pei-pei Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Are you Chinese, too? I can say I am a immigrant, but I need a nose revision and am a Chinese that are two different things, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris-alexander Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Rhinoplasty in korea part 1 I decided to write a review about my rhinoplasty in korea in order to contribute to the forums which helped me gather informations it is my time to give back lol I had previously a medpore implant to augment my bridge, it was fine except that the previous surgeon left me with an slight upturned nose which by contraction over the years turned out to be more a real piggy nose, plus the fact that my tip was quite bulbous, which made it even look more ridiculous. So, I decided to get a rhinopasy after having received an email with tons of before after photos from Korean plastic surgery clinics. Then from that day, I started a marathon reading, searching everything I could to get the perfect nose I had been longing to have. I read tons of forums, of course all the threads from TPF from Asian nose job 1 to 3, best plastic surgery in Korea…. (Doesn’t it sound like blockbuster movies lol) I could not even think of another subject…. Finally, in Korea, I had jaw surgery, eye surgery and rhinoplasty.What material ? But before trying to decide which clinic to choose from the thousand clinics available in Korea, first and foremost, I had to select the material that would be used. Silicone, goretex, medpore, septal, ear, rib cartilage etc…. That part was hard, as we can find pros and cons for each material…. But in general, I am pretty against artificial implant so for my revision I wanted to get rid of the medpore stuff and try to use my own tissue. As my goal was to elongate a little my nose, the implant used would have to be quite strong and from what I read, rib cartilage was the ideal candidate.Rib Pros: abundant, strong, autologous, limited reabsorption compared to septal and ear cartilage Cons: invasive, noses a bit stiff afterwards, really needs a specialized surgeon. So with a rib rhinoplasty, my goal was to have a « lifetime » nose that would be less prone to revision, infection, extrusion, (more frequent with artificial implants) Moreover, it is said that rib cartilage tends to be calcified with time, so harvesting rib cartilage when we are« young » seems to be a good solution, let alone the fact that it is easier to recover from that kind of surgery in your twenties, thirties than in your fifties in my opinion.I knew also that if really there was an issue, it could be possible to use artificial implants afterwards, so rib was my top choice. Of course I had a B plan, if really I had to use artificial implant I would have chosen silicone as if any revision is necessary; it is much easier than with goretex or medpore whose porous structure « blends » with the surrounding tissues of the nose making it really hard to remove without damaging the tissues. Which clinic? Once the material was chosen, I had to select the clinic specialized in rib rhinoplasty. Fortunately, from what I found, there were not many really specialized and I selected 3 clinics ( I had contacted much more clinics but most were not really advocating rib… • Shimmian • VIP • O&young I started by sendig emails to each clinic to get quotations and recommendations Only did Shimmian and Vip answer my emails, O&young either never received my emails, or did not even bother replying my emails we will never know • VIP quoted 12 000 USD for rib rhinoplasty • Shimmian quoted 8500 USD (5500 USD for revision and 3000 USD for rib harvesting) I was of course a bit turned off by the price asked by VIP. The difference is 2500 USD which is huge. Plus, I prefered the answers from shimmian, which were more accurate and personal. Of course, that is purely subjective. But for us foreigners, we have sometimes to go by our instinct. So I decided to first consult shimmian and kept VIP as a second choice in case the consultation was not satisfactory. The Shimmian clinic The Shimmian clinic is near gangnam station and fortunately I had rent a flat not too far away from it.(15-20 mn by foot) So I could go to the clinic by foot and « visit » the surroundings…. The clinic is located in a building close to a Baskin robbin (ice cream) shop and dunkin donuts, it is on the 6th floor. It is not a big clinic, but a rather moderate, small one with a warm feeling. It is definitely a clinic specialized in noses.When you arrive at the clinic, there are around 3-5 ladies at the reception desk, they all look pretty in my opinion I was quite relieved as I did not want the clinic to be too big, so big that patients are mostly numbers, I really wanted a more intimate place where I would be able to explain clearly what I wanted for my nose. The first day I arrived in shimmian, there were also 2 patients waiting to have check ups, and 1 person who was supposed to have surgery that day as she was asked to get dressed with their pyjama…I wanted to ask her where she came from but was too shy at that time…. I was even stressed for her lol. The noses of the other 2 patients were really nice so I was starting to be less stressed. The decoration was nice, modern (simple zen-like ), and it was clean ( ok I am a freak control though not like monica from Friends lol) I was asked to fill in a form with my name, surname, address etc… and 2 minutes later after my arrival, Jay lee, the manager (with whom I was in contact by email) welcomed me. It was cool to finally meet the guy I had been in contact with for months… He spoke good english, was really calm, and poised… which was a good thing for me, I needed to be more relaxed and his calmess was exactly what I needed lol We talked a little, he told me he was mainly in charge of the foreign patients, and that they were dealing with lots of nose revision surgery as the clinic is specialised in nose… Jay lee left me to check if the doctor Jung was available to see me. As I was thirsty, I saw their water machine and tried to get some cold water but either I was too stressed, or it was too complicated, I did not manage to get any. I was going to ask one of the lady to come to “my rescue” (what a shame lol) when jay lee arrived and told me I could see the doctor. The consultation I finally met Dr Jung, who is the nose specialist; he was really warm and kind. He immediately asked me what I didn’t like about my nose. I explained him my tip was too bulbous, my nose was upturned and short probably because of the medpore implant… He agreed and touched my nose to feel the bones, the implant. He also wanted to see the inside of the nostrils but told me he needed to clean them first lol (I had still some blood from my jaw surgery) So he asked me to follow him to a room with a chair in the middle. It was impressive, the chair was only dedicated to clean, examine the nose… He used a kind of vaccum cleaner to get rid of mucus, blood so he could clearly see the inside of my nose. It was a funny experience lol. We went back to his consultation room, and he explained me that my bridge was too narrow (the implant), which was aboslutely true, that the noses needed to be elongated, he would suggest me to use rib cartilage, as the cartilage would be strong enough to elongate my short nose. He also suggested me to have alarplasty and tip plasty so he could make my nose more proportionate. I asked him about resorption, he told me it was quite minimal about 3-5 %. He also told me he did not really like medpore as in his experience, it often gave complications…. I asked him if I could show him some photos, he said: « of course. » (Sigh of relief lol) He took the time to watch the 2-3 photos I had and said that it was coherent. I also asked him if I needed osteotomy, he examined again my nose, touching the bones and told me my bones were fine and that I didn’t need it. He then showed me several pictures of really wide bridge, telling me that mine was quite narrow.He showed me also some pics of rib noses, they were really looking good He then asked me if I had other questions…. I asked him about the chest scar because of cartilage harvesting, he said it would be really minimal; I would just have to be cautious about the post op care to minimize the scarring and move gently… He also told me as I was still swollen from my jaw surgery, I needed to wait 2 weeks for the swelling to be gone so he advised me to wait for the 22nd may ( the consultation was on 6th may) and requested me to come back 1or 2 days before to check if the deswelling was ok. So with no more questions, jay lee asked me to follow him to another room with one of the ladies. I suppose it was money time lol I was pretty set on Dr Jung as he had been really caring and listening to everything I told him. Plus the price was so much lower than VIP’s rib rhinoplasty that I was ok from the get go. I also appreciated the fact that he did not want to rush things and really wanted to make sure my deswelling would be enough…. We had to schedule an appointment for the surgery and set it up on 22nd may. I paid 80% of the amount as I didn’t want to keep so much money for 2 weeks…. I was then asked to read a letter of consent and asked, after reading, to sign on their tablet (ipad or something equivalent) I was impressed again by the modernity lol. I was then required to follow a lady to have pictures of my face in every angle, to get blood test and thorax radio… to prepare for the surgery When I left the clinic I was relieved as I felt Dr Jung was really skilled and experienced, he really took the time to examine my nose, to examine the implant by moving it… and to check my nostrils. I had found a real nose specialist lol and was less stressed….and a little eager to get my nose done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris-alexander Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 hi xuka, I started posting my review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pei-pei Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hi Chris, are you still pain on your chest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris-alexander Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 yeah the pain is still there but much more subtle than after the surgery..... it will take some time to heal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2change Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hello all, I am getting a revision soon because the silicon had shifted....arg! I am planning to look at couple of aspect of the nose in order get a better outcome in the future. I am looking at possibly lowering the height of my nose so that it does not looks so thin and making my skin looks abit tight; asking the surgeon to place the silicon more to the left since the tendency of my facial expression cause to move to the right which is what it is as I write. I am also getting facia graft to help with the thinning of the skin on the nose. I never though I will have that issue as another surgeon had told me that I have somewhat of thick skin (medium) and fairly elasticity. Right now the nose is at 3 mm on the bridge (but it feels more like 4 mm). The upper part of the nose (closer to the radix) is probably at 2 mm and since the slop is not that steep it does not look high from the 45 degree angle my nose height is noticeable. I know people looks good with different height and depending on the how the nose is sculpt the 3 mm is probably not high at all. I just want to know how do you guys feel about the height and what are you comfortable with being Asian (if you are). Also what is the height of the nose will look good with Asian? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris-alexander Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hello I suppose people will give their opinion, but have your tried doing some simulations with photoshop or any other software so that you could check by yourself what suits you and check your profile, as taste and "beauty" is so subjective than it is hard in my opinion to give exact numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davids Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Well a nose revision and being chinese are two totally different things haha. No, what I meant was I thought you were half chinese half canadian. I have friends who are half and their noses are nice. I'm half as well but my nose is not how i want it to be. What did you originally get? Silicon, gortex, rib, septal, ear cartilage? I'm planning on having septal cartilage done here in Thailand. The two doctors I'm in contact with don't do rib. So I guess silicon and septal cartilage is the standard here. I thought about using rib, but I watched a video of a doctor carving rib cartilage and saw how it started to curve (i think this is called warping?) So i'm less keen on it. Hopefully septal will work just as well as jib. Are you planning on goign to korea? Also, can someone explain what reabsorbed means? In rhinoplasty terms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pei-pei Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 I am not a mix, but I dream of it! First time, my nose was fat injected for my bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taeyang123 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 i'm pretty sure she is referring to another dr.wang, who is based in Beijing. The other dr.wang is in Dalian like you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettmd Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Hey guys, has anyone done their surgery with Asian doctors in USA? I did some research and found those: Asian: Toriumi Charles Lee another Lee from Maryland (don't know his first name) some famous non-Asian doctors: Carlvert Daniel Jack Gunter Dr. Toriumi is most famous among all of them...but I have heard some really bad cases. Any recommendation or comment is welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris-alexander Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Rhinoplasty in korea part 2 the first part is here : # style="text-decoration: underline">The 2nd consultation at Shimmian clinic After 2 weeks, my jaw and nose area were definitely less swollen, Dr jung checked again my nose thoroughly and said it was ok for the 22nd may so I was pretty happy as I was afraid he would tell me that I had to wait one more week which was impossible as I had to fly back on 1st june . The surgery I was so stressed that fasting at midnight was definitely not a problem, I could not eat anthing, but yet forced myself to drink more water though . I was in fact really concerned by the cartilage harvesting, the pain . Just the thought of the harvesting could give me goose pimples I am such a chicken lol I went to Shimmian clinic at 9 am sharp, I had to pay the 20 % left of the price and was asked to change clothes and get dressed for surgery .. My stress level on a scale of 1-10? 20 .  I was given a locker (with a digital code) to put my belongings . And then I waited silently in the room to be called Jay lee came to see me to check that I was fine, he was quite busy with other foreign patients so did not stay long with me but it was really kind of him. Then a nurse came to bring me to the surgery room, I had to take off slippers, wash hands, wear a cap, and have a moutwash .. I was shivering I saw the anesthesiologist and just reminded him that because of my jaw surgery, I could not open my mouth very wide He asked me to breath through a transparent mask . 10 sec nothing.. I was like, hehe it doesnt work .. And . 7 :00 pm (I entered the surgery room at about 9 :30 am) I woke up they brought me to a recovery room, I did not feel any pain, was just tired, could not breath by nose as there was gauze inside the nostrils I was relieved, then the doc came to see me to tell me the operation was really fine, though they had met some issues with the removal of the implant as it was really attached to the tissues, so there would be more swelling than average, they also told me they had to cut a little more from alar in one side as my nostrils were uneven but the nose would be really nice I noticed I was wearing a chest compression garment, supposedly to protect the wound, limit the swelling and to avoid any muscle overstretching, it was quite tight and hindered my breathing . But it was not painful One of the lady, sohyung took care of me, she was really really nice, really sweet, came as often as she could to check my state, if I needed anything she speaks good english I could drink water but had to drink slowly and small quantities as I could throw up or choke . She then brought me some congee to eat and the medications I had to take after the congee . I really didnt feel like eating aynthing, I was longing to get the gauze removed, that was the only thing my mind could think of but she really advised me to eat a little to speed up the recovery process that was exactly the magical words which encouraged me to eat. « Recovery process » the sooner, the better lol. Moreover, I really felt genuine interest and care from her, so, I did not want to sadden her . Reluctantly, I ate one or 2 spoons of congee (I dont really like it in general) but found it super yummy, lol I was probably hugry and ate everything . I took the meds As time went by, I was feeling more and more pain (as the anesthesic effect from the surgery was probably disappearing) in my chest, not excruciating pain but that soreness you feel after too much work out.. So everytime I moved it was ooh ooh ooh I was moving in slow motion 8 pm: I wanted to go to pee . Suhyung wanted to ask someone to help me bu I was feeling strong enough to do it all by myself lol and really did not want any company when doing my business lol In the toilet, I tried nothing . Though I could feel the need . I tried again. Nothing . Then I felt a horrible burn . Indeed, they had to insert a tube into my « underparts », so I supposed it had irritated my urethra it was really painful but kept peeing as it was better to flush out all toxins etc I was really hoping my 2nd time in the toilet would be less painful lol I forced myself to drink warm water; I wanted to get rid of the anesthesics and wanted to make sure I did not have any urinary infection so I drank again as much water as I could . Later, the nurse came to inject me antibiotics by IV (which is a little painful) I went to the toilet 5 times that very night . Everytime it was burning . I began to be scared but told no one as I was hoping it would disappear by itself . And was not very keen on being compelled to show my genitals to any one lol That night was really not funny, I could not sleep as breathing only by mouth was really frustrating for me, there were 2 other patients, 1 girl, 1 older woman ; though without my glasses, I was not sure ; I tried to speak to them, both were korean, the woman could not speak english, only the girl could, so I asked her why she chose shimmian, she told me shimmian is famous for nose surgeries in Korea, it was good to hear  she said it was her primary rhino, that it is not easy to put your life on hold (professionally, socially .) Yeah I knew what she meant how you may have to hide it to some of your friends or relatives who consider PS as superficial or useless . I was too tired to think of it now . As she was watching a movie on her laptop, I did not want to disturb her so I went back to my room and tried to take some rest. I waited in my room then walked in my room, then I wandered in the waiting room hoping time would pass by more quickly, as I knew the nurses would remove the gauze at 9-10 am . But, that was a long long night lol Fortunately, vampire knight (another TPF forumer who was not in Korea different time zone - was chatting with me on kakaotalk, she helped me focus on something else than the breathing frustration and the chest pain . I wanted to take off and get rid of that chest garment it was so tight!!! I kept thinking of those women who had to endure wearing corsets!!!! How brave they were I had been wearing it for only 3-5 hours and I was already complaining lol . So thank you vampire knight!!!!! Finally 9:00 am, freedom time? The staff was arriving one by one at the clinic; sohyung came by to check on me. Another lady brought me some congee, this time I did not need to be told twice to eat, I was so hungry Believe me that 2nd congee was so good there was seaweed inside!!!!! it was tasty, I think I could have eaten 5 portions of it !!!! I took my meds and drank more warm water. Sohyung came to check if I had eaten the congee, she asked again if everthing was fine. I finally admitted I had burning pain when doing my business in the toilet, she immediately checked with the nurses and one doctor, they checked my ear temperature, it seemed normal but gave me another shot of antibiotioc IV injection for safety. They asked me to check the colour of my urine. I knew it was not infection as the color was fine, fever? Not really, just the pain later, I went to the toilet .. Nothing!!! No more pain hurray!! I was on cloud nine!!!! Sohyung then helped me to reach the nose examination room so that the nurse could remove the gauze She was translating everything the nurse would say. I was looking forward to breathing by my new nose . The nurse removed the gauze really gently, and used again that vacuum cleaner thing to remove the mucus I could breathe!!!! Finally!!!! What a relief! She also removed the cast and the dressing to check the nose She then removed the chest compression garment . Ah!!! Second moment of joy!!!! Pure moment of ectacy, it had been so tight, I was free!!!! She checked my chest wound, changed the dressing. She then called the doc to check my nose he told me again the removal of the implant had been very difficult as it was really attached to the tissues, so my recovery would take longer time. He pushed on my nose quite strongly to feel the implant, it was painful but bearable. He also told my forehead was really swollen and thus he had to add more pressure on this area to avoid more swelling with the dressing . but all in all it was looking good The nurse (really pretty by the way lol) put back the cast; with tapes she also reattached the compression garment but this time tighter!!! I was like « how will I breath lol? « It was tight but I finally got used to it . I thought it was over and that I could leave the room . The nurse said no, no not finished with a big smile When she took an elastic band from a drawer . I knew what it meant painful IV injection for antiobiotic treatment lol I had to come back tomorrow at the clinic around 11:00 am I was free to go and return to the flat Jay lee and sohyung was a bit worried as the flat was quite far from the clinic, they wanted me to take a taxi but I really wanted to walk in order to speed up the deswelling. Of course, in a normal situation, that walk would have been just a piece of cake but it was not very easy as I had one big bag and my chest was painful but I walked very slowly taking breaks from time to time It was like a marathon I was telling myself, ok Chris, you did 10%, it is good, keep going, you are good lol!!! Ok you did 20% etc till the end I finally arrived to the flat, I was so exhausted and tired, plus I had not slept for 24hours I managed to lie down ( it took me 2 minutes to find a way to lie down without hurting my chest lol) and I slept for at least 5-6 hours . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hope123 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 hi Chris, thank you for posting your result. hoping every things go well to you.I'm going to Korea to get my jaw reduction and my nose done too. so can you please give me the name of the clinic where you get your jaw done and how long have you been staying korea ? thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacryssa Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Chris, thank you very much for the detailed review of your experience at Shimmian. Both my father and boyfriend expressed interest in rhinoplasty so I thought about researching Shimmian and Dr Jung for them. My father wanted to get a L-shaped silicone implant for his nose a few years ago when my mom got her non-incisional double eyelids but decided to hold off (thankfully! Or he probably would have needed a revision). My boyfriend, on the other hand, had nose fillers to augment his nasal bridge when I had my rhinoplasty. He wanted to preview the effects of a rhinoplasty first. Either way, I would definitely show all your written review to them. They are a great help, thanks again. All the best in healing and recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexethan Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Very detailed posts. Thanks for sharing. This is the kind of review that would help others with their search/quest! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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