ladybugz

I had my nose and eyes (revision) done there.

Yeah Dr. Park Wonjin is supposed to be good. I didn't have him (well, couldn't afford him -- I think they charge an extra 25% for him) but I had some other really experienced surgeon (they actually never told me his name). After-care is horrible-to-non-existent for foreigners, but the surgeon himself was great.

Their main gallery is hilariously photoshopped. I think their "real story" pics gives a more accurate picture of the turnouts:

http://www.wonjinbeauty.com/index.asp?inc=news/Real_Story

I had a closed rhinoplasty. I have a round, chubby face with a LOT of fat and thick skin, and they used a 4.5-5mm silicone on my nose. It's not obvious at all because of how thick my skin is.

If you have thin skin or a super-skinny face, please be wary of silicone. There are too many horror stories, if you read these forums.

 

Hi Nuevo,

Even after a couple of months, the tip still got rock hard and HUGE (like, pre-nose-job huge) whenever I ate really badly the night before. Then I'd eat really healthy for a few days, and it'd go back to being soft and natural. I also noticed a tendency for the nostrils/columella to go crooked whenever it was hard, and then it would go straight once my nose softened up and de-swelled.

Thankfully, the doctors are right in that the crookedness comes from swelling -- in fact, I pinpointed the exact spot/bump (?) inside my nose where it became hardened during my "swell days," and it would lean to the left side due to the weight of the swollen areas.

It sounds like you've had a severe case of swelling. I'm not a doctor, but what you said about your upper lip and not being able to flare your nostrils sounds precisely like someone who (like myself) has had unusually extreme and long-lasting swelling. I, too, noticed that during my swollen days, my nose is as hard as a rock, but during my good days I've been able to not only flare my nostrils, but wrinkle my nose (and I had a 5 mm implant, so that says something). I know a lot of posters look and feel gorgeous like 1 month (or even a couple of weeks) after surgery, but not all of us heal that well or that quickly.

The shininess, unfortunately, is probably permanent and is a result of silicone, so if you don't like that, you'd have to get the implant replaced with rib or some other material.

Good luck!

 

Wow, I am so sorry to hear that! However, since you are so fresh out of surgery, I really must urge you to give it some time and not feel so bad about your nose. It changes SO MUCH during the first year, and swelling DOES make a difference.

I've known people whose noses look amazing immediately after surgery, and then their skin thins out badly or the bridge looks too low after all the swelling's gone. So, you never know. I myself had a primary eyelid surgery that was so pretty and natural-looking for the first few months. After a year, my crease was lost, my right eyelid suffered from very noticeable ptosis, and it stopped looking symmetrical. I recently went under a revision, and while I looked like a freak with huge, unnaturally deep eyelids the first two months, it's finally starting to look more natural and I can tell the crease will actually stay this time (since they made it deep enough).

My nose was straight immediately after surgery, but then all of a sudden it was super-swollen, tilted to one side (esp. the nostrils/columella), and my nose swelled up to its original fat, ugly size after eating some salty Chinese food. I freaked out and even posted on this board asking if it was possible for your old noses to "grow back" lol. It finally went back down and settled in straight again. So, please please please have patience! Good luck and I am praying for you!

 

Yep -- if you look at her facebook profile/background pic, they took out WAY too much fat on her face and now she has to photoshop her fat back in. I can't really judge her or her doctors, though -- as someone who has too much fat on my face, I understand how it goes -- it's hard to get a nice medium!

 

I did eyes & nose at Wonjin. No, I wouldn't say they were too subtle at all. They ask you whether you want "glamorous or natural" several times. However, their after-care is horrible to non-existent and this is a really big problem when it comes to eyelid surgery because if the stitches are left in your eyelids for too long, you'll get tiny *permanent* cyst-like bumps. I have one on my left eyelid. So if you go to them, make them agree in writing to get your stitches out in a timely fashion.

 

I saw that the RachelleReis poster's account has been suspended/deactivated by the website for deceptive promotion. That's really too bad, because her pictures were certainly impressive. I actually wrote a post defending her earlier because I figured that not everyone who consents to having his/her photo actually receives free plastic surgery/is under some form of sponsorship. Apparently I was wrong in her case and she was, in fact, sponsored? I think someone posted this earlier, but she is listed as an employee of the hospital(!) in this Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/smpskoreahospital/posts/1471934973032681

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rachelle-M-Reis/382417875180827

Rachelle, if you still read this board, feel free to explain yourself.

Plainly, I am really tired of fake reviews/posters. This is people's health we're talking about. An incompetent doctor or clinic could seriously harm someone (or even kill). There's nothing wrong w/ sharing your experiences, but when I see a CANNED review like:

Day 1: I went to Korea. It was so scary!

Day 2: Had my last meal before surgery. Peace out to my friends and family!

Day 3: So swollen...

Day 10: Cast off!

One month: I'm gorgeous now!

It really insults one's intelligence. If you want to review a place, please be honest and don't just write a canned review.

*I still stand by my statement that not everyone in the before/afters is sponsored, though. My primary eyelid surgery was featured on my American surgeon's website several years ago and I never received payment for it. However, when you read these pre-formatted reviews, it's pretty clear what's going on...

 

I replied to your other post already, but what happened to your eyes??

 

I did end up going there.

Wow, that sounds horrible. I actually had a really good experience with the rhinoplasty surgeon. I, too, had a bad eyelid surgery experience in terms of patient care and post-op treatment (plus the surgeon didn't listen to me at all), but at least the aesthetics came out decent and my eyes were not botched at all.

What happened exactly? What do your eyes look like now? Who did you contact at the clinic?

 

I had a 5 mm implant. It's definitely significant because I had absolutely no bridge whatsoever before, but it's not as high as some other people's because perhaps their bridge wasn't so flat to begin with.

I do know most doctors won't give you more than a 6. They all said it would look too fake and would inevitably thin out the skin on my nose (even though I have very thick skin to begin with). I definitely agree with that assessment now that it's been a couple of months since my surgery -- my skin (which is much thicker than average) is stretched significantly with even a 5 mm implant.

 

I agree -- I find it very weird when people write PRE-FORMATTED reviews that all sound the same, and usually it's to specifically talk up a clinic.

 

I'm confused -- why did you hire a translator for Wonjin? They have in-house translators who are bilingual in English, Mandarin, etc. free of charge. Perhaps you paid a higher price for commission of the translator? I do know that getting it done by Dr. Park costs extra $$.

They didn't do all the work they promised me either -- I paid for eyelid surgery plus ptosis correction. The eyelid doctor did not want to do ptosis correction on me (even though I need it badly for my right eye), yet I had already paid for both procedures. Very annoying.

How is your nose looking? Have you gotten the cast off yet? I LOVED my nose after taking off the cast. Two weeks later, I ate some really high-sodium food and my nose swelled back up to its original size (I totally freaked out and was like omg, did I waste my money?!). Now that it's been 1.5 months, my nose is back down and I'm really liking it.

 

Yeah I went to a large clinic with their own anesthesiologists, too. Their clinical staff was still awful. Like SoongSister said, figure out what will work for you -- what kind of anesthesia you prefer -- and then demand very vigorously that they abide by your wishes.

Don't worry about the nose job though -- they put you on "full" sedation for that, so you won't wake up in the middle.

 

Hi ShinyGlittery,

In Korea, this is what I have observed to be the norm:

-- IV sedation (with very MILD local anesthesia) for eyes
-- IV sedation (full-blown; you're completely asleep) for nose
-- General anesthesia for the "hardcore" surgeries like jaw, buccal fat removal, etc.
-- General anesthesia or IV sedation for tummy tucks, BA, other body modification procedures
-- Local for acculift

I've only had my eyes & nose done, so I don't know the others for a fact, but that's just what I was told/have read on other websites.

I am not a fan of the IV sedation for eyes at all. I think it's both overkill and painful at the same time. My primary eyelid surgery was in the U.S. and it was so painless and easy because the doctor used straight-up local anesthesia (i.e. what you would get during a cavities filing at the dentist's). I recovered in 2-3 days and the swelling was gone in about a week or two.

My (revision) eyelid surgery in Korea was SO awful. They knocked me out with IV sedation during the first half of it (that was when I started having a *nightmare* that I was dying). They woke me back up during the second half of the surgery so that I could open and close my eyes. This was incredibly painful because either they did not use local anesthesia, or it had worn off by then. I told them it was painful (esp. when they started pulling the fat out of my eyes!), but they didn't seem to care/act like it was normal.

I found the whole process so unnecessary, because with only local anesthesia (as they use in the U.S.), you're not in pain AND you're fully conscious so that you can open and close your eyes to let them check for symmetry. With IV sedation, I was asleep for the first half and then woke up JUST in time for the painful part.

It's been seven weeks and my eyes are STILL swollen.

Then there was the incompetent/completely untrained phlebotomist who couldn't find my vein and then caused an absurdly large injury while taking a simple BLOOD TEST. It was just so ridiculous.

So, I guess the bottom line is: the after-care, clinical care, and anesthesia is way better in the U.S.... but unfortunately, the aesthetic results for face are better in Korea. It's a no-win situation; you just have to bear the pain and go through it if you want a stronger aesthetic result in Korea!

 

Um, I don't know where you heard that Wonjin was best for eyes... I don't think they're known for it at all. I recently had my eyes and nose done at Wonjin.

They did a wonderful job on my nose. I'm very happy with it (other than the scare I had two weeks after surgery, when I ate greasy Chinese food and my nose swelled right back to its original size lol), and I'm even happier than the surgeon was able to do it via a closed rhinoplasty. Wonjin definitely deserves all the accolades in the world for their nose jobs.

Unfortunately, I am NOT happy with the eyelid surgeon. My eyes look ok, but they did not address my concerns at all. The surgeon refused to perform ptosis correction on me despite agreeing that I had a droopy right eyelid (in her own words -- she was fluent in English, "Yeah, I know"). This is AFTER the consultant charged me for both ptosis correction + double eyelid surgery (I never did receive a refund for the ptosis surgery). I told them right from the beginning that I was not interested in getting eyelid surgery unless I had ptosis correction, and yet I somehow got talked into doing the exact opposite (I'm kicking myself for that). I'm so angry because ptosis -- when it is a severe medical condition -- can lead to a lot of other things (facial asymmetry, muscular disorder, etc.) and I'm already seeing some of the effects. This pretty much guarantees that I will have to get eyelid surgery AGAIN in a few years. It's very disappointing, as I was hoping this would be my last surgery ever. Also, I know this is just how they do things in Korea, but their use of anesthesia is hilariously awful. In the U.S., they usually use local anesthesia, which makes it painless. I MUCH prefer that method. In Korea/at Wonjin, they gave me IV sedation (during which I had a nightmare that I was dying and they were storing my brain into different components), and then I woke up right during the painful part of the surgery. Awful experience all around.

To top it off, all the other reviews on this website were correct: their after-care is non-existent. Literally. Their website claims you can get your stitches out in "5-7 days." Don't believe that. Unless you stay for 7+ days, they won't do it. I had to fly back with stitches on AND pay an extra $150 at my home doctor's office AND I ended up getting a small bump on the incision line due to the stitch being left in for so long. :: shakes head ::

A couple of people on this board have PMed me regarding Wonjin. I would wholeheartedly recommend them for nose jobs but NOT eyelid surgery.

 

I agree with Soongsister. Korea is good for eyelids and noses b/c they understand Asians faces better (as they perform on more of them), but if you want bodily procedures -- particularly lipo, I would go to a U.S. clinic for the exact same reason. Think about it: the level of obesity in the U.S. is WAY higher than in Korea. Liposuction, BA, etc. are so common in the U.S. because that's what American women get.

I also think the Asian methods of lipo are completely unsophisticated compared to U.S. methods. For example, from my research, their extremely popular Acculift has a significantly worse result than SlimLipo (while they are comparably priced). In addition, I learned from my experience in Korea recently that they have a long way to go re: anesthesia options. Seriously, for bodily procedures, I would stick with the U.S.

 

Hey everyone,

For those of you who are familiar with nose jobs... I had a nose job on September 30th in Korea. When they removed the cast, I was THRILLED. My nose was sharp, thin/narrow, and high -- just like I wanted. Even the alarplasty work was perfect (I did not pay for alarplasty, but the surgeon decided to do it for me free of charge because I had one that scarred awkwardly a while ago).

Two days ago (October 18), I woke up with my nose noticeably wider. I tried to ignore it and told myself it was just swelling. Yesterday it continued, and I noticed that one of my nostrils was still very swollen and the other was not (making it look LOWER and asymmetrical). Again, I figured it was just swelling. Today I woke up and my bridge looked nearly non-existent (even though they put a 5 mm implant in!!!!).

I am horrified -- is it possible for your old noses to "grow back?," or is this just some weird swelling? I better not be destined to a wide nose forever! I am NOT interested in getting plastic surgery ever again, so this better turn out well. Ugh.

 

Thank you for your post, Shanghai 1930. I take experiences like yours very seriously when considering this; it really is very difficult to get big/dramatic work done on the eyes without having negative side effects. It doesn't look like one can get the best of both worlds. I guess it just shows that even conventionally great work by an esteemed physician may not result in an appropriate effect for the individual -- I understand how you feel; I definitely would not want the "surprised" look either.

 

That's weird because I've heard a lot of people say that Wonjin has bad reviews -- people say "google them in the other forums." Well, I did, and I still haven't read any bad ones. All the links I've been told to click on have resulted in dead links. I also privately contacted several former patients, and they all had good-to-great reviews, including an American military wife who had a tummy tuck there. The only complaint I've actually heard is from the poster who was (understandably) upset when they tried to jack up the price on her at the last minute after seeing her scar. Another posted -- several years ago -- that they were too busy with bad customer service.

The same is true with Regan; people keep saying it has bad reviews, but I haven't found specific complaints backed up with pictures. The only pictures of actual botched jobs I've seen with my own two eyes have been Grand and BK (for example, that poster OnlyIf posted the pics of his scars).

I *have* watched a Chinese expose about ID hospital's deceptive tactics, so that is verified.

As such, I'm still going to consult with Regan and Wonjin to see if I get a bad feel from them.

If anyone has bad reviews with evidence, please post them. We could all use that information!

 

Nope, I work in health information management & technology. Yes, I was "forward-thinking" enough to refuse to get my photo taken for the staff directory when I started this position (so that people won't be able to compare my before/after).

I was going to get my nose and eyes done, but I may be only getting my nose done now because I have to be back at work the next week. Plus, I wanted to go to Teium for eyes, but the doctor appears to no longer be working due to health issues. I don't want epicanthoplasty or big dolly eyes; I just wanted enough space between my crease so that I can wear makeup & fix the ptosis on my right eyelid.

Actually, I had some really bad news from my dentist during my regular checkup... I started wearing an oral therapy appliance last year for TMJ/bruxism/sleep apnea (yes, I have all of those problems), and the stupid appliance caused me to get NINE cavities in one year! They suggested jaw surgery, but I have a very round face (which I rather like, actually) and I absolutely *cannot* show up at work (keep in mind, I live in an all-white state) with a new nose, new eyes, AND a thin face without being fired & sent straight to the insane asylum.

So, I am now attempting acupuncture on my jaw, possibly not getting my eyes done (unless I can find a doctor as competent as Teium's), and just sticking to improving my nose.

 

Yep, I concur. If you have a simple enough nose and all you need is an implant, I'm sure you'll get a great deal anywhere. If you need a ton of things done to it (like I do), you need to be really careful to ask for an all-inclusive price.

 

A lot of people say that Pitangui is cheap, but when I emailed them, they quoted me nearly as much as VIP and TL (the most expensive clinics). I guess they are cheap if you ONLY need a silicone implant and that's it. They tried to charge me alarplasty, tiplasty, silicone implant, etc. separately. I emailed them again asking them to confirm (people on this board suggested that I might have read it wrong) -- it was correct, they charge each portion separately!!

 

Thanks! I just got ahold of View by phone again; their English translator isn't there today but they told me to call back on Monday. At least they didn't hang up on me this time lol.

Do you know how much View charges for eyelid surgery & nose?

 

I'd prefer subtle for eyes, dramatic for nose.

I've emailed View but they never responded... When I called, they hung up on me because they couldn't speak English! How did you get ahold of them? Was it by translator?

What is Girin's website/contact info? I googled them but didn't find anything.

 

Yep his screenname is "onlyif." See his post below:

Originally Posted by onlyif Hi guys, for those who still remember me, I'm 3 months post-op, and things are not looking good..

I feel depress each time I look at the mirror, and after almost 2 months, GRAND's translator has finally replied me (she said she overlooked and missed my email though I actually kakao her I have replied so I'm not really sure what happened, but as if it matter anyway)

My chin dent is still there, not to mention my protrusion in my left nostril, and due to the bad stitching after my tiplasty, I look worst than I was before surgery. I promised you guys some photos so I'll post it below.

As you can see, the left side of my nostril wall has such bad stitching and I have to use BBcream to cover it each time I step out of my house! I've tried to be positive, but after 3 months, it's really taking a toil on me..

http://i43.tinypic.com/w6sae1.jpg

Will update again soon. Am saving money for a court case against them. Planning to post on Chinese forum up next to warn people by sharing my experience.. At least maybe I will feel better that I can save some people from them rather than doin nothing n getting depressed. Every part they touched just go wrong! I don't know how I can correct all these things... It's just very depressing...

 

I have tried calling them repeatedly the last few days but no one has answered, and I haven't had my email returned since late August. Does anyone know if this clinic is closed for good?

(Alternately, can anyone recommend another super-competent eyelid surgeon for ptosis correction specifically? I have a bit of a lazy right eye; I noticed in my recent pictures that my entire face is becoming slightly asymmetrical because it tries to like, self-correct the dropping muscles on my right side).