sakuraico Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Hi All, I wanted to give back to the community since I was able to prep so much for my surgeries because of the forums and KKT chats. Here is a summary of my prep and also consults/surgery journey.Disclaimer: I don’t have a medical background and I am only sharing my own preparation, experience and my own assumptions. I received a discount from the clinic to write a review but this review is my honest opinion.Procedures: Revision DES + epi, Primary Rhino ( bridge, tip projection and (short) nose elongation) and full face PRP fat graft.Pre-surgery context: I’ve had an issue with my short and flat nose from the moment I was told by a (caucasian) classmate I had a flat nose when I was in kindergarten. I learned about Rhinoplasty (when I turned 13) and knew I’d someday get that surgery. Fast forward to 2019 I thought I might as well add DES and Fatgraft to my trip as well. So here we are. This was my 3rd time in Korea as I’ve been here before to get filler for my nose and do consultations. I consulted many (15+) clinics, but will only talk about my shortlist for this recent trip as these were the places I was most confident in (aesthetically). A doll line nose bridge (basically sloped nose bridge instead of straight) and parallel creased eyes. I knew I needed to have fatgraft as well to balance these features so I took that into account in my budget. I prepared pics of eyes and noses I wanted, I also photoshopped my own pictures and printed out these infographics to really make sure the doc and I are talking about the same things: Pre-surgery preparation list: Scar gels: Kelo Cote and Dermatix Ultra. Supplements I’d been taking to prep for surgery a week before: 1000mg Bromelain (for swelling), 1000mg Vitamin C (collagen and just for not getting sick/a cold), multivitamin and Arnica pills (for bruising). (When I was at 2 days post-op I was having a hamtaro-like swelling, so I got desperate and also bought the expensive after care plus packet of ampoules and supplements (available in any pharmacy in Gangnam area only).) Things I brought with me that really helped (aside from supplements and scar creams): a mini humidifier for the nights against dry throat/nose (bought a cheap one on aliexpress). Large disposable face masks for the times you go outside and don’t want to be stared at (aliexpress is cheaper than buying them in country) A visor cap as you can’t put on sunglasses when you’ve had rhino. Wide or buttoned clothes as you don’t want to push your face through tight clothing. A decently sized mirror (I wanted to really check on my progress). Headband to keep your hair back as pony tails can hurt after multiple days. Pills for sore throat, constipation (I didn’t have it but it does happen to some people that go under GA/sleep sedation) and lip balm. Your lips will get dry from all the breathing out of your mouth. Micellar water/face wipes as you can’t wash your face until stitches are out. Buy at 7/11 upon arrival: a lot of facial tissues, qtips, lots of bottled water, food for the mornings/first day(s) (I loved this premade congee I could warm up in the microwave), mouth water (Listerine), a small toothbrush (as I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough for my electric toothbrush the first few days), candy (e.g. Ricola) to suck on during your dry throat period, gum (it’s nicer to smell mint in your facemask than your own breath) and a T-money card for all your public transport travels. Download naver map to navigate around (Google maps doesn’t really work). The Uber app works again in Korea and also UberEats will be your friend for food. Exchange your (cash) money for the best exchange rate in myeongdong right across the Chinese Embassy. Consultations: I did not lock in a surgery date with any clinic before I flew to Seoul as I knew you had to put down a 10% deposit prior and I wanted to have more bargaining power during my f2f. Because I was doing multiple procedures I was fairly confident they'd fit me in somewhere in my 10 days stay as it’s not the busiest season of the year. It doesn’t give you any peace of mind though, so you have to decide for yourself how much risk you’d like to take (or you can decide to stay longer). Please note that this already is a shortlist of clinics I was confident in (through previous research):View: It was my third consult in view and one tip I've learned is that aside from Korean people, the better prices will be given to people that speak English. Also take off any clothing/jewellery that display any signs of wealth. And be mindful of the ‘occupation’ field you have to fill out (they ask you to fill out a form pre consultation), try to be generic and if you’re young enough just say student. I spoke to two doctors for nose (Jeong Jin Wook) and eyes (Kim Jeong Min). Before I left for Seoul I wanted to speak to doctor Lee Dong Chan as he was pretty famous for dolly noses. I eventually heard he went to DA and the top doc from Hyundai dr Jeong Jin Wook came to replace him at View. After reviewing his b/a I decided I liked his style as well and discussed with him my wishes. He was a good listener and we agreed on the procedures of adding a silicone, rotating down my nose to elongate my short nose and project my tip. Interesting to note is that dr Lee Dong Chan always preferred goretex over silicone whereas dr Jeong Jin Wook prefers silicone over goretex. Then Dr Kim Jeong Min for my eyes did some tests to see if I had ptosis and then quickly mentioned parallel lids was not something he could create because of the short space between my eyes and brows. Instead he proposed to make the crease a bit higher. Since I wasn’t too unhappy with my current eyes, I did not consider paying a few K for only a minor change. I spoke to both docs for like 10 mins as I already knew exactly what I wanted. So the only thing left was for them to confirm they could/should do it. If it wasn’t for dr Kim Jeong Min being too conservative (I really wanted both procedures to be done at the same hospital). I would’ve been confident in getting my surgery at View.Nana: The consultant Kylie spoke perfect english as she grew up in South Africa. Good thing to note is that when the consultant is not a native or went to an Eng speaking school, even if their english is fluent. They will have a hard time translating specific things. So if you can afford it I’d recommend to bring a translator to your last consult (the day you’re going into surgery) to really make sure everything is being translated correctly to the doc in those last moments. I wanted to speak to Dr Kim but found out his style was more ‘straight’ noses rather than doll like sloped noses. Dr Jang was recommended to me for those types of noses. Kylie did mention that the doctor will always listen to your wishes. But I feel like if that style is not his/her style, I’d rather not take the risk. I didn’t get to speak to both Drs in the end as they were both in surgery and I was also told it was quite hard to book a surgery date as Dr Kim was headed out for a convent and Dr Jiang had only 1 surgery slot left. I was able to come back the day after to meet both docs so I rebooked the consultation to the day after.Topface: I really wanted to speak with dr Shim for both my eyes and nose as I’ve seen beautiful results from him in a few kkt chats. But his surgery ran out and they asked me to come back end of day the next day. I rebooked the consultation but I was getting a bit worried about having the surgery on time as I was only in Kor for 10 days.Uvom: This was the smallest clinic (they only have 1 floor) and I was greeted by a lovely consultant Jasmine who spoke Eng fluently as she went to high school and college in the US. I spent most time here as it was my last consult of the day. We went over the procedures I wanted with another consultant (Eun Mi) and I got to see both Dr Lee for nose and Dr Kang for eyes. Dr Kang was able to recreate my desired eye shape with 2 toothpicks and recommended me to have a tiny epi. I mentioned I was afraid my eyes would look too close together as I already had ‘open’ eyes to begin with but he confirmed the change wouldn't be that drastic. I was happy he did not see any problems in creating the (parallel) lids I wanted since I heard he’s a pretty conservative (surgery style wise) guy. The infographic of eyes really helped a lot to communicate with the doc the specific things I want and did not want. Afterwards I saw dr Lee, he’s a very friendly doctor who has a preference for a specific style, most of the noses I’ve seen he's operated on are quite similar (in aesthetic sense). Sloped bridge, tip slightly upturned and natural looking with a dolly effect. We quickly agreed on what should happen to my nose, he asked me the top 3 things I wanted to change in order of priority, he noted it and then he left. I think I also spent like 10 min per doc here. ------The decision: The most important part is that you feel you agree with the doc's recommendations and that they also understand what you want. I eventually decided to have all my surgeries at Uvom as Rhinoplasty was my primary concern and I was most confident in Dr Lee's capabilities. Also, it helped that dr Kang confirmed parallel crease line would be possible (so I could have both surgeries the same date) The consultant informed me that it was possible to have the surgery the next day but I’d had to decide the same day as they needed to take out filler from my nose prior to surgery. Removing fillers from the nose hurt like a btch and it continued to feel sensitive the next day. To conclude, I’d say it’s hard to decide on a clinic if it’s your first time consulting. Some Dr recommendations contradict each other and you need to understand what procedures you exactly need and want as some consultants might also try to upsell additional surgeries to you. Ideally I’d say you travel to Korea twice, first time to have consults (and do holiday stuff), then go home do some more research and on the second time to have surgery and recover. After your first consults write down all the recommended procedures for your desired nose/eyes/whatever and then research those procedures and keep an eye out on the chats for real reviews, B/As to understand the styles from different docs. It takes a lot of time and research but it’s your face after all. Also, I found this to be a great post about what questions to ask during consult.The surgery: So on the day of surgery I wasn’t nervous at all, the consultant was continuously by my side and holding my hand when I had to do the many different injections. I first had my eye surgery under twilight sedation, that's when you’re sedated but still conscious. You can still think and hear but are kind of like, high on drugs? I was going through colorful tunnels and heard the doc talking to the nurse. At some point the doc asked me to open my eyes a few times and then after an hour or two he finished and informed me I’d be put into sleep sedation. I was pretty much KO immediately after and only remember being woken up about 9-10 hrs later. I was at the hospital until 10.30 pm, I felt super cold and my throat was drier than the sahara. They put me into another room with a warmed bed and there I also saw my poor s/o who waited for me all this time. After an hour or so I was less dizzy and ready to go back to my airbnb. (Living in an airbnb is better than in a hotel room as you’ll have a fridge, freezer, mini kitchen (and microwave), washing machine etc. so you can cave for a few days.)Post surgery: Day 0 I went to bed with my head elevated (on 3 pillows) to minimise swelling. My throat was hurting so much I did not feel any pain from the surgery. I wasn’t able to sleep much as my nose was packed and I had to breathe out of my painful dry throat. Day 1 I was still super weak and felt super swollen, surgery is no joke and you really need time to recover. If possible bring someone along as that’ll make your life easier in terms of food, traveling, mental support and other help. I was asked to come back to the clinic for both drs to check up on me and also got rainbow therapy for deswelling and a vitamin drip. My throat still hurt and I was tired like hell due to lack of sleep. Tip: don’t forget to ask for your Tax refund slip. Interesting insight: at View they told me they couldn’t write down revisions (my eyes and they event counted me having had nose filler also as a nose revision) on their VAT slip. I have no idea why that is as Uvom didn’t mention anything about this and put down the full amount of my operations. So make sure to double check with your clinic to see what you can actually get back. Day 2 Swelling was worst for me this day, I looked like a guinea pig that got his wisdom tooth removed. My eyes were like Frankenstein's and my head was rounder than a balloon. Luckily I mentally prepped myself with a lot of B/As prior to my surgery. Good to know; when you get fatgraft they take the fat from your (inner) thighs, so your thighs will also look like two purple eggplants. Day 3 Swelling stayed the same but the bruising around my eyes was turning more purple/yellowish as if I got into a fight with Chris Brown the day before. I think the higher the crease the more swelling there will be. As for my nose it didn’t swell that much at all. I went back to the clinic again to get the cotton balls in my nose removed. The dr checked up on me again and looked satisfied. I felt completely normal again and wasn’t tired anymore. My throat was feeling better but instead I had a runny nose, developed 2 ulcers on my tongue and had to cough in the middle of the nights because of nose stuff dripping down and irritating my throat. Ironically, all of these hurt more than my actual surgery sites. So I did not feel any pain post surgery but was very uncomfortable from all the side effects. Day 7 The days in between my swelling was getting much better and I got my stitches removed on day 7. I learned to take a painkiller before stitch removal so you'll feel less pain. It still hurt like a btch for me, nose stitches were bearable, eyes were horrible. 1 Month post-op All in all, I was super happy with the post-op care and always stayed in good contact with the consultant regarding any questions or issues I was running against. I completely love my nose as it definitely is the nose I've wanted but also looks very natural on my face. My eyes have been healing very slowly both swelling wise as scar wise so I'm still waiting for it to settle. At this point I can't say I love my eyes as I feel the inner corners are starting a bit too high for my liking. Also, it didn't help that my skin formed hypertrophic scars on the inner part (where the crease starts) of my eye at around week 2. The hypertrophic scar is getting flatter and less red at week 5 and I feel like it will disappear over time but I do think it inhibited the formation of the crease in the inner eye area. The doctor advised to wait until the swelling is gone especially since I'm only a month post-op. Which makes sense. I was also very worried about having too much fat in my face from fatgraft and looking 'plastic' but the fat definitely absorbed about 50% over time (also swelling subsides) and I'm happy it looks much more natural now. I’m not comfortable sharing full face pics so please don’t ask. Before After Dr Lee added 3.5 mm to the bridge and 2 mm to my tip. Only septal cartilage was used for the tip and eptfe for my bridge. Please don’t circulate these pictures, thank you. Edit: added eyes, excuse for the greasiness in the innercorners as I've just put on scargel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintergirl2019 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I love your nose!! And your eyes look great as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daysuntilpretty Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Your post gave a lot of useful info! Thank you so much! I hope you continue to recover well ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdieheidi Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Thank you for your post! It is very helpful. Btw. Ur nose looks stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbrowneyedgir Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Wow you look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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