hanberry

Good luck! You’re in capable hands so I hope everything goes well for you too

 

Update: In October I revisited Dr. Lee at TFD and removed the screws from the genioplasty! It was at 7 months post op, which is in the ideal range of 6-12 months. It was a choice I made, after Dr. Lee assured me that there was no problem with keeping the screws in. X-rays were taken before (and after) the procedure to ensure bone healing was complete.

The procedure was very quick, almost like getting a tooth pulled! It was done under location anesthesia, and I experienced no pain before or after the surgery. Swelling went down in a few days, and Dr. Lee helped me with deswelling treatments as well.

One of my biggest concerns with this procedure was reinjuring the muscle again for a seemingly unnecessary surgery. However Dr. Lee assured me that it's a very tiny procedure and incision, and wouldn't cause any sagging or muscle problems as I'm not removing anything substantial either. As always, Dr. Lee did a great job - my nerves and sensation are still recovering well from the genioplasty, and I'm not experiencing any problems from the plate removal. And same as before, he's very helpful and responsive on Kakaotalk when you have concerns or questions for him. I think this is really important, especially for foreign patients, who live far away and need to have that peace of mind.

I'm really happy to say that after all this, I have a chin contour that I love, with my own bone, and nothing foreign left in my body (this part is really up to you though, it's just something I have an issue with because of my bad experience with the implant).

If anyone is considering genioplasty, or contouring surgery, I would highly recommend considering TFD and Dr. Lee

 

I don't know much about cheekbone or bone graft, but I wish best of luck to you! Definitely seek out someone who's skilled and that you can trust.

 

Oh sorry you’re referring to the time! From what I’ve learned 6-12 months is the recommended time, after 12 months it’s actually harder due to bone overgrowth. Of course Dr Lee will check through Xrays to make sure it’s fully healed first

 

It seems to be a very small surgery comparable to removing wisdom teeth, and I don’t have specific reasons why I may think it’s unwise... Figured I’d rather have them out since I’m still young and wouldn’t want potential future problems. For doctors it seems to be an either/or situation depending on your preference and circumstances.

 

I don't have any issues now, but I'm going to electively get them removed with Dr. Lee at TheFaceDental as I've heard it's best to do 6-12 months after surgery. I'll post a review of how everything goes later

 

I would recommend The Face Dental. I did a review on them, but Dr. Lee is great, very knowledgeable and skilled. You can contact him directly through The Face Dental Kakaotalk. Good luck!

 

Sorry I’ve been busy so I haven’t updated in a long time but i’m at close to 6 months post op now and I’m happy to say that much of the problems bothering me from before are gone! There’s still some tightness and reduced sensation around the chin and slight numbness on the lower lip, but I believe it’ll get better over time (and even at this point it’s manageable).

In terms of the chin I’m super happy with the appearance! The height and projection is perfect for me and it looks complete natural. I don’t shy away from seeing my chin in the mirror now, actually I love the contour. I’m so happy with Dr. Lee’s work!

There’s a tiny bit of soft tissue irregularity in the middle of my chin that kind of looks like a line, but it’s hardly noticeable. But I’m still hoping it will improve slightly once I get the plates removed.

I’ll be going back to TFD and get the fixation removed by Dr Lee, and at that point my chin journey will finally be over! I will share some more pictures once that happens ^^

 

Hi, unfortunately I don’t think I have any on hand anymore as it’s been several years..
But genioplasty can actually achieve MORE projection than an implant (the more you need on an implant the more tendency it has to look unnatural) ^^

 

i’m just past 1 month now and swelling has gone down considerably! results definitely look much more natural than before with the implant. my chin and lip aren’t numb anymore but definitely the sensation is still impaired (which Dr Lee told me i would feel during this time). It’s just hard to be patient with this residual swelling and numbness when the majority of the result is already clear haha

 

It was Dr. Lee Dong Chan! I'm told he's the main doctor for fc there

 

Sure, I'll try my best to help out

 

Thank you I'm hoping the residual swelling goes down soon haha. I actually liked my consult with View! It was probably the only other clinic I was considering after all my consultations. The doctor was detailed, patient, and the price was reasonable. I liked their proposed surgical method as well and they didn't push for any additional procedures. I didn't end up choosing View because again, probably because they are a big hospital, it was really hard to get any answers or response after leaving the consultation room (never got back to me). I just felt more comfortable with Dr. Lee. My main issue with Banobagi was the price, honestly. Otherwise the consultation wasn't bad, but they did recommend additional osteotomies (jaw angle reduction) for a better result, and I didn't want that.

 

Dr Lee made the decision to very slightly shorten it with the goal of balancing the face based on my other proportions. Of course when advancing the chin it will appear longer than previously if no vertical reduction is done. No Vline I made it clear I just wanted to get rid of the implant and have my own bone back as well as a natural appearance, I wasn't looking for a dramatic change

 

Messaged you! In person consultation online should be free

 

It wouldn't hurt to have a consultation with Dr. Lee and see? It's hard to get a sense online. I think Dr. Lee is very skilled and so far the aesthetic results are ideal for me too. He also takes the time to understand what you want exactly and explain what he will do and how or if he can achieve your desired results, which is important to establishing a common aesthetic goal.

 

At Banobagi I met with Dr. Oh. He was very detailed in the consultation and used the CT scan and touched my face quite a bit, explained the procedures in detail and answered my questions well. The price was too high for me though so I didn't really consider them. GNG was one I was initially looking to, but I didn't get a good feeling from the consultation experience. Doctor Choi was honest but kind of impatient with questions and consultants even more so, their body language was painfully obvious. It felt like my concerns weren't being taken seriously and the consultants were trying to push more procedures on me that I didn't want or need. The price was also very high. TL had reasonable pricing but the consultation as really rushed, I think I saw the doctor for about 5-10 minutes? He downplayed the risks a lot, basically said 0% chance of risk from bone surgery (which obviously isn't the case...). I was also kind of annoyed because they didn't deliver on multiple prior arrangements we made through email.

In the end, I can't recommend where to have surgery as I didn't opt for any of those clinics, but hopefully this will help for your consults. Just be sure of what you need and want because consultants will definitely try to make you want to do more. Sometimes, with my limited Korean, I can hear the doctor commenting that my consultation area is not bad, or that they don't really need to be fixed, but it would be translated and presented to me in a way that seemed like I would be much better off getting surgery for those areas.

 

It was all done inside the mouth from the implant to the removal and genioplasty! And yes it's done in one incision all together.

 

Thank you! Really glad I chose to go with TFD ^^

 

Nope, I did try but they had a pretty high consult fee and then just never got back to me. And I stopped trying after a while because if it was hard to get a response before surgery I figured it would be even harder post op.

 

Yep, it was implant removal with genioplasty though! I'm not sure if they would do standalone work on an implant.

I consulted a lot of places actually. GNG, DA, TL, View, and Banobagi, and a few smaller clinics. Are there any in particular you want to know about?

 

Here is the before vs after comparison:
You guys can see the big improvement and how much more natural the contour looks after the implant removal and genioplasty with Dr. Lee!

All in all I would really recommend TFD for bone contouring. The results are clearly good but the care is amazing as well. Dr. Lee is extremely nice and patient, it never felt like he was in a rush and always addressed my concerns

 

2 weeks post op:

I'm happy with the results so far! The swelling has mostly gone down. Of course there's still some swelling in the chin area but I look normal and can go outside without wearing a mask. The lip sensation has mostly returned, though it still feels prickly. The chin is still numb but now I can feel tingling sensation when I touch it so it's recovering in terms of appearance, it's looking very natural even with the swelling. Dr. Lee said the surgery was well done and from what I see so far that is definitely the case. Just keeping fingers crossed for no side effects! I'll post some updated pictures later

 

Hi guys,

I had genioplasty to replace an old chin implant at The Face Dental 1 week ago. I'm still very early in my recovery, but I want to start sharing my experience. I'll continue updating as more time passes

For some background, I had a chin implant placed 5 years ago. I never really liked it completely because it looked unnatural and big. But over the years, I kind of got used to it, combined with the fact that I really didn’t want to get more surgery, I never took any action. However I became more and more uneasy about potential long-term side effects. And I thought, if I was going to have to fix it at some point, maybe it’s better to do it earlier.

Consultation:
I admit, I did a lot of consultations this trip (more than recommended) because I was just so lost on what I should do. When I visited The Face Dental, it felt immediately different. I arrived 40 minutes late close to their closing time, but Dr. Lee still sat down and talked to me, answering all my questions in detail and in English. It was by far the most detailed and patient consultation that I received across my entire trip. Over the next few days, I would contact Dr. Lee about questions and concerns, and he would always answer promptly. Finally, I decided to meet him one more time and set a date for the surgery.

(Before)


Surgery Day - Day 0:
I arrived at The Face Dental on the day of my surgery, super nervous. Honestly the last few days have just been filled with anxiety, and I was asking myself, why am I doing this when my chin implant has no complications and doesn’t look that bad. The nurses and consultants were very sweet even though they don’t really speak English. As I was lying down on the operating table, the anesthesiologist Dr. Kim came in. He was very kind and made me very comfortable as he asked me some questions. And then I was out.

I woke up to chorals of “Wake up, wake up, can't sleep!” But it was so hard to wake up! I really struggled to keep my eyes open as I was getting wheeled back to my room and for the next hour or so while I was sitting in my bag. During that time I registered Dr. Kim and the nurses telling me that the surgery went well. The very sweet nurse (I still don’t know her name!) actually helped me to go out and buy the medicine and bring it back to me, then gave me the instructions. I saw Dr. Lee again later that night, and he assured me the surgery was well done, and explained to me the details of the movements. He told me I can walk around a bit now and go back to my hotel, but if I want to I can stay for the night. I was really grateful about this as my hotel is very far and I’m by myself. Thanks to the pain killers, the pain was fairly tolerable, probably 3/10.

Post Op - Day 1:
Woke up this morning after a pretty good night’s sleep, and was surprised to find that my face was barely swollen. The night nurse gave me some injections and I was up and about. I took some post-op X-rays and CTs and watched some more TV. Dr. Lee came again to check on me and said that my status was very good, but warned me that my swelling will probably get worse over the next day or two. Soon after, I got my bandage off and was free to go home. By this day I was already pain-free.

(Immediately after taking off bandages)


Post Op - Day 2 & 3
The swelling got worse the 2nd day after the surgery, and it was mostly localized around the chin and jaw area. I had prepared myself for this, so the shock of staring my face in the mirror wasn't too bad. I was quite concerned about the degree of lip and chin numbness I was experiencing, but it was so early after surgery. saw Dr. Lee again at Day 3 post-op. He showed me my post-op CT scans, cleaned the wound, and assured me that everything I was feeling is normal this early on.

Post Op - Day 5
The swelling is noticeably better now, but I still can't really go out without wearing a mask. It looks maybe like right after wisdom teeth removal. I had another follow up appointment and did the deswelling treatment. It didn't feel like anything was happening, I just laid there with my eyes closed. But I did notice the next day that the swelling went down noticeably, so it worked! I saw Dr. Lee again and same as last time, he answered my questions patiently and checked the incision. I'm told it's ok to sleep on my side already (which I've been doing), and although I was nervous that I could press on the bone during sleep he assured me it was fine unless I take a hit or a fall. He advised me to go around and explore Seoul instead of staying cooped up inside, as it's good for my general well-being which is the most important

Post Op - Day 7
That's today! The swelling has gone down quite a bit from yesterday. I look pretty normal now although I'm still swollen around the chin area, and my lower lip still looks a little wonky. My lip sensation is coming back bit by bit and I can feel my chin prickling as the nerve sensation return slowly. While the swelling is still very much there and my lip is still quite flat, I think the smooth and natural chin contour is already showing!


Overall Experience
Although the results aren't too clear yet because of the swelling (again, I'm barely 1 week post-op), I've very satisfied so far with the whole experience at The Face Dental. I'm the type of patient who has a lot of questions and concerns, especially as I've suffered repercussions in the past when I went through surgery without understanding anything. Most doctors I expect to brush me off or answer for a while then lose patience. However that was never the case with Dr. Lee. From the consultations to the messages I sent him throughout the recovery period, to each follow-up visit so far, he always took his time and explained everything honestly and in detail, from the techniques to the risks. Immediately after the surgery, Dr. Lee showed me a picture he took post-op before all the swelling began, and it's very similar to my desired result. As the swelling goes down bit by bit, it looks more and more natural. My lip and chin sensation haven't recovered yet, but hopefully that goes away soon! It's important to be patient with the results of bone surgery. If anyone's considering chin or jaw surgery, I definitely recommend TFD and Dr. Lee

 

Hi, that's very comforting to know. I think because I'm asking about any charge for CT scans online they're telling me that there's a charge. Possibly because for my case CT scan isn't normally used and even though it provides "more detail" that detail isn't necessarily needed?

I will try to get a copy when I get there as you suggested. Hopefully it goes well, as some clinics through email were adamant about not providing a copy unless you have surgery with them, and not being able to use CT images from other locations