onwards, this helps to reduce swelling and lowers the chance of blood clots Avoid activities that raise your blood pressure, including bending, lifting and rigorous sports Before you attempt to pull any dead skin, be absolutely certain that it’s not a stitch. Eye surgery-specific You can take showers from the neck down any time after your surgery. Don’t take full showers until your surgeon tells you it’s safe to do so. This is usually after stitches are out (~5 to 7 days). You may gently wash below your eyes with wipes or a soft washcloth. You can use dry shampoo for your hair. Once you can take full showers, you can wash your eyelids and shampoo your hair with mild products, such as baby shampoo. Wait at least 2 weeks before wearing contact lenses Do not apply any irritants or make-up on your eyelids or incision line for 2 weeks after the surgery Your physician may recommend Natural Tears (OTC eye drops) or OTC ophthalmic ointment or antibiotic eye drops as part of your post-op treatment. Don’t pull on your eyelids while using the eye drops. Nose surgery-specific You can take showers from the neck down any time after your surgery. Don’t take full showers until your surgeon tells you it’s safe to do so. This is usually after the nose splint and stitches are out (~7 to 10 days). For the first month after rhinoplasty, you should not rest your glasses on the bridge of your nose. Either wear contact lenses or suspend the glasses with the use of a small tape from your forehead. Bruising around your nose in your cheeks and lower eyelids is very common after this type of surgery. Numbness over your nose is also quite normal. You will slowly regain sensation over the top of your nose. But you can expect the tip to be slightly numb and “stiff” feeling for up to three months after surgery. Breathing through your nose will slowly improve after we clean your nose out at your first clinic visit. Go to bed on time. Yawning may cause you quite a bit of pain, so prevent it by getting the right amount of sleep during the proper hours. FC surgery-specific Post-Surgery 1. Keeping your head lifted up and above your chest (for at least a week) will speed up the healing process. 2. Use the ice pack for at least 3-4 days and after the 4th day, change to a hot pack. Be sure to treat both sides of the face equally. Any bruises or swelling will lessen in a week and heal after 3 weeks, so you do not have to worry. 3. After the surgery, you must abstain from food for one day. You may drink 6 hours after the surgery, and eat after 48 hours. For those with jaw or cheekbone surgery, you may eat rice porridge after going on a liquid diet (such as juice, milk, rice gruel) for a day. *Spicy or salty food: You may eat after 2 weeks; tough and chewy food after one month 4. When blood comes out of the mouth, spit it out. If you think you have swallowed too much blood or too much blood is coming out, then please contact the doctor. 5. Gargling with the disinfectant that we prescribe is very important. If you do not want any wounds or infection, you must gargle at least 10 times per day. First, gargle your mouth with water a couple of times then use the disinfectant last. Until the seam in your mouth is completely gone, you must gargle for at least 2 weeks. You may use a toothbrush 1 week after the surgery. At first, use a smooth children’s toothbrush to brush your teeth (do not brush your gums). 6. Keep the bandage around your head for at least one day. Wearing the bandage will help reduce the swelling faster. You may wash your face or hair after taking off the bandage and you may go to the sauna or the hot springs after 2 weeks. After the surgery, if the bandage is too tight or your neck feels uncomfortable, please tell the doctor. · You can wash your hair after 3 days, you can take a shower after 5 days · Fitness workouts (sports, health centers) after one month 7. In order to prevent infections, you must take the prescribed medicine. 8. No matter how perfect the surgery came out, if you do not diligently take precautions after the surgery, problems may arise or your face shape may change. Therefore, caring for your face after the surgery is just as important as the surgery itself. We ask for your participation in the process, as well. Diet Even though you can open your mouth a small amount, you still will not be able to chew for approximately 6-8 weeks. You therefore will be on what we term as a swallowing diet. This means anything that you can swallow without chewing. Anything blended or liquid is acceptable. You may also have any foods that are soft enough or small enough to be mashed between your tongue and teeth without chewing. These things may include any liquids, soups, scrambled eggs, applesauce, pie, cake, ice-cream, yogurt, pasta that is well chopped and small and soft, as well as meat which is ground up fine. High-calorie, high-protein meals are the best with plenty of liquids. This may require eating a small meal 5-6 times a day rather than three large meals. Use a cup or glass when eating. Pull the lower lip forward on either side and just pour the contents of the cup into your mouth. Straws are okay to use, but you may find this difficult at first. The reason it is difficult is because your lips may be swollen and with decreased feeling in the upper or lower lip creating a vacuum necessary to use a straw may be difficult. If you can use a straw, it is okay. Take in smaller amounts and eat more frequently, it may be necessary for you to eat 5-6 times a day in order to satisfy your body requirements. Try not to miss any meals. A small, plastic syringe with a piece of rubber tubing or catheter at the tip can be helpful in the feeding process. You may use one of these at the hospital and this may be helpful when you go home from the hospital. These syringes and rubber tubing may be picked up at any pharmacy or drug store and may be quite useful Try to get something fresh every day. A malt or a shake with fresh fruit and a vitamin supplement blended in it is ideal. (e.g. juices, smoothies, puddings, yogurt, etc.) Start drinking from a cup as soon as you’re physically able to. Your upwards trek back to having full energy begins the day you can throw your syringes in the garbage. Eat solid food as soon as your surgeon gives you the go-ahead. It’ll be a slow, tedious and frustrating process, but you need to go through with it in order to build your jaw muscles back up and learn how to chew properly once again. Hygiene Brush and rinse using a small amount of toothpaste and mouthwash. Oral hygiene is the single most important thing you can do to minimize possible infections. After each meal, brush your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush (child-size works well). Stand over the sink with your head tilted down and use a circular motion and angle the brush at 45 degrees toward the gum line. Use Peridex or a mouthwash without alcohol such as Biotene instead of toothpaste. Brush to the best of your ability and take your time. You may not be able to brush the inside of your teeth. Rinse your mouth with a solution of warm salt water (1 teaspoon salt in one 8 oz glass of warm water). Oral rinsing should be done after every meal. A moistened Q-tip or cotton swab may be used to wipe over the gums and tooth surfaces when brushing is impossible. You may follow brushing with a mild fluoride mouthwash to leave your breath and tongue feeling refreshed. Avoid the use of products such as lemon glycerin swabs and commercial mouthwashes containing alcohol (these products can have a drying or irritating effect on the mucous membranes in the mouth). Use a Waterpik ONLY if ordered by your surgeon. If any skin incisions were made, clean them with 50% peroxide-water solution, remove scabs and apply Neosporin. At times, your breath may be indicative of the fact that you are not allowed to brush your teeth or floss during the first several weeks of recovery. To aid in freshening your breath, try gurgling with warm salt water a few times each day. Soon enough, you’ll be given the go-ahead to brush and floss again. Activities Take it easy the first week. You may resume most of your normal routine after the first week as tolerated. Avoid activities that might cause an injury to the face (athletic like football, basketball, racquetball, weight lifting, etc.). Aerobic exercises may be started after two weeks. For the first 3-4 days following surgery please limit your activity. It is important that you not confine yourself to bed. Try to spend most of the day sitting in a comfortable chair and taking short walks around the house. You should limit your visiting time to 1-2 hours. Although you may feel well, you have had a major procedure and your body needs to recover. Uninterrupted rest is very important in your healing period. Do not participate in sports or strenuous activities, or return to work until permitted by your surgeon. Driving any motorized machinery or vehicle or signing any legal documents while taking pain medications is not recommended. The pain medications may cause alterations of visual perception and impair judgment. Medications Antibiotics use only the first 4-6 days following surgery. Use pain medications only as needed. Anti-nausea use as instructed and notify doctor if relief is not quickly obtained. Acute pain management should always start with over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil). If your surgeon approves these medications for you, you should take them as directed on the pill bottles, or by your surgeon. If you take the first pill before the anaesthetic has worn off, you will be able to manage any discomfort better. Precede each pain pill with a small amount of food, and chances for nausea will be reduced. The effects of pain medications vary widely among individuals. For severe pain, you may take your prescription opioid (narcotic). Do not take more opioid pills, or more often, than prescribed by your surgeon. If prescribed, Vicodin / Norco may be taken every 4-6 hours for pain. DO NOT USE TYLENOL. If you notice that the pain medication is not providing comfort for long enough, alternate the Vicodin / Norco and Ibuprofen throughout the day (ex: take 1 Vicodin, then 2 hours later, take ibuprofen…2 hours later another Vicodin / Norco). If your pain is chronic (i.e. consistent and throbbing), you may have an infection and should schedule a visit with your surgeon just to be safe. On the other hand, if your pain comes in small bouts, it’s likely your nerves reawakening or your teeth being pulled by the elastics. In this case, just be patient and the pain will subside in due time. If you were prescribed pain medication, that may help as well. Nausea/Vomiting DON’T PANIC. Use medications as instructed. For mild vomiting or any empty stomach feeling lay in a face down position to allow fluids to drain out of mouth and nose. Notify the doctor of any nausea problems. Swelling The swelling will not become apparent until 1-2 days following surgery and will not reach its maximum until 2-3 days post-operation. However, the swelling may be minimized by the immediate use of ice packs. Two baggies filled with ice, or ice packs should be applied to the side of the face where surgery was performed. The ice packs should be left on continuously while you are awake. After 48 hours, ice has no beneficial effect. If swelling or jaw stiffness has persisted for several days, there is no cause for alarm. This is a normal reaction to surgery. Thirty-six hours following surgery, the application of gentle moist heat to the sides of the face is beneficial in reducing the swelling and stiffness. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows for the first week. Exercises Most often following these type of procedures, teeth must be kept together with wires or elastics after surgery. This allows the jaw bones to be held still while healing. Most of the time small bone screws and plates are used to hold the bone segments together during the healing period. With the use of these screws and plates, the jaws can still move slightly during the post-operative period. It must be remembered that the bones are not healed and are simply held together by screws and plates. Therefore, a gradual progression of movement and use of the jaws is encouraged, keeping in mind that complete healing does not take place for approximately two to three months after surgery. Immediately following surgery: Since surgery causes soreness in the muscles and bones of your jaw, movement will be difficult initially. We do not recommend any specific exercises during the first week to ten days after surgery. 10-14 days following surgery: Stand in front of a mirror and attempt to open and close your mouth. At ten days you should be able to get at least 1 finger between your teeth. This will increase gradually in the next several weeks. Simply move your jaws open and closed then side to side. Moist heat to the side of your face prior to these exercises can be beneficial. Do not use your fingers to force open your jaw. 4-8 weeks after surgery: At this time you should be able to get 2 fingers between your teeth comfortably and can begin using gentle finger pressure to stretch your jaw muscles. By week 8 you should be able to get 3 fingers between your teeth. Again, stretch the muscles open and closed as well as side to side. Breathing Difficulty Following your procedure, you will develop difficulty breathing through your nose. This is a transient problem that peaks at about day 3-4. You may feel that your airway passage is being blocked by the swelling, but be assured that there is plenty of room to breathe through. Limit your activity to reduce post-operative swelling and bleeding. Dried blood in the nasal passages is best cleaned by the spraying of saline spray and gentle suction with the bulb. Repeat this process as needed until nasal passages are free of dried blood. You may use a facial humidifier or steam in the shower to help loosen nasal secretions prior to suctioning. DO NOT blow your nose following surgery for a minimum of two weeks. Use Afrin Nasal Spray as directed by your surgeon. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows for the first week. Miscellaneous Use nose spray if needed and no more than twice a day. Use ointment on lips to reduce swelling and avoid drying and chapping. Sleep with head elevated (2 pillows) the first week then normal elevation after that. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows or in a comfortable recliner chair for the first week following surgery. Before you attempt to pull any dead skin off of your lips, be absolutely certain that it’s not a stitch. Start using medicated lip balm immediately following your return to your own home. If you don’t, you’ll end up with flaps of dead skin that are half an inch in diameter, and I promise you they won’t feel good when they catch on your braces. Begin each day at a decent time. If you sleep most of the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night, and you’ll hate yourself for it. Get out of bed, shower, eat some breakfast and brush your teeth and you’ll enjoy each day a lot more. (This is good advice for any day of your life, but it especially applies when you’re on the verge of depression from having jaw surgery.) Go to bed on time. Yawning will cause you quite a bit of pain, so prevent it by getting the right amount of sleep during the proper hours.

What I consulted about: Revision for DES to make my crease a bit more noticeable and less hooded than it is right now, and tiplasty to slim the bulbous nose tip. Note that the crease on my right eye (the one of the left) is a bit wonky at the inner corner due to a bit of a scar from the incision, probably due to my skin's tendency to have hypertrophic scars easily. Clinics: For nose - Cocoline, Mvp, namu, hanabi and naturalism; For eyes - MVP, Namu and Naturalism I'll start off with my nose consultations. I went to Cocoline, Mvp, namu, hanabi and naturalism, in that order. 1) Cocoline Cocoline (Dr Kim Tae Hwan) Consult duration: lasted abt 50mins-1hr; Went with a translator Consult fee: 10,000 won Clinic was quite small, felt like your regular specialist doctor's clinic than a PS clinic. Dr Kim was really friendly and even asked how i came to know about Cocoline, he could speak a bit of English. No CT scan done but he did use his headlight and long Qtips to assess inside of my nose, also touched and pinched my nose a lot to assess. Dr said that my nose was a wee bit deviated but still within normal range so no worry about it. And he busted out a brief Powerpoint slideshow to explain the procedure and the parts of my nose that he would change for the surgery. Just tip plasty using septal cartilage (and maybe ear only if septal is not enough) was recommended. I have thick skin and fatty tissue at nasal tip so Dr said he will remove some fatty tissue there. Septal cartilage will be used for tip projection and to support the nose tip. The cartilage tip of the nose will be sutured together with septal cartilage as support. Open rhino method. Septal cartilage will also be used to smoothen out the gap between my tip and bridge where there is a slight depression. No need for osteotomy or addition of implant for raising bridge height as i have enough bridge height and my nose bridge is not wide. He did tell me hat I have a decent bridge and when I told him (via my translator) that I was not looking for bridge augmentation, he said "Wow, you're not greedy for big change for your nose". Hehe. Surgery will be done under sleep anaesthesia and around 1hr surgery time. Downtime of 10 days and stitches will be removed from day 5 onwards. Aftercare is just cleaning of wound and removal of packing, deswelling injection given if necessary. Price: 3.85mil won (final price if paid by cash, no tax refund). Discounted price to 3.3mil won if i do B&A photos of nose only. Price inclusive of medications. 2) MVP MVP (consult for nose first, I will talk about eyes later) - Dr Seo Hyo Seok Consult duration coupled with eyes review consult: about 25mins Consult with Dr Seo was quite quick (he's straight to the point, mild mannered and polite but quite no nonsense) but he knows what he's talking about and also did the same pinching of my nose tip as Cocoline. Dr observed that from bottom view, my nose is not completely straight, like not totally symmetrical but said this is still in the normal range (because everyone is bound to have some assymetry) and not a major concern. Same assessment as Cocoline - fatty tissue and thick nasal tip skin. Also septal cartilage for tip plasty recommended, again same method as Cocoline's. Dr Seo said my nose tip will be a bit more projected but with time there is chance it may drop, but just drop back till my current nose height and not to a very droopy nose. He also warned against removing too much fatty tissue and making my tip too slim as I have thick skin, and too much done could cause skin necrosis, so my nose tip will just be slimmed a little (more natural and not dramatic kind of slim nose). Again, no need to touch my bridge as it is fine. Septal cartilage will be used to smoothen out the bridge (same as Cocoline's). Open rhino, stitches out in a week, with 10 days of downtime. Procedure done under Partial GA, breathing tube inserted till back of throat and not all the way in. Pre-op tests will be blood test, echogram and chest x-ray done 1 day before surgery, if not then done on same day but in the morning but afternoon slot for surgery. Price: 4.4 mil won (can get tax refund). Price inclusive of medications, after care of cleaning and deswelling treatments etc 3) Namu Namu (consult for nose first, i'll talk about eyes later) - Dr Joung Soo Woo Consult duration coupled with eyes consult: about 25mins Namu's PS clinic is pretty small, like MVP and looks like your standard plastic surgery clinic. Not super fancy like some PS clinics can be. But they do have another level for their dermatologist clinic so they are not exactly super small like those 1 or 2-doctor clinics. I happened to bump into the Chairwoman of the clinic (the 대표님??), a glamorous korean lady in perhaps her mid 50s or so (but can tell she got quite a lot of PS done on her face) on my way out after consultation. Dr Joung was pretty friendly and also frank in the assessment especially for my eyes. Consult for nose was kinda speedy and shorter than eyes though. Dr Joung was the only doctor who didn't touch and pinch my nose like the rest during his assessment. He just used the long Qtips to lightly point to and touch my nose tip. Dr said i have a slight hump on my nose which he suggested removing by shaving it off a little (rasping), to smoothen out my bridge in addition to the septal cartilage added to smoothen out my nose profile. Removal of some fatty tissue and cartilage and also using septal cartilage to create a slimmer tip and for tip support. My nose tip sill also be projected a little using septal. Open rhino, stitch out after 1 week. Done by sleep anaesthesia. I didn't get a separate price for nose, as Claire the consultant gave me a bundle price for nose and eyes - 5.6mil won. 4) Hanabi Hanabi (Dr Chang Geun-Uck) Consult duration: about 45 mins No consult fee, but 10,000won is charged for CT scan taken in the clinic prior to consult with Dr. (Option to keep the scan for 30,000 won but i didn't keep my CT scan so i paid 10k won only) Hanabi is sooo posh! Looked like some hotel lobby when i entered and the high ceiling at the reception and waiting area made it look like a condo penthouse. I was really in awe when i stepped into Hanabi. Dr Chang was really friendly and spoke close to perfect English. I actually felt nervous because he kept smiling the whole time, which made me feel like i was at a job interview. Dr Chang assessed and showed me my CT scan on his screen and also B & As of his patients who did tip plasty and their results all looked really good - natural like you can't tell they got surgical refinement done, looks like they were born with a good looking slim nose. Dr's assessment of my CT scan showed that my nasal bone (nose bridge) is slim and not deviated but septum is a bit deviated to the right but still within normal range. No shaving of hump or osteotomy needed. Dr recommended tip plasty using septal cartilage for tip support and to fill out the depressed gap between my nasal bone and tip. If not enough septal then he will use ear for tip support. Dr will suture the cartilage with the nasal tip cartilage to slim the nose tip, and remove excess fatty tissue from tip. Open rhino, stitches out in 5 days after surgery. Full recovery around 3 months. Blood test done for pre-op test. Surgery done under sleep anaesthesia. Aftercare is the oxygen chamber treatment and laser deswelling, all included in the price. Price: USD$3850, approx 4.4mil won inclusive of tax. Can get tax refund. Medicines not included in cost (to be bought from the pharmacy on the 1st floor, and costs about USD$40 as told to me by their English translator) 5) Naturalism Naturalism (Dr Kim Deok Jung) Consult duration: abt 20 mins, went with a translator. This was actually a last minute addition, on top of my eyes consult there, as my translator told me Dr Kim's AM surgery was cancelled due to his patient's unsuitable health condition, hence he had an available slot to see me for nose consultation. Naturalism is a pretty small clinic like Namu. Not super fancy but the interior was really bright like Namu. (so much white haha) I'll talk about my eyes consult with the other doctor later. Dr Kim was pretty friendly too, and Lol he had Ahjussi curly hair haha. Dr Kim did the pinching of my nose like the other doctors to assess. Dr assessed that my nose bridge is quite high and not wide so I don't need any silicone implant to add height and no need osteotomy, but i do have a slight hump which he suggested to shave off to smoothen my bridge (same as Namu's suggestion). Similar to what the rest of the clinics suggested, between my nasal bone and tip cartilage there is a gap and depression, hence he will use septal cartilage to fill that out. Tip plasty done with septal and maybe ear cartilage, and nose tip will be projected a bit so it is less droopy. Dr will place septal cartilage for support and suture nose tip cartilage together. Again, excess fatty tissue at nose tip to be removed to make my tip slimmer. Done under sleep anaesthesia, Open rhino, stitch removal at columella done after 1 week. Stitch inside the nose where the septal and tip cartilage is sutured together is done using dissolvable stitches which is removed 2 weeks post-op. Hence, it's best to stay at least 2 weeks. Dissolvable stitches can be left in the nose but it may be uncomfortable. Full recovery around 6 months post op, in order for nose to feel like back to normal and other features like smile to feel and look normal, less stiff. Price: 4.7mil won (cash price, pay by card will have extra fees for card transaction). Price inclusive of medications and after care of deswelling treatment and skin cleansing treatment.

If you want to know my reasoning for going to Luho as well as other clinics I have consulted, please feel free to check out my other post. I have finally come back from Korea and thought I’d post my VERY detailed 2 week post op journey. I will check back in for a 3 month update, and hopefully 6 month and 1 year! Procedures Received - Eyes: Primary Incisional DES + Ptosis Correction (in-out line) - Nose: Primary rhinoplasty (silicone implant, alarplasty, tipplasty with ear and septal cartilage) - Forehead: Fat Grafting to forehead only - Etc: Masseter botox (got a bad clenching problem), Chin filler —> I only did the botox and filler at Luho because of convenience. There are cheaper clinics and clinics that only do filler and botox that you can check out instead! That being said, I’ve experienced no problems with the botox or the filler. T-1 Consultation There was no wait for the consultation! When I went in, I was so happy because I could tell it was going to go well. A lot of people say when you know, you know, and that’s the vibe I got with Dr. Kim. He was confident and really personable. He personally recommended a line that was higher than what I liked, so he grabbed another line the second go and it was exactly the style I liked. Both lines were in out, with the only difference being the height. He also can speak English so we spoke in a mix of English and Korean! He said anything besides ptosis correction and incisional DES seemed unnecessary for my eyes when I brought up possible lower cantho and epi. The line he grabbed for me matched the line I had brought in for photos. I said I wasn’t sure if I should go for the rhino and fg as my friends and family told me it seemed unnecessary (but I personally wanted to do both) and he recommended it, but emphasized multiple times that it’s ultimately my choice. He said we would use ear and septal, with max 4 mm implant but most likely 2-3 (he said he can’t tell me right now the exact number as it’s something that’s decided in the OR and after further assessment), with it being on the higher end (3-4) if I decide to do my forehead, and lower (1-2) if I don’t. My forehead is also sunken in so we did decide to go for the fg as one of my concerns was how flat my face is. After, I met with the consultant and confirmed date and time. We went over the warranty period, etc and that was that! After meeting with the doctor, I felt very confident that I made a good choice and my friend agreed! Day 0 (D-Day) I went to the clinic by myself and arrived literally a minute before my appointment haha, but had to wait around 20 minutes. There were SO many girls in the waiting room! Once they called me, I paid and had one last consultation with the doctor. We went over the surgeries we would do, and then I went to go wash my face and waited a little bit. In the OR, he went over my line one more time and got the line I wanted in one go. While making marks for my nose, he also suggested chin filler, which is something I was actually already considering as my chin is very short and round. He offered to just do it for free, so I just said yes LOL. He said he’ll do max 1cc, and with that we started the DES. It was very trippy, I think the music blended in with the bursts of color and I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or not LOOL. Eventually it faded and I could feel/hear the fat burning. I felt some tugging when they were working on the stitches, and he let me know how much longer it would take when I said it was a bit uncomfortable. Personally, I always liked my left eye a lot more. It looks better with makeup, its bigger, etc. He took longer with my right eye and made me open and close my eyes multiple times. He’s super meticulous. He did tell me that I didn’t bleed at all on my left eye, but bled a little on my right so it led to my right eye being a bit more swollen than my left, but told me not to worry about it. Once the DES was finished I was off to take a mandatory pee break lol and came back. It was super cold in the OR and whatever they were applying on my legs for my fg made me shiver IT WAS SO COLD. But, I don’t even remember knocking out. To be honest, when I woke up, it was all done and it felt like I dreamt the walk to the recovery room because I was super loopy. I remember saying my throat is hella dry (in Korean) and the nurse who walked me to my room laughed at my wording and said it’s usually like that. The warm bed made me feel a lot better, and I asked her if I could use my phone, but she said no because I could end up dropping it on my face, so I tried resting. The doctor came in a bit later, and said my forehead looked really nice and showed me through the mirror but I was like i can’t seeeee LOL so he laughed and said alright and told me not to worry about my right eye being swollen and said the surgery came out really well. After some time, I got ready and the consultant went over all the aftercare. They provided a moisturizer, sheet masks, and eye mask/pack. I went to the pharmacy donwstairs to get my medication and pumpkin juice and went home! They didn’t give me cotton to put under my nose but I stared bleeding during dinner. I have a makeshift cotton gauze on right now, horrendous bruising on my thighs from the fg! TL;DR DES: felt a bit of tugging, right eye took longer since I bled and it’s naturally smaller. Rhino: Looks super natural so far, am extremely swollen so can’t tell for tip. FG: My forehead actually mildly hurt a little (like a tension headahce), which im assuming is due to the fg. It doesn’t look unnaturally swollen at all; it looks so nice and natural. I finally understand what people say about your skin looking glowy when u get fg! im really glad I did it. Chin filler: It looks really good! My friend even asked me if i did anything because my face looked much more v shaped. It looks really natural! Day 1 Post OP Woke up multiple times throughout the night as my nose kept bleeding. Finally got to sleep consistently later in the morning and my face was extremely swollen. After icing my face, the swelling went down but the most effective was definitely going out. I went shopping and my face (especially my eyes) were considerably less swollen. I drank pumpkin juice 3x a day but haven’t noticed any difference from the juice directly, but it’s something light and easy to eat when you need to take your meds. All the pharmacies around me were closed due to it being a Sunday, but luckily the ones in Myeongdong were open. I bought gauze and tape and the bleeding became much easier to handle. Obsessed with my forehead but hate having to constantly readjust my hat to make sure it’s not pressing down! Day 2 Post OP I woke up in the middle of the night as the gauze fell off. I retaped the gauze and went back to sleep LOL but kept waking up as I noticed I slid down more than I did the first night. At one point I just wanted to completely lie down and sleep, but sucked it up and kept readjusting myself. First thing I noticed was that I was incredibly swollen, more than yesterday for sure. I drank some pumpkin juice with my meds, and taped up more gauze and got ready to head to the clinic. Once I got there, they finally took the cotton out of my nose and cleaned up my stitches. The doctor came in and checked in on me and said I’m healing well and not to worry about the slight uneven swelling. He told me my silicone implant was 4 mm, and told me to come back in two days. The whole process took literally 10 minutes and I regretted not putting new gauze under my nose as I was really sniffly. I powered through and headed home and cleaned my room until it was time to get my hair washed. After getting it washed, I felt so much cleaner and happier and noticed that the swelling has gone down a lot too. However, my smile is incredibly wonky right now. Day 3 Post OP Face, especially my cheeks, are extremely swollen and I slid off in my sleep once again. Will plan on adding more pillows to prop myself up better tonight. Don’t know if pumpkin juice is doing anything, but I do feel better eating something in the morning. Feel shitty having to wear my bucket hat and constantly adjust it as it makes my hair sweaty as well, but it’s fine. Worst part is the constant sneezing, apparently it’s caused by the nose hairs growing back? Trying my best to sneeze with my mouth open but it’s gross and I’m paranoid every time I feel my nose scrunch as I try to sneeze. Walked around again today and it seems like my swelling after walking around seems ends up going back down to around day 2 post op. After icing my cheeks, my face deswelled a lot. FG bruises are still gnarly and hurt a little when sitting down. They’ve gone from red to a deep purple, and I think walking, using a hot pack and time has helped it start change colors. My nose has gotten noticeably smaller since taking out the cotton, but it still feels stuffy since I have so much crusties stuck. I ate spicy food for dinner and my face has clearly doubled in size. Regretting my choices only partially because it was so good; going to chug some water to flush out the salt as much as possible. Day 4 Post OP I had a relatively easier time waking up this morning, and looked less swollen than i have other mornings. I probably would've been even less swollen if I didn’t eat anything spicy, but hopefully walking around today will help. I drank two cans of pineapple juice last night and don’t know if that helped LOL. I noticed some light yellow bruises on the lower half of my cheeks, so I will start putting a warm compress to help. Bruises on fg are either red or deep purple, so I’ve been putting hot compresses on them to help them fade so that I can wear other clothes. Chin filler site has a little lump, though the dr says its due to the fact that a harder filler was used, and double checked it for me, and after our appointment the lump went away LOL. I will continue to keep an eye out! He also informed me that my septal was used for my columella and my ear was used for tip support. I got my nose and ear and eyes cleaned and it felt sooo good. I got deswelling laser treatment and I briefly fell asleep during it LOL. They told me to come back in 3 days for cast removal! I have no idea how long the laser treatment was for, but iI do feel like it helped..?! I drank more pumpkin juice and pineapple juice. pretty sure the pineapple juice isn't doing anything since it’s just a juice, but it’s good and i need to get rid of it anyways. My eyes are noticeably more evenly deswelling and friends and family have also pointed out that i look a lot better. the change is really drastic! Forehead fg has definitely gone down, which im a bit sad about. He doesn’t overfill so it already looked really good from the first day, but it’s definitely still an improvement. id honestly be happy as long as SOME fat still stays, but I’ll just hold onto the thought that i’ll probably have to get a top up. Day 5 Post OP I'm looking pretty similar to day 4, but swelling has moved further down. Checked my legs after putting a warm compress, and the bruises have yellowed a LOT so I'll be more diligent about it. More yellow bruising on the face. Staying inside for the most part for today and hopefully getting some exercise later so that I can deswell. I'm having a harder time not sliding down in my sleep; my neck pillow is really saving me right now. I put a warm compress on my leg basically throughout the entire day and it’s gotten so much better, though there’s a patch of dark purple bruising that’s being a bit more stubborn. While icing my face, I lightly bumped my the pack against my nose tip and freaked out, but I’m hoping it’s okay (it was VERY light, my nose just does not feel like a nose right now). Nose has gotten noticeably smaller (in a great way), and family specifically commented that my nose is coming along nicely! Chin filler is looking great too. Day 6 Post OP I noticeably deswelled a LOT today, especially after walking around. My nose is straight up disgusting though; I can see the sebum seeping out. Nose tip is really round, but I suspect it’s just partially inevitable as I had such a bulbous nose and also swelling. It’s gotten a lot smaller and it’s super cute, so I’m happy. Most of my facial swelling has gone down a lot, but my yellow bruising is still there and my right eye is still not evenly deswelling. Chin filler and forehead fat graft is looking good! The fat graft bruises look a lot more yellow, but I still can’t walk around in shorts or dresses. Got some stares today but find myself caring less and less as time goes on, especially with CAST OFF BEING TOMORROW! Can’t believe it’s already been a whole week since my procedures. Day 7 Post OP TOOK OFF MY CAST! Knew that the front profile would look swollen, but didn’t realize how swollen that would be. However, I really like my side profile and my eyes started deswelling a lot faster after taking out the stitches. After walking around nearly every day for a week with a cast on my face (and some days with gauze and tape), even though I was still swollen, I felt more comfortable taking off my hat at some points. It has a perfect, natural looking curve and fits my face so well. My tip is looking really round, but I had a really bulbous nose and I also know that it’s swelling, so I don’t really mind. My main concern is just the eyes still being really unevenly swollen. If they were deswelling evenly, I would stop wearing a hat, but the unevenness still makes me hesitate. After walking around today and receiving deswelling laser, my nose got a lot less swollen especially at the radix and I can tell it’s slimmed down. The yellow bruising has faded as well, but it’s definitely still there. I got less blackheads than I thought I would, but my main issue was my nose feeling super prickly. I bought BHA exfoliating pads and gently used them around my face and made sure to slowly ease back into my skincare routine, which helped with the prickly feeling a lot. I also managed to wash my hair on my own! I was still careful to not let my face get touched by water (paranoid), and wrapped a shower cap on my ear. The doctor came in to see my progress again (I’ve seen him every appointment so far), and said everything’s looking good. He said I would also get a shot to help with the deswelling, but I didn’t get it, so I’ll bring it up when I go in for my last check up. Day 10 It was supposed to be my last check up, but at the checkup they noticed that the wound behind my ear opened up a little when I accidentally got (very little) water on it in the shower. they gave me local anesthesia to restitch it, and told me to come back in 5 days :(. I'm paranoid now, and my ear was tender the whole day and the mask didn’t help. I got another round of deswelling treatments, and saw the doctor again (he stitched up my ear and also came in to check in on everything). I also have to take more rounds of antibiotics just in case for 3 days starting tomorrow. It sucks, but this is obviously entirely my fault. The swelling on the right eye has gone down, but there’s a bruise that hasn’t gone away at all. yellow bruising around the nose has gone down as well, and the bridge is starting to form nicely. tip is still swollen, but that’s the part that will deswell the latest so i’m okay. They took out my fg stitches, and i’ve continued to put silicone tape on them. scarring on nose is also VERRRRRY faint, it’s really not that dark at all, which i’m really pleased about. The bruises on fg site are fading away at a fast pace, and the deep purple ones are finally starting to yellow!! Day 11 I got deswelling treatment at a different clinic (specializes in filler/botox/facials etc) through an event they had on Gangnam Unni. I didn’t tell them I was a foreigner until I came in for my consultation/appointment, and they didn’t really care LOL but I spoke in full Korean. They gave me a nice facial and a light lymph draining massage, and there was some kind of buzzing device? that they said would help with the bruising (this was an add-on) and some other stuff. I got more deswelling laser and then a deswelling shot! It was a nice way to treat myself, and I did notice that the swelling went down significantly, but I wouldn’t say it’s a completely necessary thing to do. It was definitely relaxing though and the clinic smelled really good LMAO. Took a little over an hour and my face was super soft at the end of it! Day 16 Finally, my actual last check up! Stitches were removed (no issues, thank god) and doctor came in for one last check up. He thanked me for the letter and small gift i gave him my previous check up (loool) and told me to visit the clinic next time i come back to Korea. so sweet! I didn't get any deswelling treatment, and I was a bit puffy today, though it could be since it hasn't been long since i woke up. it still clearly looks like i got surgery, but i no longer can bring myself to care and have gone out hatless since day 14. Eyes are evening out a bit, but the right eye is still noticeably more swollen, but the doctor also stated it’s looking good. I mentioned my nose being VERY slightly pink occasionally with no pain or heat, and he said it’ll be like that on and off for roughly 2-3 months as my body heals. My bruise on my eye is still there :(, and the stubborn fg bruises are still there as well, but they’re yellowing and once again, i can no longer bring myself to care and they peek out just a tiny bit when i wear dresses. Once the nurse heard that i would be leaving korea, she put a fresh bandaid on the stitch behind my ear and told me to remove it within 2-3 days so that I’m more careful when I shower. Just in case, I got one last hair wash at a Juno Hair nearby, and that concluded my journey!! Closing Thoughts Overall, I had a very pleasant experience with Luho. Of course I definitely had an easier time since I was able to speak Korean, but the doctor and I spoke primarily in English. He was extremely friendly to me throughout this entire process and it really alleviated my nerves. My consultant always replied within the day (usually within 1-2 hours) and everyone was super friendly and didn’t push me to do anything. I think the longest I had to wait was on the day of my surgery (~20 min), but besides that I had no wait at all. As a heads up, I will not be disclosing any B&A photos, but I can try to give some similar photos and describe in as much detail as possible LOL. Prices were previously disclosed in my consultation journey post, and they matched it exactly. I did not bother negotiating further as I felt that the prices were more than fair for me personally. Additionally, as previously mentioned, Luho does not have an English support team but I do believe they have a chinese and japanese team, so if you can speak those languages, you may try consulting! I do not think you need a translator when talking to the Dr, but you should probably get one when discussing everything with the consultants as they do not speak English. Luho is also very popular with locals. The building it’s in hosts 9 plastic surgery clinics (I counted), and half the elevator would always get off for Luho each time I would go. I really liked Luho for their fair pricing, nonpushy consultants and dr (I think the most pushy they were was when they suggested putting down a deposit. As Luho was my first choice for DES, I didn’t really mind doing so, but I know others may be turned off by this!), how accessible they were, and also how I saw my doctor at every check up. I know a lot of clinics you rarely see the doctor or you don’t see them at every check up, but I saw him each time and it was very sweet.

Hi Amy, After meticulous hours of research, I, too, found an interest in Cocoline. Everyone who got their rhinoplasty done at Cocoline mentioned Dr. Kim. I got into contact with Cocoline via Kakaotalk, and asked for an online consultation with Dr. Kim. Unfortunately, they told me that he has since left Cocoline to open his own clinic. You can reach out to Dr. Kim directly on LINE. His LINE app ID is iatros99. His clinic site is www.1stbutton.com He got back to me within minutes to discuss my photos and what I wanted. He’s super nice, but he didn’t seem too confident in being able to give me the results I wanted, even when I asked for a slightly taller tip. I think he goes for a really natural look, using autologous cartilage only. My concern was that I wasn’t looking to lift my bridge at all, just tip-plasty, and I sent him two photos lowering my tip from the original desired result using a photo editor. The results he wanted to give me were barely noticeable. So, keep that in mind. If you want a super natural look, I think Dr. Kim would be the perfect doctor. I personally want a more noticeable change because I’m willing to travel across the globe and spend money and time. I want people to say I look very different (in a good way). Pricing through Dr. Kim is pretty reasonable. Here is his direct quote to me: “A Rhinoplasty costs about 3000-3500USD, a fat graft costs about 1500USD.” I also asked Cocoline after they told me that Dr. Kim left if the Before & After photos on their website was done by a doctor that’s still currently there. They read my message and never got back to me. That seemed a little sketchy. That’s all the advice I can give you from what I’ve gotten back from both Cocoline and Dr. Kim. I hope this helps!!

Hey guys! I've posted my consultation experiences for revision double eyelid surgery and tip plasty in the kakao chatgroup, but I thought I'd make a thread here to consolidate everything and make it easier for everyone to view and refer to. Just for your info, I just came back from Korea a week ago, and had my consults done during the 1st weeks of Nov. All clinics consulted: Cocoline, MVP, Hanabi, Namu and Naturalism (was supposed to also consult at Oscar Clinic for eyes but cancelled in the end because I wasn't fully comfortable with a doctor who is not a board certified plastic surgeon for revision eyelid surgery) For reference, here are my pictures of my eyes and nose. Do not repost my pictures.

Consultations on this list: DA Plastic Surgery (Eyes + Nose) ++) Updates from Luho, Marble DA PS (DREAM AESTHETICS) (Eng) I will start off by saying they took a long time to get back to me (2 days), and I think this could be because I contacted them when it was the weekend. However, they were VERY thorough. They drew on my photo and gave me two options with the drawings of roughly how high I could augment my nose: either super high or pretty natural. It would be an open rhinoplasty with silicone for the nose bridge and they gave me options: rib/ear+septal for the tip, with rib resulting in a very high nose and ear being in between the natural + high option. However, I had to ask them what they thought about my eyes for them to answer again, and they recommended ptosis + lateral canthoplasty + incision method. They said if I weren’t doing my nose, they would’ve also recommended epicanthoplasty, but said that the higher nose bridge would help with my eyes being more further apart for my face. I also asked in the chances that I plan on doing my nose and eyes separately, what surgery I should do first (ie different clinics), and they recommended me to do my nose first, wait 2 weeks, then do my eyes. They said they’ll have to do an in person consultation to see if osteotomy is needed. For nose, they suggested: nose bridge + tip augmentation, alar reduction, nose extension and said it would be around 2-3 million won, and if I use rib, it would be 5-6 million won. Eyes would be around 2 million won. However, other clinics as well as people that I've asked all suggested doing my eyes first. I think they told me I should do my nose first because I implied that I may be considering doing my eyes elsewhere. This made me take them off. LUHO UPDATE Guys, I really like this place LOL. Of course, ultimately it will lead to an in person consultation for me to finalize my decision, but I feel pretty confident that I will go here for my eyes. They told me to do my eyes first, wait 3 weeks, then to do my nose. They also said laser deswelling treatment, etc, are free and included. MARBLE UPDATE Their global Kakao responded later than the Korean one, but I felt bad if I ignored them, so we still talked. They suggested incisional DES, but did not mention anything about ptosis correction. They also suggested bridge augmentation + tip plasty (silicone + ear/septal cartilage) and osteotomy. However, they also said they were interested in having me model and were kind of pushy about it -- suggesting that I agree now (before I even fly out!! i told them id be interested in going to Korea December or early next year), and that the final discount for being their model would range from 30-100% off, which is so large and honestly ridiculous. They also said that the total price would be 12 million won, which is INSANE considering that their Korean team quoted me 8 million. I mentioned this to them, and they said that the discrepancy in price is due to the fact that they would include translating service, pick up (depending on which surgery you're doing), and deswelling treatment. Even so, I think the price difference is crazy and honestly I'm not too sure if I would really need a translating service, though if I do, I feel like it would be better to just hire one myself. They did not break down the price for me. OVERALL THOUGHTS I will like to mention some facts I picked up along the way -- I tried to watch smaller Youtubers who have a lower chance of getting sponsored for their surgery. Two of them went to Premier, and I only knew this because I managed to catch the surgeon's name on an award she received in the background LMAO. Premier seems very famous for their eyes, and Korean people recommend Premier if you want a more dolly look and you can do natural adhesion -- Dr. Jang is quite famous for this. Unfortunately, those are both not things I want, so I had to cross them off the list LOL. Every blog, post, video, I've watched so far seem to all mention how kind Luho is overall, especially Dr. Park, who is known for their eyes. He seems to be quite skilled in the incisional method, and I liked how they allow foreigners to participate in events. Overall, people seem pretty satisfied with ITEM as well, and I think I'll check out Dr. Kim's B/As more to see -- I do like that it's popular amongst both Koreans and foreigners. Lastly, I plan on reaching out to Naturalism for a Kakao consultation. Their nose doctor is quite famous, and I think most people here have heard of them, but I don't think I've read many reviews of getting a consultation or even doing the surgery, so I'll definitely update. I've come to the conclusion that silicone is basically inevitable. I am young, and chances of reabsorption and warping is higher if you are younger and you use rib, so I think if I go to a doctor who is specialized in noses, I think I can minimize dissatisfaction with silicone as I think most people are dissatisfied due to it being lower than they expected. However, I am not ruling out rib entirely and of course, my final opinion will come down to what the doctors all say. CLINICS I PLAN ON CONSULTING F2F - Wannabe - ITEM - Naturalism - Luho - Cocoline Overall, if Naturalism's consultation goes well, I think I might end up choosing Luho and Naturalism for my eyes and nose respectively!

So I saw awhile back Kino recommended that people in the chat should list their clinic considerations on BH. I felt like that was a good idea so here's mine. I'm hoping that anyone who is either looking or is more of plastic surgery veteran than I am will feel moved to respond. Thank you all. P.S~ After much consideration the following clinics were chosen based on my personal needs, which are: Ideally ENT, Ideally has worked with bulbous noses, Ideally can/has performed rhinos without the use of an implant, Ideally these clinics are easy to contact and have decent aftercare, Ideally they are lesser known or small-medium sized clinics. Listed in no particular order. 1. Dr.Jin (Premium Nose Clinic/ Koko clinic) https://dr-jins-premium-nose-clinic.business.site 2.Cocoline Clinic (I love these guys) http://www.cocoline.co.kr/eng/coco02/index1.php 3. Seoulista (Only have heard a review from one other person about this) http://seoulista-ps.com/m/ 4. JJ Plastic Surgery (This is not JK, JW or any other J named clinic lol there are a lot) http://m.jjps.co.kr/mobile/index.php 5. Nano Aesthetics Plastic Surgery (These guys are legends so awesome. Just don't try to KakaoTalk them it doesn't work idk why they changed) http://nanoesc.co.kr/new_mobile// 6. The Plus/Nplus (I get good vibes from these guys. They seem chill lol not that that actually matters it's plastic surgery for f*ck sake not speed dating but Idk good vibes.) http://theplusps.com/2017/ 7. Dream (Obviously well known but I just listed it as a safety choice.) http://www.e-dream.co.kr 8. GNG (I'm ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED at the amount of hate this places gets I just wonder if it's legit or just bullsht...if there's smoke maybe there's fire???) http://www.gnghospital.com/en/ Thank you for coming to my TedTalk

I decided to share my hair tranplant experience as there aren't many posts on this topic, and I for one certainly would have appreciated some insight on this before I underwent the procedure. Clinic: Aestimed, Istanbul, Turkey Dr: Aytac Karadut No. of grafts: 2,500 Time of procedure: 5 hrs Cost: €1,790 euros for unlimited grafts, incl. 2 nights accomodation in a 4/5 star hotel, all transfers to/from airport and clinic, lunch on day of operation and complimentary shampoo. Pain: 2/10. Only pain felt was for the local anaesthetic, it was painful for about 5 mins. I have a high pain tolerance, but the guy in the next room said he was shaking because it was unbearable. I know the procedure is in Turkey and not Korea, but I believe the procedures should be quiet similar. I had enquired at some Korean clinics; like Mojelim, For Hair and was quoted between 7-11M won for 1,500-3500 grafts respectively. It’s expensive compared to Turkey and I find Turkey is quite infamous for hair transplants. Even as I walked through the airport, I noticed many men with wrapped bandages around their head so it is quite a common procedure there. I also chose Turkey as I wanted to do Fat Grafting when I go to Korea, and was told through consults that it is risky to have HT and FG at the same time, as you risk infection from the open hair follicles. I wanted to make my face smaller, particularly to round off the top corners which I felt made my face more masculine, and inevitably for once in my life, no longer need a fringe - I’ve had one for almost my whole life. I only wanted to go 1cm lower. The photos look like more, because they shave a cm or two back and implant that whole area to ensure the same thickness consistency from front to back. The procedure is done under LA and I was awake the whole time. After having breakfast at the hotel, I was chauffered to the clinic where Dr Karadut took his time to draw the new hairline on my face. He was very patient and understanding, as he redrew the line again and again until I was happy. First they numb and shave the implantation and extraction area. The extraction area is a rectangle on the back of your head, where they will extract individual hair follicles at random spots within that rectangle. These donor spots will not grow back so this procedure is more like a hair replacement rather than volumising. Once you are flipped onto belly side, they extract the hair follicles using a machine. Then you flip onto your back again, and for me, it took about 2 hours to implant 2,500 grafts. (The guy in the other room had 3,500 grafts and took an hour longer). I didn't feel any pain whatsoever, and if by chance I did, I would just tell them and they would inject more anaesthetic. Between the extraction and implantation, I was given a lunch break and provided a Turkish meal. The clinic aims to make their patients feel as comfortable as possible. Whenever I needed a bathroom break, they would cover my head with bandages and a shower cap so I wouldn't see the blood, and whenever I tried to ask what step we were up to, they would cover my eyes with a light cloth and tell me to relax. At some points, I even managed to doze off. Dr Karadut didn't conduct the operation, his nurses did all the work under his supervision, however both nurses and the Dr were very thorough with their work and examinations, and I am happy with the results. Day 3 is when I can wash my hair and start using special shampoo Day 7-10 is slowly introduced the rubbing method for washing as opposed to patting. With this cleaning method, the scabs will slowly start to fall off and the area will look cleaner 3-4 months, the hair follicles will grow until this point and will shed, allowing new hair to grow through 7-10 month, your new hair would have grown back 12 month is when you see the final results. I'm currently 2 days post op and have had pretty restful nights even with sleeping in an upright position. The only uncomfortable feeling I get is trying to lay my head on a pillow as my hair is quite crusty and hard from all the blood, and water they sprayed during the operation - I can't wait to wash my hair tomorrow! I will try to remember to post photos at all the milestones noted above. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask me any questions

Some people wonder if their lips will change after genioplasty, and the short answer is yes, this will be a tradeoff. A genioplasty, especially one that moves the chin forward will make lips appear thinner, especially the lower lip by curling it slightly inward. This is due to the pull of the soft tissue by the advanced bone. Also the mentalis muscle that controls the lower lip is cut and needs to be reattached after the surgery. How precisely and where it's re-attached will effect the lower lips appearance. Further Reading Evaluation of Lip changes and Smile Aesthetics following Genioplasty: A Retrospective Study

there are many reviews of people who went with medical tourism agencies and deeply regretted it as they are literally arm twisted into going with clinics where these agencies get more commission. i highly suggest if you prefer company for your consults, to link up with the contacts in the august/september ps kkt group chat. alternatively, hire a translator from the gangnam medical centre (30000krw per hour). seoul is not a difficult place to navigate, especially since you are proficient in korean. if i may suggest, choose an accomm in the gangnam, sinsa area so that travelling to clinics for consults, surgery and follow ups will be a lot less stressful. foodwise, there is yogiyo app for delivery (assuming you can read hangeul) and if all else fails, there are convenience stores everywhere where you can be sure to grab something to fill you up.

update: So with Kino's advice I've narrowed down my clinics. I will def post all the deets when I consult with them! No sponsoring or biases LOL. My top fives are POP, Premier (Dr Jang YuJin), DA, ILUMI and PR. I have Topface also but that's as a backup, but may end up dropping as well. I know Pop's doc has a suspended license but I think I'll at least consult f2f and heck even ask why he didn't pay his surgeon fees. I'm so curious to this clinic's monumental advertising and rise to locals' fame Premier. Acc to GU, Dr Jang has really nice dramatic results. Of course I did hear about the hygiene questionings but I'd rather assess her in person. DA. Their results are my type so. ILUMI. They are terrible with answering back their texts! It's been like a week LOL. But as long as I have a consult with them I'll see them in person. PR. Another top riser according to GU. Their results seem legit. I dropped Marble because although they were totes my style they were overcharging me LOL Topface is a backup because honestly I've only seen/heard good results from them.

I used Citymapper and found it to be incredibly useful and easy to use.

If you keep hearing the same recommendation, it's probably because those are most viable options, even though they may not be options you like. You want to avoid "doctor shopping" which is looking for the surgeon who will just say yes because that may not be what's best for you. The surgeon has to work with the current state or anatomy of your nose and the quality of your cartilage, and these can expand or limit options in terms of what cartilage to use. Basics on Cartilage Grafts COSTAL CARTILAGE = Rib CONCHAL CARTILAGE = Ear SEPTAL CARTILAGE = Nasal Septum IRRADIATED / DONOR COSTAL CARTILAGE = Rib cartilage that came from another When a surgeon uses a piece of cartilage from your ear, septum or rib, they carve it into pre-defined shapes know as grafts, and these grafts serve different purposes, some for structure and stability, and others for shape and form. Septal cartilage is strong and sturdy material, and has many uses in rhinoplasty. It can be used in the dorsal / bridge area, but usually it's used in combination with a implant to increase the bridge especially for those with a low bridge. But this also depends on the amount and quality of your septal cartilage. Septal cartilage is also used in the tip area, and most commonly it's used to help give lift, projection and support to the tip, and ear cartilage is also used because it's round shape and softer material that works well with reshaping a nose tip. Septal cartilage

Now I'll talk about my eye surgery consults. I went to MVP, Namu and Naturalism in that order. 1) MVP MVP (Dr Seo) Consult duration coupled with nose consult: about 25mins MVP is where I did my primary DES hence I went back for a review since I am 6 months post op, and also to ask Dr Seo about revision since I felt my crease is hooded over. Dr Seo assessed my eyes and told me that if i wanted revision to make my crease more obvious while still maintaining a tapered crease, he will remove a but more skin to reveal more of my crease. This will be done by re-opening my existing creaseline. He and my consultant Elizabeth did tell me that I cannot remove too much skin or else I won't be able to close my eyes fully, since pre-op I already did not have fully closed eyelids (there was a slight gap when I closed my eyes back pre-DES), and also due to my natural eye socket shape and low distance between my brows and eyes, too high a crease and too much skin removal is not suitable for me. If I wanted a higher crease line from the one I have currently, the new crease will end up parallel but a bit higher, and Dr also said he will cut along the same incision line to increase the size of crease. Dr did not mention i needed any ptosis correction nor epicanthoplasty, just skin removal. Dr Seo advised me to wait for longer before doing revision to see how much my eyelid skin has stretched out, which may help the scar on the inner corner of my right eye too. Since that was also my concern - whether the scar is a permanent keloid formation. He told me the scar will flatten and smoothen out with more time. Recovery time would be the same or a little bit longer from primary DES, which is about a week. Stitch removal done at 5 days post op. Like my primary surgery, incisional DES revision will be done under local anaesthesia and twilight sedation. Since I did my primary surgery at MVP, the revision would be done for free and I only have to pay for anaesthesia cost of 300,000 won. Medications, post op care of cleaning, deswelling laser and vitamin drips are included into the cost. And this revision period is valid for 2 years. 2) Namu Namu (Dr Joung Soo Woo) Consult duration coupled with nose consult: about 25mins Dr Joung advised that if I wanted a more obvious crease, he will redo my creaseline by cutting a bit higher and removing abit of skin. It'll also be done full incisional and he said my incision line from primary surgery will still remain but not be very obvious. The new crease will still be an in-out tapered fold. Epicanthoplasty was recommended to me to open up and remove abit of mongolian fold, and ptosis correction for both eyes to balance out my eyes. Dr says my right eye opening power is a bit weaker hence the inner corner eyelid scar seems obvious. I asked about the scar and he told me that it will soften, but my right eye crease seems a bit loosened due to the scar. Like Dr Seo at MVP, Dr Joung said I cannot remove too much skin or go too high a crease or else I cannot close my eyes, because structurally I don't have a lot of eyelid space between brows, and also because of my eye socket bone. A much higher crease will be too close to my socket bone which will look unnatural and ugly. Dr was frank with me and said that due to my eye structure, I will still have some skin covering over even with revision. In fact, Dr was very honest and told me that he didn't think my case is that bad that it seriously needs revision so he was just providing a neutral opinion about revision surgery and the choice to revise is up to me. Claire the consultant (Linda wasn't around when I went so they assigned me Claire instead) also told me that Dr Joung is a doctor who is very honest with patients about what he thinks they do and don't need for surgery. Stitch removal will be done 1 week post op. Cost for revision with all procedures (epi, ptosis and des) will be 3 mil won, and no need to pay tax, and some discount is possible in exchange for photos of my eyes. I didn't ask about aftercare provided but I suppose it should be the same that other girls who went to Namu have received, the deswelling laser/shots etc. As I earlier mentioned, I was surprised that my consult with Dr Joung for eyes lasted a bit longer than for nose. 3) Naturalism Naturalism (Dr Jung Minsoo) Consult duration: about 20mins, went with a translator I initially wanted to consult with Dr Go Eung Yeol, one of the head doctors who specializes in eyelid surgery but unfortunately he was on vacation. Hence, I decided to book an appointment to consult with Dr Jung after the clinic's recommendation for an alternative doctor for eyes, and also after I saw a korean girl's DES result in a korean Kakao chatroom, which was done by Dr Jung and looked good to me. Dr Jung was pretty quiet when he came to the consultation room and I guess he wasn't expecting to a foreign patient to book an appointment with him for consultation since he looked a bit puzzled at first. But he was nice enough and was honest and straight to the point about my options for revision. Even though he isn't a head doctor at the clinic and he was the youngest doctor out of all the surgeons I had consulted (perhaps in his mid 30s?), I felt he was very professional in his honest opinions regarding revision and he seemed to know his stuff really well. Dr Jung assessed my eyelids and told me that my eyelids have limitation as to how much bigger my crease can be, as I have thick skin. My hooded lids now is due to thick skin and not fat. In addition, I am also limited by the low eyelid space between my eyelids and brows, which echoes MVP and Namu's opinions. Dr Jung drew out on paper and presented me 2 options for revision surgery to get a more obvious crease. 1st option was to revise my crease by cutting a higher line above my existing one, but then I will have 2 scars visible after that. 2nd option was to reopen my existing crease and cut away a bit more skin but not too much because i don't have much to cut away or else I cannot close my eyes properly permanently (same as MVP's advice). Dr recommended me to go for the 2nd option as going for the 1st option may cause me to end up with sausage eyes or lids still hooding over due to my skin. Dr also suggest to do ptosis correction as he said I looked a bit sleepy eyed, and epicanthoplasty to remove the a bit of the mongolian fold and open up inner corner a bit so my crease appears a little more prominent as an in-out fold. During the revision, Dr said he will tighten up the right side where there is the scar as it appears loose due to the scar tissue, and remove the scar tissue a bit. Because I am prone to scarring, the same problem of raised scar could recur. Like what the other 2 clinics said, Dr Jung told me that even with revision to make the crease more visible, there is chance that my skin may hood over again in future due to my thick eyelid skin. Due to my natural eye shape, I also cannot have too high a crease because it will look unnatural and sausage-like on me. Stitches removal done at 1 week post op. Price was 5.17 mil won cash price for all procedures (epi, ptosis and revision DES). Price is inclusive of medications and aftercare of deswelling treatments. All in all, for eye consults, the doctors had the same opinion that I needed to remove a bit more skin to make my crease more visible, and that I cannot go for too high creases due to my eye socket limitations.

Taxi drivers will usually understand you're a foreigner and lower the expectation for you to speak Korean. If you want to speak Korean for practice or to be polite then you can try to say this simple script: Anh yeong ha say yo - 안영하세요 - Hello Yo Gee - 여기 - Here (show driver the address) Ka ju say yo - 가 주세요 - Can you take me please? Also in Korea, it's best to show a Korean taxi driver the address in the Korean language. PRO TIP: 1) Driver's like big font and text. If you can some copy and paste text into a app to increase font size or screen shot and zoom, it makes things easy. 강남구 대치동 998 (instead of small font like this: 강남구 대치동 998) 강남구 대치동 998 = District - Neighborhood - Land Lot Number 2) If you have the English address and want the Korean version use this website: 998, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (English version of above address) http://www.juso.go.kr/openEngPage.do 3) There are two ways to express an address in Korean If you see another version of your address it is not incorrect, it could be one of two versions. Example: 강남구 대치동 998 and 강남구 테헤란로114길 11 are the same place In English: 998, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul and 11, Teheran-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Land Lot Version (Old way, but taxi drivers are used to it) 998, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 강남구 대치동 998 Street Address Version (New way) 11, Teheran-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 강남구 테헤란로114길 11

I had double eyelid surgery done in Korea about 5 weeks ago. I did not wear contacts or eye makeup for a whole 4 weeks as per doctor’s instructions and recovery was going great. However when week 5 rolled around, I started to put less effort on being cautious with my eyelids. The other night when I was putting on eye cream (for the first time in weeks), I dabbed some of it onto my creases without giving it much thought. I then returned to my couch potato form to continue watching TV for about an hour before feeling a bump starting to form on my right eyelid. The bump was not very noticeable and was in the position where a stitch was knotted from my DES making it less obvious, so I just cleaned both eyelids and went to bed. Boy was I in for a surprise when I woke up….. the bump on my right eyelid grew to a size of a mature looking pimple and there was a formation of a smaller but equally menacing counterpart on the left eyelid as well! After some googling I was convinced that I have an inflammation on my eyelid aka a stye and not a chalazion. (see link at the bottom of post for information on the differences between the two) Both of these annoying things will usually go away on its own, but since it was on my crease line I wanted to get it check out by a REAL professional doctor instead of self-diagnosing by reading WebMD. I made an appointment with an optometrist for the following day and I was advised in the meantime to use hot compresses on my eyes. While I was using the hot compress, the little guy on the left eye gave up and popped on its own but the bump on the right side was still going strong. Fast forward to the next morning, the left side that popped the day before went back down to looking normal so I was optimistic for the right side to return to normal as well. At the doctor’s office I had two doctors examine my eye since it is not very common for a stye to form on the eye crease away from the lash line. Since the crease was a surgical site and the area is still very sensitive to manipulation, both doctors agreed that it would be best give me topical and oral medication. They also drained the bump for me during examination. As a precaution I will be visiting for follow ups frequently since the topical medication will make the eyelid area very thin and sensitive. Recovery: Day 1 post examination - the bump is looking much smaller so I guess the medication is working. Key Takeaways: If you are not sure about something or feel something is wrong, go to a real doctor. You may look normal and can put makeup on after a month; full recovery from eyelid surgery is 1 year so best practice is to be cautious for the full 12 months. Be careful with creams containing active ingredients since it can irritate a surgical site. Links: Stye vs Chalazion https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-are-chalazia-styes

Hello everyone and thanks Kino I likely won’t be as active on here. [cosmetic post 2014 - surgeries pre 2014 were not 100% cosmetic] 2014 - rhinoplasty 2017 - lipo 2018 - v line (mandible contour, genio with T-osteotomy, masseter muscle electrocoagulation), bullhorn lip lift, breast implants, lipo, breast fg, face fg, gum contour, veneers/crowns Planned: scar revisions, breast fg, face fg, lipo, co2 ablative resurfacing, acculift, submental salivary glands removal, veneers revision Considering: revision lip lift, revision rhino, midface augmentation, brow bone type III contour, endoscopic brow lift, calf reduction, thread lift, ptosis correction

@miknomis welcome Simon! !

Hi I made it in this is Simon, Hello friends. I have no stacks of any sort, one may call me a virgin stack. I hope to not only get some FC, eyes, and nose stacks, but also to be rolling in stacks of money with minimal effort somehow. Thank you, Simon

Hi everyone, I just came back from Seoul and reached the end of my rhinoplasty journey (fingers crossed). I figured it is a good time to write about it now. (Sorry it is going to be a long one...) Regarding my background and looks: I am chinese, I have a typical wide face, large forehead, asymmetrical double eyelids (one inline, one outline non parallel), normal length nose, thin skin on nosebridge, very thick skin on the tip, a bulbous tip, wide alars (alar spread when smiling) and small lips, small chin. In general, I have a very asymmetric face, my eyes are not on the same level, same as my brows, one half of my face is slim and weak and the other half has strong cheekbone features, wide and sharp jaw. First Rhinoplasty in 2019: My journey started in 2019 where I had my first rhinoplasty in Germany, where I also live. After a lot of research about surgeons and the surgery itself, I decided to go with a well known and reputable ENT rhinoplasty surgeon, who only uses rib and ear cartilage for augmentation. At that time, I was believing that autologous material is safer longterm. I didn't want foreign material, that might require future surgeries at that time. I paid about 6.800 EUR that included anesthesia, rib harvest, and hospitalisation for one night. The meds were about 50 EUR, but I had those covered by my insurance. My body took the surgery itself pretty well, since I do not have problems with the anesthesia. I had rib cartilage harvested and used for tip and bridge augmentation. I asked for a higher bridge and a more defined nosetip. There was no alar reduction and ear cartilage wasn't needed either. The surgeon didnt use "stuffing" in the nose, so I could breath right after i woke up from the anesthesia. The only struggle I had was my throat was hurting, because of the inturbation. It made it hard for me to swallow or drink fruit juices that were acidic. I struggled with the throat pain for about 2 weeks, I guess the inturbation tube was too wide for my throat and scratched the surrounding areas. However, when I woke up from the anesthesia and looked at my cast on my phones front camera, I noticed that the cast wasn't straight. I was very worried, because you keep the cast on for 7 days and if it's not straight, the nose isn't going to heal straight in those first few days. When the surgeon came to check on me, he didn't say anything and said the surgery went fine and somehow I trusted him. I wanted to believe that due to some miracle, my nose is going to look fine after cast removal. And I was so wrong. When they had removed the cast, my nose looked so raw. My bridge was so thin and so crooked and my nosetip was SO bulbous and swollen. It looked insane. The surgeon suggested I should tape my nose and use some extra cotton to have pressure on the side of my bridge - pushing it straight... Which i did, but it didn't help. The rib implant on the bridge kept shifting to the side and it never healed in place, from the constant pushing and snapping back to the crooked position. I was genuinely devastated and depressed, because it looked so obviously crooked and the implant edges were showing. I had sharp shadows on my nosebridge from the implant poking. It really was challenging, mentally too and I had to take a break from working as well, because I couldn't see people in their faces. I was so self conscious about it, that I wasn't able to function anymore in day to day life. Fast forward 6 months with therapy, stationary clinical treatment for depression, I managed to contact my surgeon and tell him about my current state. He told me to see him ASAP and when he saw the result after 6 months, he offered a revision for free. I only had to pay the hospitalisation and the anesthesia fees, because those were being outsourced in another clinic. I accepted that offer, because I couldn't continue living with this nose on my face. It was robbing me of my confidence and living energy. At that time, it was also when Covid was forcing countries to close their borders so the option of going to Korea to fix the nose was not really available. 2nd Revision 2020: I trusted the same surgeon and this time we focused on making the bridge centered. My body took the surgery well, just like the first one. We had adjusted the size of the inturbation tube to prevent injuring my throat when putting it in / taking it out and it worked well. I didn't have any pain after the surgery. The cast was looking more straight and I also received cortisol meds to reduce the swelling. However, just when I stopped taking the cortisol meds, the swelling came and my nose was very swollen. The cast removal was unfortunately not great either, but it was an improvement from the previous result. The implant was shifting still but it wouldn't shift too much. When complained that it is still off-centered and the implant is moving, his response was that my face is asymmetrical, e.g. my eyes and this is the best i can get. I should live with the asymmetries and when I said that my tip has gotten bigger instead of more defined, he said this is the best I can get once again. He blamed my thick skin + fat + tissue and warned me against doing anything abroad. I had asked for the surgical records and never received these. Anyway, since I got a slight improvement on the bridge, I was able to continue living my life once again. My friends would say they dont notice it being crooked, however with time, my nose started to look worse from the side profile. I had a little dent between the bridge implant and the nosetip. I don't know if it was due to resorption of the cartilage. It wasn't pleasant. I had realized I paid over 7k EUR to get a nose that looked worse than my original one. It was a sad realization, also the fact that the revision wasn't to make my nose prettier, but to fix the botched result from the first surgery. My learnings from those two surgeries were: - Do not go to german surgeons, if you have a thick bulbous nosetip. They do not "de-fat" your nose tip, so whatever cartilage work and augmentation they do to make your tip "defined", it's not going to be visible under thick skin. You will not get a defined pointy nosetip without de-fatting the nosetip - period! - Rib cartilage is not neccessarily always better. You will need to find a surgeon that knows how to shape the rib cartilage to your nose structure. (It's difficult because rib cartilage is not as soft and easy to shape). - Do not go trust your surgeon naively like I did. I realize that I wasn't clear enough with the expectations I had. I thought he knows what will look good on my face. I thought he knows what hes doing. I thought he is pricy, hence he is skilled at his profession. I thought he knows stuff like proportions, aesthetics, golden ratios. But he didnt know better. - Be very percise at what you ask for. When I told my surgeon I want a natural result, he just gave me my nose, in worse. He didn't change the look of my nose. I didn't realize, what I wanted in my head was a dramatic change, but I wanted it to look natural in the sense that people won't recognize I had my nose done. I wanted a nose that would fit my face as if I was born with it and never had a different nose before. But my surgeon understood it as "no changes". Honestly, who wants to pay 7k EUR for no change? Not me. - The most annoying part about most german surgeons? They don't show before and after pictures of their previous patients. Negative reviews get deleted from Google. You do not know their results, their aesthetics. It is like a black box. How can you find a surgeon that fits your style, if you cannot see their before & after patients. How can you find a surgeon that is skilled, when the negative comments get removed? You cannot. There is only a few turkish rhinoplasty surgeons in germany that post the before & afters on their instagram. But then again, the style of turkish rhinoplasty surgeons is very distinct and you have to like it. They do their magic and put the same nose on every face, which is incredible in itself. They also do de-fatting on the nosetip, which really is required to get a defined nosetip for people like me. - After my two experiences with rib cartilage. I am not a fan. I wouldn't recommend it. But I know there are people who have good results with rib cartilage. Maybe I just picked a very bad surgeon, hence find a really good surgeon, if you do decide to get rib for your nose bridge. (Finding a good surgeon will be the hard part, as usual) 3rd Revision in March Seoul 2022: I had looked at doing Surgery in Korea before, but due to Covid it didn't seem possible at all. And I was at a point where I was able to live with my non optimal nose. I still spoke to a few clinics on kakao talk to see and hear their opinion on my nose. I wasn't willing to go to Korea with the 14 days quarantine regulation, so when my friend was planning her trip, I kept declining. Eventually they changed the regulation to 7 days quarantine and my life situation had also changed, where I was able to just go to Korea for a month (yay student life once again). Kinda last minute I booked my flights, sorted K-ETA, made appointments with the clinics via Kakaotalk and got my negative PCR test to board the plane to Seoul. I was speaking to View and DA for about a year on-and-off without concrete plans and quotes at that time. When I had booked my flight 1 week in advance, I messaged both and JW for consultation, telling them that I was going to be in Korea in 2 weeks (+7 days quarantine). I had set consultation dates right after my quarantine period with View and DA. JW was fully booked until April and I couldn't stay until April, so we decided there was no point in consulting. Why those two? View: I really liked talking to the english consultant Jasmin, she gave me the feeling that she remembered me everytime we spoke. I knew she was talking to lots of clients, but she was always giving me the feeling that it's all about me. I know this isn't important for the surgery result, but to me it was important to know that there is someone who I can talk to, when I am back in Germany and having questions, struggles and worries. I needed to feel reassured that I won't be left alone as soon as I leave the surgery table and paid the cash. She really gave me the feeling that I was going to be treaten well and they will try to give me the best result and the best price. Despite the treatment from their english consultant, I really liked the results of Dr. Jeong Jinwook. He specialises in Rhino and Facial contouring. I had checked out the B&A on Gangnam Eunnie and I liked the aesthetics. I knew I didn't want a dolly nose, which he is known for, but a little cute slope would make me happy. I also spoke to a girl on kakaotalk and she had revision with View before, because she wasn't happy with the aesthetics. I really appreciated this fact, because it showed me, that they really care for longterm relationships. Plastic Surgery is not like you buy and leave, never see you again. The post-care isn't just the 7 days after surgery. Things can happen during the healing process, that take up to 1 year or longer. I wanted to be in good reliable hands, even after the 7 days immediate post-treatments. I am not the best at bargaining, but I gave her my budget and told her what I want. Since I was being very last minute, I also placed a deposit to secure a surgery date. I paid about 1k EUR and that included staying in one of their VIP rooms, airport pickup and drop off, deswelling treatment and a guaranteed surgery date. It was important to me to get a guaranteed surgery date, if I decide to go with them. I did not want to be forced to make a choice with a different clinic, because of surgery dates not matching at View. At that point I wasn't 100% sure which clinic it's going to be, because I wanted to speak to the surgeon first, before making a final decision. Oh I also wanted to add that I only had to pay deposit, because I wanted to consult with Dr. Jeong Jinwook. If i had asked for another surgeon or not mention any preferred surgeon, I don't think deposit would have been neccessary. DA: I was talking to DA for a while until I had been ghosted, I really liked their full-face-transformations. However, I wasn't looking for a full face transformation, just a little nose fix. Here I struggled a bit on Gangnam Eunnie to find a rhino surgeon that I liked. Most of their surgeons do almost everything, at least that was my impression. There were a few surgeons, who only did boobs and eyes, but most of them know how to do noses too. I had a hard time deciding for a doctor. When I messaged them again, after being ghosted (left on read) I told them that I was in Seoul and I would love to come for consultation. They had responded and apologized for the lacking response previously. It left a bitter side note for me personally, because this was what I am afraid of the most. Being ghosted and left alone with eventual issues or requests after surgery. However the consultation was very thorough and they were very friendly to my surprise. It was a complete opposite experience compared to the previous chats. They suggested the most experienced rhino surgeon for my case and she initially suggested rib reharvest, but I denied. I already had a bad looking scar from my first rib harvest and I asked them to possibly re-use the rib cartilage that I already have in my nose. It was indeed possible to do that and have silicone for the bridge and ear cartilage for the nose tip. The rib cartilage would have been used to augment the nose base, because my columnella was pushed inwards and the base was collapsing a bit from the weight of the tip implants. I was really happy with the consultation and I also asked for Double Eyelid. My eyes were luckily an easy case that could be fixed with non-incisional method. I also mentioned the fact that I was ghosted to the consultant and he was very apologetic and explained that they had swapped their entire team. So not every contact was picked up again like my case. I understood, but I needed more reassurance, like something on paper haha. He agreed that we would definitely find a solution, which I was happy about. When I went back to my Hotel I researched the suggested surgeon and her B&A results. She was doing very natural looking noses and I knew she would be able to fix all the problems, that came with the initial surgery, but I was being greedy. I didn't just want the problems fixed, I also wanted a pretty nose this time around. I ended up deciding against DA, because I wanted both, fix the crooked nosebridge AND a cute and defined nose. I felt that the suggested surgeon wasn't having the same aesthetic as me. Only for this reason I decided against DA. They were very accomodating on everything else I had asked for, also regarding the price. I was positively surprised. Rhinoplasty 3rd Revision and non-incisional Double Eyelid Surgery with View: I had 2 consultations with the doctors, one initial consultation with health check including blood check, CT-Scan and heart check and a second one on the day of surgery. This time I was much more prepared regarding what I want. I had a Powerpoint slide prepared with pictures of myself, notes on what I disliked and notes on what I wanted to achieve with surgery. I also showed pictures of aesthetics I do not like, to make sure, the surgeon and me were on the same page. We decided on pulling my collumnella down with the existing rib cartilage, ear cartilage for the nosetip and 3D printed soft silicone for my nosebridge. I had asked the surgeon why the rib cartilage was always moving and what would be different with silicone, to make sure it stays centered and fixed in place. His response was that the rib cartilage is like a solid brick that is placed on top of the nose bone and structure and it can go left and right as it has no grip and it can not lay over smoothly over the existing structure unlike the soft silicone. I was happy with this explanation and we proceeded as planned. I had paid in 2 parts, because of my daily card limit and my consultant prepared everything I needed for the tax refund and medical record. We went through the Paperwork together and she answered all the questions I had. I felt in save hands. On the surgery day, we started with eyes and then nose, so I was getting the IV needle in which was very painful (lol) and eventually I dosed off. I assume that is when I had gotten the local anesthesia for the eye procedure. When I woke up I heard my consultant say that the surgeon is here now and she is going to measure the distance again and I did not have to open my eyes during that. Eventually I was dozing off again and tripping from the sedation IDK. I was dreaming about sitting in a cart driving through a rainbow land full of colours, lol. Eventually I came out of that dream and only felt some pulling on my eyes, but I couldn't do anything. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt like I was getting stitched together without feeling any pain. When she was done, the consultant told me that I was going to put under GA now for the rhinoplasty. After that I woke up in the recovery room and it was already night. I was disoriented and luckily my consultant and friend were ready to help me. The anesthesia hit me a bit differently than the one from Germany. I wasn't vomiting or feeling nauseous, but I felt very weak. I had to walk around a bit before I was okay to get discharged. The walking felt hard, because I was so lightheaded and any fast movement would make me feel dizzy. I was also very very thirsty, because at that point I had fasted for 24 hours I think? I had fasted 12h before surgery. Suggested fasting time was 10h before Surgery. My throat was unfortunately hurting, my eyes were heavy and swollen from the surgery too and my nose was stuffed with the cotton. I felt more beaten up, than during the procedures in Germany. The consultant had bought the meds with my friends credit card and she told her when to take what meds etc. etc. It was nice having my friend with me, because I was in no state to understand the meds lol. My friend also made sure to prep me with sweetened pumpkin juice, because the unsweetened one was really undrinkable. This time around the whole recovery was very slow for me, because my injured throat from the inturbation turned into an inflammation. I wasn't able to drink, eat nor sleep properly. I was suffering from the dry air from the hotel air conditioning, my throat would instantly dry out from the mouth breathing, i wasn't able to swallow food, it was a nightmare lol. I was in so much pain, that I asked the consultant to see the surgeon and have him check my throat. He confirmed that it was due to the open wound plus a weak immune system, stress on body causing the inflammation. It would take a week to get better, so I went to the pharmacy and bought some mouth rinse and only ate congee for a whole week. I realized not eating and sleeping well, really slows down the recovery process by a lot. I am very unfortunate that I don't take the inturbation well. On day 8 I had gotten my cast removed, stitches from my ears and nose removed. They also cleaned my nose insides and gave me a nose peel and deswelling light. My eyes had healed nicely and were very symmetrical. My nose looked SO much better on cast removal. I couldn't believe my eyes. When I got to the hotel I was stoked and happy. The overall shape had improved so much and my nosetip was so refined, I didnt know that was possible. The nosebridge is centered, the tip is defined, no shadows of the implant, columnella is pushed out. I couldn't have asked for more. I am so happy with my decision and I am finally getting my confidence back <3. I love the fact that I no longer have to edit my pictures anymore. It's such a blessing. The journey went on longer than I had anticipated, but I reached my happy ending!! Hope this post was informative. I apologize for bad spelling and bad grammar! I added some pictures 10 days post OP 3rd revision, before any surgery, and 2nd revision 1 year post OP (off-centered nose).

Consultations on this update: Nana Hospital (ENG) Mind Clinic (ENG NANA (Eng) I reached out because I saw some girl get her surgery and it looked super natural. I reached out to the channel to ask where she got it done, and they privately messaged me and told me it was Nana. I reached out in English and there were some delays, but it was fine. They recommended ptosis correction and epicanthoplasty, and for my rhinoplasty, suggested full open rhinoplasty + alar base reduction. Other clinics told me that that they thought I wouldn’t need epi or that the rhino would help with my eyes looking “closed” off, but when I asked Nana, they told me epi seems necessary for me. When I voiced my concern with sausage lids, they recommended natural adhesion method. Honestly, this made me cross them off in my list. There is no way for natural adhesion to work on me just because I have a lot of fat and thick skin — it would unravel so quickly. It would cost 1-2.5 mil KRW depending on whether I decide to do incisional or natural adhesion. They also said if I could write in Korean and leave reviews, they could lower is 0.8-1.5 mil KRW. For nose, it would be 3.5 mil KRW and around 2.5 mil KRW if I chose to write a review. So cheap! But I feel iffy LOL. Mind Clinic (ENG) I liked this place since it seemed medium size, and the rhinoplasty reviews seem really good. They have more natural adhesion reviews, but some of the incisional methods I’ve seen look decent. For my nose, they suggested bulbous nose correction, alar reduction, and septum extension, with silicone + septal/ear cartilage as the materials. Donor rib would also be a possibility if I don’t have enough cartilage. If I agreed to being used as a promotional model (eyes blurred out, only nose shown), it would be roughly 4.5 mil KRW. If not, then it would be 6.5 mil KRW with an additional 1 mil KRW if I end up using rib. They said ptosis correction doesn’t seem necessary, but the price of incisional + ptosis would be 2.5 mil KRW. So far, I’m interested in Mind, Naturalism, and Premier for my nose. I didn’t consult with Premier about my nose (lazy lmao) but I definitely want to go to an in person consultation as I like their nose results. Naturalism is the first on my list, but I’m not putting my hopes high as they’re super booked and I don’t think they would accommodate to my limited schedule as they’re popular enough with foreigners. I really want to find somewhere that does nose and eyes well, but Premier’s incisional methods seem very hit or miss, so I think I’m going to end up going to Luho for eyes, and one of the three for my nose.

No problem Hmm, their convenience stores usually don't sell groceries (e.g. veggies, raw meat) but they do sell a wide variety of instant food/ready-to-go meals! So don't worry about it getting food there. Also, they have other popular convenience store chains such as CU and GS25. Cheers!

Different clinics have different refund policies. Legally, clinics are only required to refund 90% of the surgery cost (i.e. not the 10% deposit) if you cancel 3 days before the surgery date. It is always good to ask for the clinic to provide the refund policy in black and white when you pay the deposit for avoidance of doubt in the event you would like to get a refund subsequently. I wouldn't rush to book a surgery date unless you are super sure that you are going to go with the doctor. Paying the deposit means they know they have locked you in. Consequently, 1) You lose your bargaining power to negotiate for lower prices 2) They won't be so welcoming and may even make you wait for a fair bit before the f2f consult with the doctor if there are other potential patients which they have not managed to lock in 3) You are at their mercy if they decide to shift your surgery date to slot in someone else or if the doctor is suddenly not available I would try to squeeze in as many consultations as possible on Day 1 (and Day 2 if needed). Remember to ask for the surgery dates after consultation (clinics are usually willing to shift local patients around to slot in international patients). You can refer to my other post on pre-surgery pointers and consultation questions for more details of questions you may wish to ask during the f2f consults (https://beautyhacker.com/topic/1015406-pre-surgery-pointers-list-of-consultation-questions/).

That's a decent set to start with since both are well known to perform lip surgeries. MVP though has a tendency to emphasize its reconstructive and cleft lip skills, while Deesse tends to emphasize its cosmetic lip surgery skills. That's not to say that MVP can't do purely aesthetic enhancements, nor that Deesse can't do cleft surgeries. Some other places that come up for lip surgery are Golden View, Hyundai Aesthetics, and HB Plastic Surgery. The latter two (Hyundai and HB), from their surgeon bios and some old blog mentions, used to work at Deesse, so I imagine, they also trained under their main lip surgeon and may be well practiced also. It would be best to see which one suits your preferences when you reach out.

Some clinics will charge you an extra fee for credit cards. Then sometimes your credit card will charge an extra fee then 10% tax which for some procedures you get back. So if your surgery is $5000 k usd and add 10% tax, 3% fee, 10% interest that’s 23% extra. (Just throwing out numbers) . Could be more or less . $1150. That’s significant. Cash is the cleanest way to pay. Convert in a bank so the clinic does not rip you with the exchange rate. I prefer to bring cash. Street crime is very low. I used a money belt. Most people spend it on surgery within the first few days anyway.

Here are couple of options: 1) Pre-order SIM with unlimited data plans (BEFORE GOING TO KOREA) http://www.egsimcard.co.kr/ You have to order this before you arrive to Korea it can be delivered to your accommodation or you can pick it up at the airport. Good for short and long stays. 2) Get SIM / Pocket WiFi at the airport (ALREADY IN KOREA, but at Airport) There are SIM card and pocket Wifi eggs available for rental. This is convenient for short stays under 15 days. 3) Pre-paid SIM in the City - KT Olleh Shop (Left the airport, but in the city) https://global.olleh.com:444/eng/contents/about.do Going to an KT Olleh Global Shop (one near Gangnam Station) will allow you to get a SIM with data plan and a local number. This can be a good option for both short and long stays. Visit a global shop, it will be easier to deal with. You need your passport, and must pay in cash only. ------------------- Pocket WiFi's are nice, but having a SIM is just a lot easier, and you don't have to worry about carrying around another device

Hi all! Nice to meet you. I’m a long time lurker in the kk chats (almost a year now). However I try to jump in and participate when I can. I am a female in my mid 20s. I am going to Korea in November for the first time. I will be getting: vline, maybe zygoma, rhino with osteotomy, incisional des, epi, lateral cantho, ptosis correction. I’m really excited and can’t wait to share my experience and photos with the community!

Hello I'm lemontea also Hana on the kkt chats. I had double eyelid 5 years back, but going to seoul this october for des revision and vline surgery. Nice to meet you alll

Hi! Anyeli here! Thank you For organizing this forum. I’m in Korea right now. I had Face/necklifts, full body lipo, facial fat Graph and Breast lift. MVP, 365reset and Evita. Looking forward to enjoying this new no spin zone, forum.

Hello! I love this new forum!