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I did not do my surgery at ID hospital, it was an ex-ID hospital doctor opening his own clinic. At 1 month now so far so good for me

 

Hi Valenrina, do you have a shortlist of places you wanna go to for your thread lift? I saw on your blog that you're quite happy with Dr. Oh at Regen, may I ask if you consider going to Regen for lifting?

 

For the last question, I think it’s up to you to decide. I recently did mine despite all the warnings, but because I was very certain about my problem. Almost half or 2/3 of the botched/unhappy cases are of people who didn’t need it/have false expectation about it. I don’t know if I’ll regret in 2-3 years, but for now, looking at my own photos the night pre op, I felt like it was a right choice.
So if you still want to do it, just do your research carefully, understand if you really need, understand the risks, and maybe expect the best but be prepared for the worst . I always think of PS as an improvement for my current face, not a change of face. Some of my friends are disappointed simply because they don’t come out of the surgery looking like someone else they wanted, and I don’t think it’s the right mindset to do plastic surgery.

 

Hmm... I recently shared my successful FC exp too, but I’m only 1 month post op and haven’t seen any negative side effects yet but it’s way too early to come in threads like this to affirm anything. People sharing here are years post op.

 

https://eng.idhospital.com/anti-aging/non-incision-smas-lift/

Has anyone heard of/looked into/done this procedure? As I understand from their website, it's not the regular full SMAS lifting, but ít's a thread lift-like (elastic band) for the SMAS layer & it's not that invasive.
I'm looking for lifting options for my mom in her 50s: under eye & maybe cheeks. She doesn't have enough time to recover from a full SMAS face lift as she's still working, and she's ok with temporary result and want to do the full smas lift in her 60s.

 

1 month update: (I did my surgeries on Jan 7, so if I count the days it's not 1 month yet, but it's 4 weeks already?lol)

1. Diet: I'm almost back to my normal diet. I can eat mostly anything now, even meat. I still avoid eating ribs, steak or squid (too chewy), but ground meat, thinly sliced meat, chicken, stew meat are easy to eat for me now. My local Oral surgeon also said that I shouldn't feel scared to open my mouth wider than I can, so anything that's too big I try to squeeze it in instead of cutting it small - so I can practice my jaw. I used to eat very quickly, after the surgery I was slow like a sloth, but now I can catch up with normal people's eating speed. Just need to get back to my speed
2. Swelling: As I expected, the residual swelling is going down veeerryy slowly now. It's still 1~2/10 swelling, not too significant, but definitely still there. I don't know what to do to reduce it, but it seems like all I can do is be patient and wait T_T
3. Results: I can see that my face shape is improved, smaller but still very natural. I don't tell anyone beside my mom and sister about the surgeries. Other people who don't know is not suspicious at all. I told them the swelling is because I got my wisdom teeth removed. My friends say that my face look younger (they thought it was because of the swelling that makes me look like a baby - but NO hahahaa it's the reduced cheekbone - anyway they don't need to know ) I can't wait until the swelling go away for the final results.
4. Daily activities: I'm more comfortable with my daily activities now, but I still don't run/go to the gym. It feels like any unattached tissue may drop if I excercise. I prefer laying down and let gravity does its work I can firmly massage my face when applying skincare products or cleanse my face now. Before I was scared I might break something so I just gently pat pat, but now I just massage all the way. Still haven't go to facial spa yet, I trust myself to do it but don't really feel comfortable letting others touching it now.
5. Other: Another problem with me is when I smile, my lip wouldn't make a moon/banana shape like this . Instead it's more like this :\ (not that bad, but you know what I mean - not a perfect smile shape). Now I can smile like that emoji now, making a complete symmetrical banana hehe. This was not at all expected, but it's after the surgeries so I think it has something to do with the chin?

 

Hi! Thank you! So far I like it, even though I still look a bit swollen, but I can already see the improvements at my chin & cheekbone. I have all the sensation in my face, I'm not sure if I should say "back" because I think I didn't experience numbness from the beginning, maybe just a little bit on my lips the first few days but I still could feel it. I also think you shouldn't put down your deposit before actually talking to the doctor or have a look at the clinic, see how you feel. At first I wanted to go in 1 trip too, but then I heard that January is the most busy season of the year and realized that I'd also be short on recovery time too (I had 2 weeks sharp to recover before Lunar new year come and I have to meet all the relatives). It was not a too long flight to Korea so I decided to make 2 separate trip. However I think April might be less busy. I read elsewhere that busy season are when Korean students have their summer & winter break. Also, I think that good doctors are busy and fully booked but not for months in advance. There might still be some slots in the week. I've seen many patients doing it in 1 trip so I think you should be okay, maybe have to wait a few days - though it's just my thoughts

Thank you! The result is not final yet with the residual swelling but I can see the improvement and yes I'm happy so far. Just getting a little impatient with the swelling Flying back was ok for me, it was a 5-hour flight and I slept most of the flight time, even before the plane took off. I was afraid that the pressure when the plane lands might hurt but I didn't feel any different than any other flight. I also didn't see any increase in terms of swelling and I experienced no bleeding. That night I did feel a bit more tired and uncomfortable than any previous days - not sure if it was the flying or the weather in my country. But the next morning I woke up feeling normal. Anyway, I've also heard stories of people feeling uncomfortable/bleed during their flight. I think you should be very cautious, ask your doctor and listen to yourself. I felt very normal & healthy, that's why I left earlier. If I didn't feel well physically or mentally, I would have stayed as long as I needed.

Sure! I stayed at TOP hotel residences Insadong. It was not in Gangnam area but is on the same line (line 3/orange) with the clinic, lots of bus lines nearby too. It has a large fridge with freezer, stove top, kitchen utensils etc that was extremely helpful for my recovery.

 

Hi! Yes I’m 3 weeks today, I left Korea on day 8 after the surgery.
I think my swelling is slowly going down, 2/10 now?. It’s slower than the first 2 weeks, but beside those close to me/see me everyday, other people who haven’t seen me in a while don’t really know that I’m swelling. Maybe I just look like I just gained a few kg. It’s Lunar new year and I meet a lot of people, but no one asked.
I’m beginning to feel more comfortable in my daily activities. I can fit 2 fingers in my mouth now. I still avoid eating meat (pork & beef)/anything hard or chewy. I eat rice and noodles normally, ground meat, thin sliced meat & chicken is ok for me to chew now. My diet is almost back to normal.
Still have to be extra careful with my cheekbone area & my face in general.

 

I recently removed my facial contouring stitches inside my mouth at a local (not in Korea) Oral & Maxillofacial clinic with no issue.

 

1. First 2 week update & swelling situation

• Day 0: 10:30 went into surgery room, got out & texted my family at 13:30. No pain, no vomiting, a bit nauseous, slight discomfort because neck felt tired and a little headache for a few hours. No drainage tube so also no throat pain. Drank water from a cup at 17:00. At night, was able to go to the bathroom & change my ice packs on my own. Sleep in 90 degree position for the first night in hospital ward. Nurse came in several time at night to check on me. Swelling: increase every hour, at night it was 7/10 (10 is my peak swelling as I observe). Bruising: none (the undereye tape might have covered the undereye bruises so I couldn’t see)
• Day 1: 09:00 nurse removed chin tape and IV infusion on the wrist; Dr. Kim disinfected my mouth. Got my prescribed drugs, a laser deswelling treatment and got discharged. Back to my hotel: unpacked, worked on my laptop for a few hours, walked around the neighborhood for 1 hour, got back, showered and washed my hair. Swelling: decrease every hour, at night after shower it was 2/10 (I looked close to normal, thought I got lucky). Bruising: none (same reason - the tape was still on)
• Day 2: Iced my face the entire morning. Walked for 2 hours in the afternoon. Went to laser deswelling treatment. Showered and washed my hair at night. Swelling: 8/10 (I was shocked looking in the mirror in the morning). Bruising: none
• Day 3: Same activity with day 2. Removed face tape & under eye tape in the shower. Also last day of using ice packs. Peak swelling: 10/10. Yellow bruising around the eye: 10/10
• Day 4: Same activity, just more walking as I stopped using ice packs after 3 days as instructed by EU. Swelling: 10/10
• Day 5: Same activity. Swelling: 9/10. Bruising: 10/10
• Day 6: Swelling starts to go down and I could see the difference in the morning and afternoon. At night I’d say it was 6/10. Bruising: 9/10
• Day 7: Dr. Kim removed my outside incision, saw my before and after xray and CT scan. Asked doctor if it’s ok to fly out the day after. He said it was ok so day 7 was my last day in Korea (at first I planned to stay 12 days). I walked A LOT that day because I had a lot of things I wanted to buy. Swelling at night was 5/10. Bruising: 8/10
• Day 8: Flying home day. The flight was 5-hour long, early morning flight. I was a bit afraid that it’d be painful but I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort on air. I actually slept before the plane took off and woke up 30 mins before it landed. However, I felt very tired that night. Swelling: 5/10. Bruising: 7/10
• Day 9: From day 9 onward I walk very little. 1km each day instead of 7-8km like when in Seoul. Swelling 5/10. Bruising: 5/10
• Day 10: Swelling 4/10. Bruising: 4/10
• Day 11 & 12: Swelling 3/10. Bruising: 2/10
• Day 13: Went to a local OMS clinic for stitching out. They also checked my swelling and my senses and said that I’m recovering well and said the incisions are done very nicely and neat. The bone results needed to be seen on xray but from an outside look they also think it was a job well done.
• Day 14: Swelling is still 3/10. From now until 1 month I think it’ll be a slower progress.

2. Diet

• For the first 2 weeks (almost), I only eat liquid food as instructed by EU for zygoma patients. I can’t drink nutritional drink as it’s too sweet, so I drink juices, milk, smoothie with BCAA powder, chicken soup, noodles (non spicy, cut it small and swallow it like a soup).
• From day 12, I started to eat. I could eat japchae (korean glass noodle), pho (vietnamese rice noodle), steamed rice rolls, spaghetti… It was a bit hard at first, felt like mouth muscles are very tight. But the food is the motivation so I just ate it anyway.
• I lost 1 kg in 2 weeks, yay

3. Numbness

I can’t see my final result yet as I’m still swelling, but I have to give this credit to Dr. Kim: I don’t feel numb anywhere on my face. Many people shared that their lips or chin was numb for the first weeks/months, and I was prepared for it. However, from day 1, my lips could feel how warm the soup were, or when something in the soup is on my lips. Same thing for my jaw and chin. This is the only obvious result that I can see and give credit to Dr. Kim. I also think I recovered pretty quickly and I’m not sure if it’s thanks to Dr. Kim or the anesthesiologist or my physical strength, or any other factors, so I can’t say for sure. But the numbness that I don’t feel at all is certainly his work.



4. Face shape

My jaw and cheek is still very swollen, but I can see my new chin shape. Also, my chin was deviated before, so my lips are a little bit asymmetrical (left side of the lip always lower than right side). It’s more symmetrical now. Like normally if I take selfie and there’s a grid, my lip left and right side won’t be on the same line. Now it is.

 

Thank you! So far so good for me

 

Just did!

 

Hi Valenrina, can you share any tips on recovering from Zygoma reduction? Like what and when to eat/avoid to eat, etc. Thank you so much! I actually read your blog before doing my surgery and now i'm 9 days post op

 

1 week update:
I'll have my stitch (outside near my ear) removed tomorrow, and will leave Korea the day after. I'll have to stitch out (inside) in my country.
- Face swelling: My face is less swollen now, it just looks like I got chubby, not like a balloon like a few days before. The swelling got down from day 5, day 2-4 are worst swelling. Don't be surprised if you look okay at the end of day 1 thinking you're lucky but then BAM day 2 you wake up looking like a floating balloon
- Lip swelling: This is unexpected for me, but my lips are HUGE. I look like a duck because of the swelling, and I think it's A LOT more than other people. If it's not swollen, I can be pretty confident with the current swelling situation of my face (I've been THAT chubby before LOL). I'm not sure why my lips are more swollen, but I don't think anyone can answer that either as each person reacts differently. Just sharing it here so you can be prepared.
- I stopped icing after day 3. It was recommended by EUDental that icing only helps for the 1st few days. There are many who have shared that they ice a lot for 1-2 first weeks and it helped, however, I just decided to follow my doctor.
- Diet: I can't drink the nutritional drink as I find it too sweet for me. I've been living by chicken soup, fruit smoothie with protein powder, chopped noodle (to swallow like a soup LOL). I think having something hot each day makes me feel less hungry, so don't just drink the nutritional drinks. Get something hot for breakfast/lunch to keep you energized.
- (Edited) Oops, forgot the most important part: my face shape. The chin is the most obvious to see at this moment as my swelling has not reached my chin yet (or skipped it). My chin is sliiiiiiightly smaller just like I wanted, enough to make a difference, but not enough for people to know that I went thru a surgery. I can't wait to see how my jaw line and cheekbone turn out.

 

I'm PMed you!

 

yep that's why I inserted links. couldn't post pictures

 

I bought this mask at a pharmacy, I find it very useful. (ahhh i can't insert pictures, but it looks like this: https://images.app.goo.gl/tXdhcawcxcLHdz34A) It's called face mask hot & cold soothing gel for the face


Chicken ginseng soup I've been eating along with nutrition drinks and smoothie + protein blend. Tastes ok (https://www.tradekorea.com/product/detail/P605079/Harim-Corporation-(Ginseng-Chicken-Soup).html)

 

• Disclaimer: I’m only sharing a review of my experience, I can’t see the result yet for now so I can’t recommend anything yet, will keep the post as updated as I can
• Main concern: asymmetry, protruding cheekbone, wide lower face
• Procedure: Vline + Zygoma
• Dr. Kim at EU Dental

PRE-OP:

1. Consultation & decision: I went on a separate trip to Seoul 3 months before my surgery to consult at different clinics. EU was my top choice but for different reasons I ended up sending my deposit to another clinic, and then, for more different reasons, changed my mind again and switched back to EU - my top choice. It’s a long story.
2. Why I chose EU: I’ve visited different maxillofacial clinics (I don’t go to Plastic surgery hospital) and their facilities and cleanliness was among the top tier. They offer 1 night stay at the clinic post op. Many of their staffs can speak fluent English, which is something very important to me as I was going alone. Even for consultation, there was a group chat of 3, me and 2 other consultants who can answer my questions in office hours and after office hours. There was also a lot of Korean patients waiting on the day I consulted. And most importantly, I felt like I clicked with Dr. Kim.

OPERATION DAY: The process was quite simple, I came 2 hours before my surgery time (10:30AM), changed, signed paperworks, met with Dr. Kim again and went into operation room. I breathed in 2 times and then I can’t remember anything else.



POST-OP


12 hours post-op (it’s midnight but I’ve been sleeping since the afternoon so I am not so sleepy anymore T_T):

Waking up from anesthesia at 1PM, it took me a few minutes to realize where I am. My worst fears did not happen, phewww: the fear of feeling pain but not being able to let the dr know under anesthesia & the fear of not waking up from anesthesia LOL.

I was walked back to my room. I was able to text my family immediately. I was a bit sleepy and thirsty, but to be honest it was a lot better than what I expected.

My post-op expectation and experience:

1. Nausea => yes, but it was mild
2. Vomiting => no, I wanted to but was able to hold it back
3. Crying => no LOL thanks myself
4. Pain => not much and it was bearable for me. It was more of a discomfort. I expected that it’d feel like someone broke my face (which is the reality) lol, but not really. The ice pack helped a lot too. Not sure if this is because I’m still under painkillers but I honestly expected worse. (==> I asked the nurse, I was not under painkillers)
5. Swollen face => yes, it get more swollen every hours. I thought my headband was being moved, but turned out it’s just my face getting more swollen like a balloon, making it feels like it’s popping out of the headband.
6. Not being able to drink => no, I could drink from the cup as soon as I was allowed to.
7. Painful throat => no, it was a bit sore only, no pain.
8. Not being able to talk => to my surprise, no. I could talk when I call my family 4-5 hours post op. I’m not sure if I should be doing it though, other forum members did tell me I shouldn’t move my face. I’ll ask my doctor tomorrow.
9. Not being able to laugh => yes. I bet it’d hurt. I wanted to laugh at myself when I see my balloon face in the mirror, but couldn’t.
10. Spill/cough out blood => no. I haven’t spilled out anything since I got up from the surgery, but I do have dry blood inside my nose, but maybe it stopped itself?
11. Swallowing blood => yes, but very little and only 3-4 times throughout the entire night. I think it was blood from my nose.

The main (& unexpected) discomfort for me was my neck and my headache. My neck felt like I’ve been working on my computer for 8 hours straight - I can’t find the right word to describe it - but it feels tiring. The headache was the worst thing but it went away with the nausea so I think it’s a side effect of anesthesia for me.


20 hours post-op (next day morning - discharge day) (is it Day 1?):
I drank a lot of water and went to the bathroom a few times during the night. I’m less nauseous now and can constantly change my ice packs by myself. I think I’m ready to leave the clinic in a few hours.
I think it’s important to be able to stay overnight after going through a big surgery with 3+ hours under GA. I think I took the anesthesia sickness very well yesterday after waking up (ie. no vomiting or crying or panicking), but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to go back to the hotel 2 hours after the surgery on my own. It’s better safe than sorry. If you go into this alone, pay to stay if they don’t offer. I rang the bell a lot to ask for the simplest stuffs in the first 6-8 hours yesterday, like dim the lights or change my ice packs or get me water, etc.
I met with dr Kim to disinfect my mouth. Then I was taken to have the deswelling laser treatment and took a cab back to my hotel.
I unpacked and was able to work on my laptop for a few hours when I got back to my hotel room, then I walked out for 1 hr, came back in the evening, cooked and ate my soup (BTW, my lips weren’t numb - I could feel it when I ate the soup), then showered and washed my hair by myself that night. I’m surprised that I’m feeling like this. The last time I went thru GA for lipo, I was like a zombie for the next 2 days. This time is much better and I’m not sure why. I followed Dr. Sinatra’s Power Healing program pre-op, leaving the link here in case someone might want to have a look at it: https://www.drsinatra.com/maximizing-the-surgery-recovery-process. I took Vitamin C, milk thistle, CoQ10 and zinc before surgery as he wrote. Plan to continue taking Vit C, Vit B6, Fish oil starting 3 days post op.


Day 2 (today):
I was much less swollen last night, but Day 2 morning, I’m swollen even more - like the first night all over again. It was expected anyway. I kept icing my face a lot, hopefully it’ll go down. EU let me come to do deswelling laser everyday for 20 minutes each day starting the first day, which is nice. I put on my compression bandage almost 24 hours a day because I was instructed that it might help with swelling. However, today I was told that I should put it on and take it off sometimes because it might be too tight and make me swell more. I’m totally not sure of the science behind it, but either way is fine for me because it doesn’t feel that tight and I can breathe normally. I wear it when I go out and shopping today. I think from Day 2 until 1 - 2 week, there wouldn’t be anything more to share as things will mostly remain the same.

Note: So far, I've had a positive experience with the clinic of my choice. As I said, the result is not visible yet so I can't say anything for now. But I felt like the surgeon and anesthesiologist did a good job because I'm feeling good and healthy even 1-2 day post op. I also didn't allow them to use any of my photos, and I was afraid it may change their attitude, but it did not. All 3 consultants have been extremely nice and helpful even before I arrive to Korea and it still didn't change after I've paid in full and have finished my surgery. I'll wait until 1, 3 and 6 months post op to share how I feel about my results. Right now, my mom keep telling me that she can already see it looks good now, but all I can see is a swollen balloon face LOL.

Not surgery related but I wanted to share: My hotel is 20 mins from the clinic (not in Gangnam area), but I'm LOVING it!!! They have the stove top and kitchen utensils, which allow me to cook my soup. They also have a large fridge with freezer, I put all my ice packs, jelly masks in there along with damp towels, making it possible for me to ice my face almost whenever I want to! I can share the hotel name if anyone is interested. I'm still staying here so it's better not share it publicly. hehe.

 

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your results. I hope you'll find a solution for your situation. May I ask who's your doctor at ID, if you still remember? I'm going to have my surgery with an ID doctor the day after tomorrow, so it's a bit worrying. Thanks for sharing and hope you the best.

 

Do you have any de-swelling tips?

 

I'm doing my 3 type FC soon and wanting to look for an ideal celeb's face shape. I have an idea in mind but couldn't really find a celeb's face that has all the features that I like: Not protruding but still have a cheekbone, natural U/Vline but still has a jaw angle (not a straight line from the ear), etc.
If anyone think any celeb's face shape is pretty, please drop some name :") It'd be extremely helpful. So far I only know Song Hye Kyo, but her jaw angle is a bit very angular more than what I'd want in some pictures.

 

Thank you so much for this!

 

I'm going to EUDent for 3 type FC

 

Good luck with your experience. Please keep us updated. I'm 2 years older than you with the same issue, also will do it soon (January). I can totally understand your decision. When are you doing it at Namu?

 

umm, thanks for your reply but that doesn't really answer my question.