My April 31 Experience

[chanelsaint]

I originally came to SK for the US after booking with VIP (my other thread goes into detail about why I canceled the surgery with them). I also consulted with MVP (details on that later).
These are the surgeries I was interested in:

Revision Rhinoplasty- my primary rhinoplasty was with rib, there was nothing wrong with it and no functional issues but my tip was too high from the side, I wanted more definition throughout my entire nose, and I needed a revision alarplasty because of my primary alar scars.

Chin implant removal and genioplasty: I had my chin done twice previously and after the revision result wasn't satisfactory (improperly placed for the second time), I decided that a genioplasty would be a better option for me, I noticed that my chin implant was asymmetrical and painful when I would floss my teeth or when I would have to open my mouth for extended periods of time.

Fat Graft: I've had fat transfer twice before, I wanted to address my forehead, tear troughs, and paranasals,

Philtrum reduction/Lip lift.

The Consultation:
So here's the teas- you are going to be charged for the CT Scan (apprx. $50) and you will pay for your own EKG (apprx. $50) (approximate because I need to go back and look at my receipts but I remember it being around that amount). You are not getting a consultation if you don't pay that $50 for the scan lol.

Then...
You will consult with the doctors. In my case, since I wanted rhinoplasty, I consulted with Dr. Kim, and for my genioplasty, I consulted with Dr. Park.

Consult w/Dr. Park was first: He doesn't speak a lot of English, but Chrissy, the patient coordinator is good at translations, there is also a translator there who speaks Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese, she's very sweet. Dr. Park looked at me from different angles and spoke directly at me while Chrissy translated. I give the consultation 5/5. He spent time with me and it wasn't a rushed consultation.

Consult w/Dr. Kim: You will get to see a really good 3d rendering of your entire skull/face. I told Dr. Kim about my previous rhinoplasty with rib and what I wanted to achieve and he agreed but the only thing is that he couldn't narrow the outer nasal bones (not sure what the terminology is, but the outer part of your nose near where your sinuses are. He speaks English and the consultation wasn't rushed at all. I felt comfortable with going forward with surgery with him. Consultation rating 5/5)


After all of that I went with Chrissy to discuss prices, if you do multiple procedures with them, your price will be slightly less, but I have to tell you all, April 31's prices are pretty much set and they're expensive but there's some wiggle room if you're a good negotiator (and even if you are, the negotiated price isn't going to be anything extensively less than the pre-negotiation price, it's not cheap to have surgery there), if you're interested in going with April 31 my advice to you is to try to negotiate anyway (perhaps bring a local friend with you), and if you can do it pay for part or all of your surgery in cash if they will be more willing to negotiate that way.

I had surgery on Dec 24th and I'll go into detail about that in my next post. xo

 

[chanelsaint]

Surgery Day:
Wasn't allowed to eat or drink past 12 am.

Bought my own gucci slippers with me, they would not allow me to wear them into the OR, they will make you wear theirs.

They will make you wash you face and rinse your mouth, you will change into their surgery clothes they provide to you, they did not have the system that blows the air all around you before surgery though.

The doctors will come to discuss again what you want and mark your face.

Oh, my surgery was local for rhinoplasy and general for genioplasty, I woke up either when they were getting me ready for general or after the procedure was done, this wasn't during the surgery. I wasn't intubated and I didn't feel anything, I was just laying there basically with my eyes open, I was very coherent but I could not speak or move my body. I did the thing Uma Thurman did on Kill Bill when she was in the hospital bed waking up from her coma, "Move your big toe", lol, I was trying so hard but it didn't work. Then I was like, "ok maybe they don't know that I'm awake", so I started trying to raise my blood pressure so the monitors would alert them. Then I started trying to move around again because it's highly unsettling to be coherent and not be able to speak or move. After that, I think I heard someone say, "don't move", then I fell alseep again. (I will bring it up to Chrissy when I go to the next post op).

When I finally woke up from everything, the nurses were there (they don't speak English), Chrissy came in at some point to talk to me, and Dr. Park came to check on me twice, Dr. Kim did not come to check on me and when I inquired as to why, I was told that rhinoplasty isn't as serious for the doctor doesn't check the patient the day of the surgery (post op).

I remember feeling like the staff weren't able to understand fully what I was trying to communicate post op; I couldn't speak because of the swelling, but I was able to gesture and text.

There is NO overnight care, not even if you've bone contouring/genioplasty/etc... they will let you recover from the anesthesia but you have to go home after that. -That was one of the things I didn't like; imo those procedures need overnight care (I've had many surgeries before and even had a hired nurse when I had my primary done- the option of having a caregiver or nurse after surgery always needs to be there no matter how popular surgery is SK; bone surgery is serious, it's not a shopping trip, it's not a botox injection. That was a question I shouldv'e asked before and if you are considering any bone surgeries at any facility you need to ask if overnight care (or however many hours of care you need post clinic discharge) is available and if they can make those accommodations for and not just assume so like I did.

Also, I don't think there are any pain meds given here post op except for when you are just about to go home/back to your accommodations. Waking up from the genioplasty was probably the most painful thing I've felt in all of my plastic surgery experiences combined (I've been getting surgeries since I was 21, I am 28- almost 29 now)... I think that's because they don't administer meds the same way that American hospitals do; we're generally a little more spoiled at home so just be ready for the differences, the nose didn't bother me it was just my chin lol I do not want to do that surgery again for that very reason- my pain tolerance is high and I was surprised that I actually felt pain post op (the pain didn't last past that night, the only discomfort I had after that was from the crazy amount of swelling I had).

What I did like was that they took note of my medicine allergies (I can't take any NSAIDS), and I felt totally safe with what the doctor's prescribed for me. Chrissy got pumpkin juice from the pharmacy for me and my post op meds. The best part of that night was when the nurse gave me the tramadol (painkiller) shot (although it could've been stronger).

 

[chanelsaint]

I'm now on Post Op day 4 and my updates are as follows:
Had post op appt 1 the day after xmas.

Got a post op appointment today and saw Dr. Park- he let me take my headband off and prescribed a deswelling shot and my blowfish lips started to go away, my lips are naturally full, but the swelling I experienced was a lot to deal with, I only drank pumpkin juice, water, and almond milk every day after surgery up until after this afternoon because of the amount of swelling I had, I'm now about to eat soup with soft vegetables.

If you get the blowfish lips after contouring, ask for your headband to be removed (I feel that the headbands can move some of your swelling towards the lips and they can cut your lymph system off too much if you wear it it too much- causing the swelling not being about to move down the lymph system and out of your body as quickly- I felt like mines was compartmentalizing my swelling and being counterproductive), the lip swelling can also be caused if you have any amount of filler in your lips, even it was years ago (there is still some left in there but it's probably not visible to you- fillers cause autoimmune reactions often and they often result in excess swelling in sensitive areas like the lips when you are ill or when those "particles" are aggravated by other surgery/impact.)

So far, although there is swelling and I'm very early post op and this could very well change in further in the healing process:
I am satisfied with the fat graft (even with the swelling, I like how my browline looks smoothed)

I am not satisfied with with my revision rhinoplasty at this time (I know rhino takes the longest to heal, but 4days post op, I am not happy with the nostril shape, tip shape, or length (it's still short, not lengthened like I asked for and I am 95% sure I'm going to need a revision when I get back home in the next 6 months- one year; I miss my old nose right now. I hope things get better, but the logical side of me is telling me to prepare for another revision surgery; with my primary, I was immediately thrilled, but I'm willing to give it time- I trust my logic though ultimately so I'm ok with having revision if it comes to that, no breathing problems with the nose this far ..))

I am satisfied with with the philtrum reduction right now but I expect it to drop a little ( I think he took 3mm off but I'll confirm/update that once I have the post op on Tuesday).

I am satisfied with the genioplasty so far even with the swelling

Overall I feel positively about April 31 right now. I will be sharing pix when my nose is a little more healed to be fair because I know how I am about things lol.
I'm willing to answer any questions xo