peterpan88

Thanks. I'll post my experience with Teuim and OZ soon.

Regarding Doctor Kwon's revision skills, I can't really say anything. My eyes surgery is a primary case (first-time). So I don't know how good he will be with revision (which is supposedly harder, right?)

I can only speak to his ability with primary case - and he's pretty skillful at that. Actually, of all the clinics I visited (Regen, D.A., Girin, Teuim) -- I like his work the best - for making eyes really natural yet still a significant improvement. Regen and Girin are good with eyes too, however, they are a bit too big (too dolly) for my liking. I'm a guy so I don't want to look like a deer caught in the headlight.

Doctor Kwon is also good at removing extra skins from upper and lower eyelids. I had some heavy fold on my right eye (which makes it smaller and more sleepy than my left one). After the surgery, both my eyes look more symmetrical because he removed the heavy skinfold on my right eye. But still, it may be too soon to tell because I'm only 2 weeks post my eye surgery. I'll keep you updated about the results later.

For nose...I'm not sure. But Teuim is not the place to go for nose. In fact, given that their specialty is eyes only - that's all they are good for. I remember some girl on this forum went there for a neck lipo, and she got some horrible burn... so, try to avoid going to clinics for procedures that they are not specialized in. They will do it for you, definitely, because you got the cash. But it's not in your best interest...

 

Hi there, the email is: [email protected]



Gluck!

 

You're very welcome. Yeah, I think some people on here posted this. They have the contact info for Girin:

http://s4.postimg.org/aqi1cgtzx/clinics1.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/sclb3icpp/clinics2.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/ekbhlmbbx/clinics3.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/75m5t8pgd/clinics4.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/o26n7x7ml/clinics5.jpg
http://s4.postimg.org/6jx6x4ue5/Clinics_Contactinfo.png
http://s4.postimg.org/cwcc6yxgd/Clinics_Contactinfo2.jpg

The thing about Girin is: you need to send them an email in Korean first - to catch their attention. In the email, make sure you mention that you need an English translator. Don't disclose the fact that you're a foreigner. Just say you prefer to have both Korean and English consultants.

If you send them an email in English, they may take forever to respond, or never at all...

 

Thank you for your kind words. Yeah, if I had known what a b*tch she would turn out to be, I would never have considered a translator.

I think they used partly some self-dissolvable stitches on me, but the other stitches definitely needed to be removed. The removal part is not as painful as some people mentioned. Maybe I was lucky that none of the stitches stuck to my nerves, so I didn't feel anything when they removed them.

As for clothes, they gave me some very puffy pijamas to wear - kinda like those Japanese Samurai outfits you see - no button, just a string to tie it up. But you won't be naked, so don't worry! I've never heard of anyone being naked during their surgery lolz. Isn't that like ...porn?!

Thanks again for the wishes. I very much like my angles so far. It takes some time for me to adjust to my new face - you know, you grew up with this face for 18 years, and then bam, one day you woke up looking like some other person (albeit hotter). Though it stills needs some getting used to.

 

My best advice for you would be to arrange with the clinic for an in-house translator. That means the clinic hires their own translator before you come to consult. That way, whatever cost will get transferred to them, and not you who have to bear the cost.

Most clinics will go out of their way to accommodate you. And they are very happy to have international patients (trust me, we bring more money to them than the locals, lol). For example, EverM told me they are looking to hire a translator because more and more English-speaking patients are visiting them. Also, the ones with no English consultants (such as Girin - which I also visited) told me that they have a deal with the nearby clinics - in such a way that if given 3 days notice, they can "borrow" the in-house translators from the other clinics. So, planning is the key here. Don't come to Korea without planning ahead, then you make yourself more vulnerable to those hawks looking to take advantage of you (financially).

 

Oh no no, I didn't make myself clear. When I said swelling subsided 80% for me, I only mean for jaw. For eyes, it takes a lot longer to heal (and since I had it during the last few days of my stay in Korea), I'm still a hell lot swollen in the eyes (not to mention the redness). I got some questions from co-workers when I come back to work, but I just said I got lasik surgery. (white lies, God forgives me).

Thank you for your wishes. I did a lot of sight seeing while I was there. Korea is such a beautiful place. I love the country!

 

My swelling has subsided about 80% now, so I can clearly tell the result. And I love it.
It's not one of those dramatic differences where everybody noticed right away. The change is subtle but very effective. My jaw is so much more angular now (because of the way he cut it), and my chin is more prominent (more masculine). Before I had a round jawline, but now, my jaw looks like Jesse Pinkman's (look him up). That's the result I was hoping for and I got it. Granted that the swelling is still there, I can't tell 100% the result yet. But I like what I see so far. Fingers crossed, hopefully it will only get better...

Oh and to answer your question, I think it's perfectly safe to do eyes. For nose, I don't know. They may have a problem with seeing proportionality because of the way your face is swollen. But if you just do eyes, there is really no need to judge the proportionality of your face.

 

CONT


I tried to sleep as much as possible after rinsing my mouth with Listerine. But it was so hard to sleep (especially with all the tubes and with your head kept so high). I was actually in an upright position (like on an airplane), and my butt started to itch because I haven’t moved for 24 hours! So my sleep came in broken pieces, about 2 hours each, and then I would wake up. So the entire night, I think I slept for about 6 hours. At 9AM, Doctor Yoon came in to check on me. He took out the mouth tube. Thanks God! That was the most uncomfortable part. He also took out the bandage under my chin. I thought it was kinda strange. Usually they kept the bandage there for several days to secure the new bones in place. So I asked him. I had to repeat myself 2 times because he couldn’t understand my English at first (with my mouth swollen being the reason). Then he answered me, saying that it’s ok to take out the bandage because my bones were secured using screw, so there was no risk of any muscle sagging or dislocation. I was a bit relieved. And then the nurses gave me medicines to drink for the next few 10 days, with also 2 bottle of clinical mouthwash (not the commercial one like Listerine). I think this one is a bit stronger and more effective in keeping your mouth germ-free. They called me a cab and sent me back to my hotel.

So all in all, my surgery experience was pretty smooth, except for the first two hours after general anesthesia where I felt really dizzy and nauseous, there wasn't any pain at all. It’s just a lot of discomfort, especially when you try to eat and brush your teeth. But I have got used to it now, and swelling has gone down about 80% for me. The Doctor said I’m a very fast healer because my physical condition was in top shape before the surgery. He did warn me not to jump right back into the gym though to give my jaw some time to adjust. Maybe after 4-6 weeks, I can work out again. But gaining weight isn't really my concern at this point – being on a liquid diet actually helped me lose 7 lbs! That’s right. No need for pills or training camp – I lost all that weight just by doing nothing! That’s a side effect that I would happily accept.

Below are some pictures at EverM: my surgery room, the ice bag, … I didn't manage to take a picture of the wonderful nurse who took care of me overnight, but I will forever be grateful to her for helping me during those difficult hours of my life.

Pictures:

Ice bag:
http://s10.postimg.org/qs0jglnll/photo_20.jpg

Doctor Yoon's office:
http://s10.postimg.org/m2alrzwl5/photo_1_5.jpg

The resting room:
http://s10.postimg.org/wroak98e1/photo_2_6.jpg
http://s10.postimg.org/nesatvu0p/photo_3_2.jpg

Some random certificates I saw on his wall:

http://s10.postimg.org/6cuve1prt/photo_2_7.jpg
http://s10.postimg.org/j6xil4sl5/photo_3_3.jpg
http://s10.postimg.org/77m0dtn09/photo_4_2.jpg

Their card:

http://s24.postimg.org/6spuo3zsl/photo_1_4.jpg

One more thing I forgot to add: during my overnight recovery at EverM, I actually sneaked out of my resting room and took a short walk while the nurses were asleep. I just wanted to see if there was anyone staying there with me. There was a girl in one other room who had her mandible done. But apart from the two of us, there was no one else. That's actually a good thing in my opinion because it means that the Doctor is not busy rushing from one surgery to another (and maybe forgot a knife in my throat lolz jk). So the fact that Doctor Yoon spent 3 hours on me alone - that makes me feel good, and it reassured me that I made the right choice. Again, I'm not promoting EverM Clinic. This clinic definitely has both pros and cons - for example, one drawback is that they are not a full-blown clinic with eyes, nose, and fat graft blah blah - so if you want those, you have to go somewhere else. But when it comes to jaw, I'm happy I went with them. This is my first jaw surgery (and hopefully the last), so I'm happy I was in good hands.

 

My Surgery Experience at EverM:

On the morning of the surgery, I went with my translator to EverM. I was a bit late because of traffic, so we rushed to the X-ray center to take photos of my chest and do some testings (this center does a lot of testing for the clinics at Gangnam. Kinda like an outsourced service). Because they have more testing facilities and equipment here that some mid-sized or small clinics don’t have.

After about half an hour, everything was done. I was taken back to EverM. Then one of the nurses came and read me some consent form and notice before surgery. To my surprise, it was actually written in English (even though she read to me in Korean). Then Doctor Yoon came and went over my expectations before the surgery (I think they call it “pre-op briefing&#8221. Everything went smoothly, but my heart starts to pound faster. I guess this is when it actually dawned on me that I was about to go through a major surgery. I prayed to God that the surgery would go well. Then they took me to a preparation room. One of the nurses came and cleaned my face (they told me to shave the night before). She also shaved any extra hair that I missed on my chin. (hey, I’m a guy. I’m not so good with details&#8230

The final step: they took me to the surgery room. It was a mid-sized room, with around 4-5 nurses. There was one main Doctor (Doctor Yoon), and an assistant Doctor (who doesn’t operate because his specialty is not maxillofacial) but just stayed in the surgery room to assist the main surgeon. Then they put the anesthesia tube on my nose and within 5 seconds, I was out like a candle in the storm. I still remembered voices in my head reading the bible as I was going out lolz. It was surreal, like on those Korean soap operas about Doctors with Jang Yong Gun in it.

When I opened my eyes (somebody woke me up and said “surgery was successful” in English), I felt so so weak. Like my whole body just got hit by a truck. The nurses put something very cold on my face and I could barely make out her face. She mumbled “half an hour more till resting room”. I figured they meant they would let me stay in the surgery room for half an hour until I regained my strength, and then they would take me to the resting room, where I would spend the night. That half an hour was tough! I lied there, not being able to see my face, feeling so sore and dry in my throat. My whole body felt deflated like a balloon out of helium. I tried to breathe in and out deeply (to empty the effect of anesthesia in my body). But there were tubes in my mouth and throat so it was very hard to breathe, and it hurts every time! Being a guy, I thought my threshold for pain is higher than most, but man, those first few hours after the surgery – those were the bomb! On a scale of ten, I would say 7. I really really wished they would just let me lie right there for the whole day because the way my body was feeling at that moment, I couldn’t imagine moving a centimeter, let alone all the way to the other room! Anyhow, time was up. They rolled me over slowly onto a wheel chair, and then one male nurse actually wheeled me up to the resting room (it was on the ninth floor, where was the operating room was on the 5th floor I think). It was cold on the corridor, but fortunately he made it fast. I actually think it is very considerate of him to leave me inside the room waiting, while he went outside and pushed the elevator button, so that I would stay warm inside (instead of leaving me to wait in the cold on the corridor).

As they lay me down on the resting bed, I knew this was where I would spend the next 18 hours. It was 4PM when my surgery was finished (and we started at 1PM), so I guessed the whole operation took about 3 hours. One nurse came in and hooked my left arm up to a bottle of sea water. She also put two freaking cold ice bags under my chin and use a large bandage to secure them underneath my jaw. I felt a bit uncomfortable to have two ice bags under my chin, but luckily, they took it out after about 2 hours. Then she put two more ice bags on my bed side and told me to apply them regularly for 30 minutes each session, giving myself a rest of 15 minutes between sessions. She also clipped a pin on my toe to monitor my heart rate. It made the situation a bit clumsy because I had too many tubes and strings attached to me: the tubes from my mouth to take out the blood, the tube on my left arm to let in the sea water, the tube on my toe to monitor heart rate. I’m a “no strings attached” kinda guy, so you can imagine how uncomfortable I felt. Lolz.
As I lied there, my stomach began to growl! I got extremely hungry. But the nurse told me not to eat yet.

At 6PM, Doctor Yoon came in. I guessed he went for some consult and a break after my surgery. He told me in his broken English (but kinda cute) that my surgery was 100% successful! Man, I was on cloud nine. He said the surgery went very well, with no complication at all, and that I got 100% the result I wanted: more angles and masculine bone structures. This is all I ever hoped for. Even though it was too soon to tell or even recognize the result, hearing those words from him made me relieved beyond any words can describe. You guys, please keep in mind that plastic surgery is not child’s play. This is after all a surgery. While expertise and facilities play a big part in the outcome, I think luck is also a factor. I thank my ancestor and my guardian star to have helped me get through this. And frankly, there were moments when I kicked myself in the crotch (figuratively) for having gone through such a major surgery just for the sake of beauty. I mean, I’m considered beyond average-looking before the surgery. So this is definitely an indulgence on my part to have this surgery. The bottom line here is that we, by choosing plastic surgery to better our look, are sacrificing our health for our beauty. Nothing in life comes for free. Besides the hefty sum of money we pay, we need to keep in mind the health effect after the surgery and how it would affect our lives FOREVER. If the surgery went badly, then it’s a disaster you’ll have to live with every minute of every day for the rest of your life. If it went smoothly, and you got a beautiful face afterwards, your body still has a long way to recover and it may never get back 100% to the way it was before. I have always been very healthy and active in sports. So I can definitely tell the effect surgery has on my body: not being able to exercise for several months, the blood loss, and having this trauma done to my body, my bones --- those are not things you want to take lightly.

After nightfall, the first batch of nurses left, and the overnight batch came in. This is actually the sweetest part of my experience. The overnight nurse who stayed with me the entire night – she was an angel. And words cannot describe how much I appreciate and love her. To start with, I notice that the overnight nurses were a lot less attractive than the daytime ones. It makes senses, because most clients came to the clinics in daytime, and they want to use the most attractive nurses during daytime to please customers. But at night, there is no need for appearance anymore. So anyway, this overnight nurse who took care of me – she was not beautiful in any standard. Lots of facial pimples and her face was a bit chubby (but her body is skinny). Despite all that, I have to say, she really melt my heart with the way she took care of me. Every half an hour, she would come in to check on me, poured me warm water, and gently massaged my jaw with the ice bags. I was too weak to do all that by myself – so to have someone do it for me, especially late at night, all night long – was a blessing. And to be honest, she really didn’t need to do all that. I’m a stranger who cannot even speak her language, but she treats me really well, and used all the English she could remember from high school to communicate with me. She took my temperature and told me in her broken English with thick accent: “a little high, no worries, normal, not bad”. It was sweet the way she tried to console and alleviate my worries. There was also times when I pushed the button to call the nurse, and she would come in (I think I woke her up in the middle of her sleep), but she wasn’t upset. Very patiently and calmly asked me what I needed. I said I wanted to go pee. So she took out the tube on my left arm and the clip on my toe to let me go. She asked if I could walk by myself or does she need to come with me. And I said I could go by myself. Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed – I don’t want her to see my thingy haha. So as much as I appreciate the offer, I told her to just stay outside.

By midnight, I already felt a whole lot better. I started to apply the ice packs by myself. I also brought some Milo powder chocolate milk in my bags. And I took it out, asked the nurse for some warm water, and made myself some dinner. It was hard to drink with tubes in my mouth but I tried. I knew nutrients are very important during the recovery process, so from day one, we need to eat properly. Also, one very important point for you guys: keep your teeth clean! It was very easy to overlook this part because of the discomfort we feel, and all the pain, but really, it’s very important. Your teeth can get decayed very quickly, and it’s not enough just to rinse with water afterwards. You also need to gargle with Listerine and brush your teeth gently with those small medical toothbrushes. And be careful because you don’t want to tear your stitches!

 

Hey, yeah, I actually got my eyes done, but not at EverM (they don't have that).

3 days after my jaw surgery, I went on consult with Teuim and OZ for my eyes. And I ended up choosing Doctor Kwon for my ptosis. I'll write later about my experience with Teuim (now merged with A&T clinic) and OZ.

 

Yes, I totally agree with you about the environment. EverM is more plain and more medical-looking. They have a lot of medical journals on the table instead of flashy B&A photo-books. It's actually one of the reasons I chose them too - I want to be safe, so the more focus they put on the medical part, the more reassured I feel.

Well, I'm not saying D.A. is bad. I think Doctor Lee is very experienced (especially in jaw and chin), as you said. At D.A., It's not the Doctor I dislike. It's the staffs. They seem too money-greedy and untrustworthy to me. And yeah, what if something goes wrong, knock on wood, you wouldn't want to deal with such foxy people.

At EverM, the money lady was way nicer. When I told her I'm from the States and I couldn't pay by cash, but that wire transfer would take about 2 days, she actually smiled and agreed to let me have the surgery first and then to pay later.

This is where the disgusting part about translator came in: my translator, upon hearing that, actually recommends to the EverM lady that she needs to hold my passport until I pay up. Can you imagine that? I wish I had never brought that devil with me. Lolz.

 

Thank you. I'm 2 weeks post-op and most of my swelling is gone.

Yeah, I'm from the States so I put high value on chiseled, angular faces.

I told the Doctor again and again that I want to be more masculine, not more feminine like most Korean guys.

At D.A., I have to say the girls look like Barbie dolls, and not in a good way. It's like, if you put them next to some mannequins in a store, I wouldn't be able to tell which is which.

The one I'm most impressed with is at Regen. The consultant I met with looks really hot. Oh and I'm gay, so if I pay attention to some girl, she must really earn it!

 

I stay at a student guest house. Can't afford a hotel cause I'm on a budget.

It depends on what procedures you get. But most swelling will go away in 2 weeks.

Good luck healing!

 

IMAGES for D.A. - CLINICS, BEFORE AND AFTER...

http://s28.postimg.org/yb5bazhql/image_4.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/tzgplzatp/image_5.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/vwdfqk1hp/image_7.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/vsjmaaw0d/image_8.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/gp2i3bfyl/image_9.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/vjr3hhpjh/image_10.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/cv91u5yml/image_11.jpg
http://s28.postimg.org/s2p1eiqh9/image_12.jpg

Disclaimer: I do not endorse this clinic or any other clinic on this forum. These photos are only for information purposes and nothing more.

 

(CONT)


Anyway, I believe the extremely high costs are due to the fact that I brought a translator! In fact, one of the English consultants at Regen told me secretly that if I had come by myself, the cost would have been only 12m! Imagine that!
Regen was actually on my list. I didn’t make an appointment with them because they never responded to my English email. However, the English consultant there gave me her email, and said this is the new email for international patients. I will include that email at the end of this email, for those of you who want to make appointments with them.
I repeat: Regen’s English staffs are excellent! The Doctor speaks English like a native American, and they have like 5 English consultants to cater to you. Therefore, NEVER EVER bring your own translator to this place. It will be a waste of your time and money!
Also, if you go to Regen, be prepared to wait at least 2 hours. Doctor Oh is a very busy guy, and this clinic is seriously packed!

One side note: my translator did give me one good tip at Regen: while Doctor Oh was feeling my face with his hands, she told me to smell his hand. If his hand smells a bit like blood, and if it has scar tissues at the tip of his fingers, then that means he is the actual operating surgeon. If however, there is no such sign, then that means he’s just a marketing puppet using his fame to attract customers, and that he would not be operating on people. She told me that Doctor Lee at ID is such a thing: his hands didn’t smell like blood and he has no scars! So there you go, mystery solved!

Pictures at Regen:

http://s3.postimg.org/lrevifc6b/image_1.jpg

http://s22.postimg.org/j9t24fxep/image_2.jpg

http://s18.postimg.org/xisosbb1l/image_3.jpg

Their business card (with email address):

http://s28.postimg.org/xvymvpl71/photo_2_4.jpg


3. Our next stop is D.A. This is the clinic that Doctor Lee from View helped set up. (And many of the people on this forum are thinking about going here). Let me give you some tip: Doctor Lee can understand English well (even though he can’t speak it). And they recently hired an English consultant who used to study at University of Nevada in America. So you can definitely go here by yourself. DO NOT hire a translator to come to D.A. It’s not necessary.

I don’t know how many times I have to repeat this: Don’t hire a translator even if they put a gun to your head and threaten to cut off your testicles. Just DON’T.
My impression of D.A. is that it’s a relatively new clinic, but the facilities look good. However, I didn’t like the look of the receptionists there. They all seem too fake-looking, if you know what I mean. If they all get surgeries by Doctor Lee, then that’s some kind of sign. But I can’t say yet, because I don’t know where they did their surgeries.
Anyway, Doctor Lee is pretty young. He’s very friendly though, and he seems confident. I had some time while waiting for him to finish his surgery before my consult, and I looked through the B&A book. The photos look great. I love the results that he created. I actually took some photos and you guys can see it here.

One drawback I have for D.A. is their managing staffs (in other words, the “money people”). They all seem too “sly”, and too dishonest to me. I don’t know, it’s just some gut feeling I have. From the English consultant girl, to the half-Chinese-half-Korean guy who claimed to be the Doctor’s best friend, to the manager lady dressed in suit. The way they smile, the way they put numbers on the paper, the way they whispered to each other in Korean…everything seem a little fishy. Anyway, their final number to me was 33k. I was like: WHAT? Do you think I’m Bill Gates?! After some bargaining, I was able to knock it down to 22k. That price includes these procedures: ptosis to make my eyes larger, genioplasty, cheek implants, buccal fat removal, eyebag removal, and loveband. Yes, those are a lot of procedures, but still, the prices shouldn’t be that high. They kept insisting to me that it’s a good price, and that I’m getting like 30% off. They said even the staffs there get 20% off. So I’m getting more discount than the staffs. Yeah right, you think I’m some kind of idiot, are you?! What makes me upset even more though, was that my translator didn’t lift a finger to help me during the bargaining. She just sat there and smiled her pretty *** off. I swear to God, I will never ever hire a translator again. Stupid freaking evil. Finally, I said: I am a mod at a forum and that I know many friends who are coming to Korea. If you guys give me a good deal, I’ll recommend people. Considering this is a pretty new clinic and all, you need customers. And I can bring that to you. What I said seems to have a great impact on them, as they immediately knocked the price down to 18k. I said: let me think about it.

By the time we finished, it was 6PM. We didn’t have time to go to April 31st. But by then, I was already clear in my mind that I wanted to go with EverM. Anyhow, I asked my translator to bring me to a fastfood restaurant, because we’re both starving. No food since 10AM this morning! We were just too busy rushing from clinic to clinic. Anybody who plans to visit more than 3 clinics per day, you’re pushing it.

After dinner, it was 6:30PM. We ran like crazy to the nearest ATM machine so I can withdraw money and make my deposit at EverM. That night, they took my blood and sent it over to some lab for some blood test, and also took my urine. The Doctor told me that I need to come early morning to get my chest scanned. Then my surgery will be at 12PM. I was like: ok. God, I’m unusually calm, especially before one major surgery.
Anyway, my surgery experience at EverM is pretty good. I will post it next. Stay tuned!

 

So as I promised, here is a detailed account of my surgery trip to Korea in March 2014.

Translation Service:

Before I came to Korea, I actually set up by myself appointments with Teuim, Item, OZ, and TLPS.
But God forbids, the biggest mistake I made on this trip is to hire a translator. I used the services of A (won’t say her full name, but many people on this board also use her).
Let me tell you this: hiring a translator is the worst idea EVER!
Not only do they not give a damn about you, their presence means you will pay 30-40% more for your surgery.

At first, I only wanted to hire A because I need to go see EverM, for my genioplasty. And unfortunately, they do not speak any English. My first appointment is with EverM at 10AM, and after that, I already told my translator that I need to go see Item at 12PM and then Teuim at 3PM. But she kept pushing me to go see HER list of clinics. And somehow, I got the feeling that she deliberately delayed the consultation process at EverM so that to make me late for my appointments at my chosen clinics (so that I would have to go with her to HER chosen clinics).

All in all, I’m not trying to condemn the translation services they provide. Obviously, if you don’t speak the language, and you have to consult with a clinic that only speaks Korean, then their services are a great help. But I just wish that were all they do: translate, instead of being these blood-sucking, money-greedy green monsters.

If you absolutely have to hire a translator (and it doesn’t matter whom you hire, they will all want to suck your wallet dry), then please stand your ground, and do not let them push you around. I made a mistake of being too friendly and too acquiescent. And that led to my not-so-productive consultations later. However, I thank God that my surgery went well, and that I ultimately made a good choice.

Consultation:

1. EverM: this is the first clinic we went to. My impression of EverM is generally favorable. I met with Doctor Yoon, who is the head Doctor/Maxillofacial specialist here. He looks relatively young. However, I got a warm feeling meeting with him. Dr. Yoon was very friendly, and he took the time to explain to me what he would do, as well as answering all my questions. I did not feel rushed here, and that’s a good thing.
Spoiler alert: in the end, I chose this clinic. Why? Three reasons: 1) Because they specialize in jaw surgery, and I need genioplasty. (2) because I did not feel pushed around here. They didn’t try to sell me more procedures than I asked for. Also, they had a standard price list (in Korean), that they showed me and I can see the prices clearly. And most importantly, (3), I feel comfortable with Doctor Yoon, his calm yet confident style, and his warm bed side manner (to be described later).

During the consultation, I explained to Dr. Yoon that I wanted a more angular face, more masculine (I’m a dude), and a more prominent chin. In the West, a strong chin signifies a confident and expressive male, which is very important in my career. Being an Asian male in America, there are many racial stereotypes that I have to overcome, one of which is that people tend to think of Asian men as meek, shy, and non-outspoken. Those do not translate well into career advancement. Hence, my decision to get genioplasty to make my face more masculine. I generally have a round/baby face. Thus, Doctor Yoon suggested that he would cut my jaw and lengthen it by 4 mms. He also said he would shave off the overgrown part of my mandible because I had a large mandible. I expressed my concern that cutting off my mandible would make me more feminine, which is contrary to what I want. However, he said that the opposite is true. Because my mandible is overgrown, that makes my face heavy. If just a small part of the mandible is cut off (and at the right angle), that would make my front look more defined, and it would also highlight my chin even more. I was still a bit skeptical (as I love my mandible), however, Doctor Yoon showed me the CT scan of my bone, and use a pen to draw exactly what part he would cut off. He then said he would use those bones to fill in my chin. Generally, during genioplasty, they would leave a hollow space when they lengthen your chin (and use a screw to secure it), then your bone would slowly grow to fill in the space). But in this case, because my own bone is used to fill in the space, that makes the recovery faster, and also my chin will be more resistant to external forces. He coined the phrase “bone grafting” for this method. It sounds good to me, so I agreed. I made sure to emphasize again to him: do not cut off too much of my mandible and keep my jaw strong. This is very important: make sure you let your Doctor know exactly what you want. Once your bone is cut off, they cannot grow back. So this is a one-time-only chance to express yourself. Do not be stingy with your words!

Anyway, after meeting with Dr. Yoon, we met with the manager lady, who quoted me a total of 9m for mandible and Genioplasty. I told her we would come back later after I make my decision.

About the size of this clinic: it is about mid-size, not big. But everything seems clean and modern. I want a clinic that is not too small (because the surgeries I want are pretty major, and a clinic too small will not have enough equipment and after care facilities available). I also don’t want a clinic that is too big, as the Doctor will not pay enough attention to you, and there is a higher risk of switching surgeons. So EverM is the right size I’m seeking.

2. By the time we finished at EverM, it was already 12:30PM. Again, delaying tactics by my translator to make me miss my own appointments and go with her. She suggested we visited Regen (on her list). So off we go. This is a VERY big clinic. They had a total of 17 floors, not counting the basements. And they offered everything, from skin, to teeth, to boob jobs. To be honest, my impression of Doctor Oh (the head Doctor) at Regen is favorable. I explained to him that I want my face to be more masculine, and more model-looking (high fashion). I showed him a photo of Gao Godfrey (the first Asian male model for Louis Vuitton), and told him I want exactly that face. Doctor Oh actually had a really good idea of how to make it happen. First, he said I need to have my cheekbones moved inward (zygoma reduction), then to have it augmented on the front (anterior malar augmentation), so that my face will be slimmer but the cheekbones will appear prominent. That is exactly what I want, and he seems to understand human aesthetics pretty well. So I was impressed by that. Then he said he would prolong my chin using genioplasty, and then also insert an implant which will be screwed onto my chin to give it the width I need. In addition, he said I need buccal fat removal to make my cheeks and jawline more defined. Last but not least, he said I needed ptosis to make my eyes more alert, and more westernized. Finally, he said I needed to have my salivatory gland cut off (under my chin), to make my jaw slimmer. He said that my salivatory gland is overgrown, and it makes my chin heavy. All in all, it would take him 4 hours (FOUR FREAKING HOURS) to complete all those procedures. He kept mentioning again and again that I am a very unorthodox case (because I want to go from Asian to Western). But that he would try his best to give me the look I want.

If you feel dizzy by this point, imagine how I felt sitting in his office listening to all these procedures. In my head, I was like: am I gonna come out human? There would be 3 screws in total on my face: two on my cheekbones, and one on my chin. I would look like RoboCop.

So, even though I wanted to have the perfect face, I weighed the pros and cons, and decided that it would not be worth it to go through all that ordeals. After all, what’s the point of having a perfect face is my health is like ****?!

So, by the time Doctor Yoon stopped talking (his English is really good, by the way), I already knew deep down that I would not want to go with Regen. I asked him one last question: of all the procedures, can he rank the importance of them in terms of effectiveness to achieve the look I want. He said all of them are important, and that I should do them all. That’s basically the last drop for me: I had the clear impression that they want to sell me as many procedures as possible to empty my wallet. This is the case with factory clinic: they always are after your money. Ethics is not the first or last thing on their mind. Your money is!

Again, I’m not disparaging Doctor Yoon or his skills. I’m sure he is a great Doctor and he has had many successful procedures, but the way Regen operates, I just don’t like it. I feel like just another cash cow for them to milk.
Despite having decided not to go with them, I still sat with the Manager to figure out the cost (just for the fun of it). My translator sat with me (of course, when it comes to money). The cost in total was 31m!!! I was like: WTF! I managed to get it down to 25m (just for fun, to see how my bargaining skills are). But still, it was extravagant. No way in hell I could afford that! I would need to sell my two kidneys lol!

 

You're looking great! Wishing you a happy recovery and wonderful results!

 

What is wrong with Park at OZ?

Can you tell me? I was considering him at first because he seems good and friendly through email.

But I decided not to go with him because his clinic is kinda small.

But I don't have any experience with his operating skills. If you know something, please share!

 

Doctor Kwon at Teuim is operating again.

He's doing mine today

 

Thank you. The surgeon did bone grafting for my jaw.

He cut off part of my mandibles and use it to advance my jaw, because I have receding chin.

So it's like sliding genioplasty with mandible reduction.

Can someone please tell me how long the swelling will last? I miss the ability to chew lolz.

Now I basically just survive on liquid diet.

Oh and yesterday, I bought some delicious strawberry from Namdaemun market and made strawberry milkshake! Yum!

 

I had my surgery at EverM last week. And I also did consults with Regen, D.A., and OZ.

Will post my very detailed experience once this swelling is over.

I feel soooo uncomfortable with this balloon face lolz. and to think it has only been 5 days?

Now I know what my Mom felt like when she was pregnant with me... and for the whole 9 months...

Makes me love her even more.... Hu hu hu I'm so emotional right now. I hope I get to see her again soon. Doing surgery in a foreign country is no fun at all!

 

EverM quotes me 9M for mandible and chin. Is that too much or reasonable?

Please someone lets me know. I need to decide today. Fast!!!

 

Not just Genioplasty. I actually want to do:

Double eyelid at Teuim
Genioplasty at EverM
and V Power Lifting + Buccal fat removal at TLPS

I just want to go to a specialized clinic for each procedure.

Is that a little crazy?

 

Who is Bok Soon and where is her place? Can I stay there too?

 

Hi Makeover,

I hope you're recovering well. I'm also from the States. Arriving in Seoul tomorrow. God I'm so freaking excited!!!


Do you know if EverM is good for Sliding Genioplasty?