Should I contact clinics ahead of time before doing in person consultations?

[ell3n]

I know sometimes booking can be a few weeks and that is my concern. I don't want to go to Korea and not be able to book my surgery on the same trip. I also know some of these places are rather busy, especially this time of the year it seems. I would like to book and plan everything for late April or early May. Should I contact clinics while at home and will this guarantee that I can book my surgery for the same trip? I will only be able to be in Korea for 10 days. 

[Jabba]

It depends on how much time you're going to have. With only 10 days, it's better to reach out and probably decide on a clinic and book surgery.

The first thing is to find out what the treatment cycle is like for what you want to have. Example:

Rhinoplasty treatment cycle is about 8 days.

Prep and consult day: 1

Day 2 – Surgery  
Day 3 – Follow-up  
Day 4 – Recovery / rest  
Day 5 – Follow-up  
Day 6 – Recovery / rest  
Day 7 – Recovery / rest  
Day 8 – Stitch removal and post consult  

Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days.

That's a 10-day trip if you already have the surgery day locked in.

If you plan to consult with a few places first and then decide, you have to factor in consult days. Maybe you need 2 to 3 days to consult. Then factor in the delta or difference between your decision and the next available surgery date. Let's assume this can range between 3 to 7 days.

Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days.

So if you want to consult first and then decide, on the low end you need about 14 days, and on the high end about 19 days.

[cocopeach]

I don't know if 10 days would be enough. That is going to be a very tight trip as mentioned above. 

Everything I looked into said to plan for at least 2 weeks but upward of 3 or even 4 depending on the surgery! 

[mariemarie]

I would plan for a bit of extra time. You might end up changing your mind about a clinic after getting there. Allow yourself at least 5 days for this. So assuming that the surgery will take 8 days as mentioned above, you would want a minimum of 13 days. 

[ell3n]

On 3/16/2026 at 6:48 AM, Jabba said:

It depends on how much time you're going to have. With only 10 days, it's better to reach out and probably decide on a clinic and book surgery.

The first thing is to find out what the treatment cycle is like for what you want to have. Example:

Rhinoplasty treatment cycle is about 8 days.

Prep and consult day: 1

Day 2 – Surgery  
Day 3 – Follow-up  
Day 4 – Recovery / rest  
Day 5 – Follow-up  
Day 6 – Recovery / rest  
Day 7 – Recovery / rest  
Day 8 – Stitch removal and post consult  

Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days.

That's a 10-day trip if you already have the surgery day locked in.

If you plan to consult with a few places first and then decide, you have to factor in consult days. Maybe you need 2 to 3 days to consult. Then factor in the delta or difference between your decision and the next available surgery date. Let's assume this can range between 3 to 7 days.

Now factor in travel days (arrival / departure), that's about 2 days.

So if you want to consult first and then decide, on the low end you need about 14 days, and on the high end about 19 days.

Thank you so much for this. I am looking into things a bit more and I am pushing my surgery back now so I can have more time. I don't want to end up rushed or anything. I will be planning to go in September now. That way I will have more time to take off from work and not stress. Also the weather will be better.