chipmunk Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Wow im sorry to hear! Im getting a revision this tuesday and I naturally have assymetry in my eyes that looked even more noticable after my procedures, me and my doctor have addressed this issue and he has agreed to try to make my eyes as even as possible and took the blame instead of blaming the unevenness on me. Great clinic and great doctor. I feel even more blessed to have gone to Chungdam U after hearing things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planc Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I'm so bored resting at my hotel today so I decided to post my experiences with clinics! So I have consulted with three clinics: BK, JW, The Line, and EverM. Initially I was planning to consult with View and Cindy aswell, but I decided after my fourth consultation as only the prices were different from all of my meetings. And, ofcourse, I prefer to have more recovery time BK: I wasn't planning to consult with this clinic because of all the bad reviews I've read but since my translator was late and that BK had in-house translators, I decided to just give it a shot. First, there are two buildings that look exactly the same as each other, minus the different entrance layouts, and BK was the one on the left. The building was quite small, but pretty tall, luxurious, and modern.- BK owned the entire building btw!. So I walked in and was greeted by two receptionist that directed me to floor 5, or 6 for consultations. The first two in-house translators, male and female, were quite natural looking but the consultant was really unnatural - i suspect that probably she had everything done. OK, so the consultant recommended me to have a nose-job as well as sliding genioplasty for a final result of having that straight line from the nose-tip to the chin without touching the mouth. I'm suspecting that this is their definition of beauty, maybe? Although I kinda agree with what she said about the line, I'm more worried about the actual size of my face - I have huge mandibles and cheekbones. She was unsure so she called in a face-contouring doctor, a old man that again keep emphasizing the need of that line from nose-tip to chin. He said that v-line and zygoma reduction were unnecessary and that a for sure, most dramatic improvement to my face was to get the line so nose-job and sliding -chin. Anyways, as this was the first clinic that I've consulted with, I decided to leave- ofcourse, ending it as if i was very interested but just need a bit more time thinking about it . EverM: This clinic was actually a dental clinic that specialized in, surgery wise, two jaw surgery, v-line, and zygoma reduction. It was located in the exact replica building right next to BK, but only occupies four floors. Also, propose clinic and teng teng skin clinic were all in this building as well - heard those clinics mentioned before in this forum before. This clinic does require you to have a translator as the staff and doctors only speak English minimally. When I first started the consultation, I was told to have a CT and X-Ray scan, unlike any other clinics where they refuse to do it until you pay a deposit or actually paying for it. The meeting was with the actual surgeon - Yoon Kyu Sik, yes the guy in the picture posted around 10 pages ahead. One thing to note was that in the consulting room, there was a wall full of pictures of celebrities with this surgeon - my translator said that ALL of them were famous to some degree and she's korean. I'm not sure whether they came here for dental treatments or for surgery. Oh, and the consultant showed us a picture of a before picture of a supposedly famous singer before her ps, forgot her korean name w/e. Back to the doctor's comments. The doctor, with evidence from the ct scans, and x-rays, showed me the bones that are causing my face to look big. He said that on the side profile, my mandibles are over-grown but reducing it won't make a significant impact on the profile view, so he suggests to have the mandibles shaved. Moreover, the chin should be brought forward through the sliding-gen procedure, and the zygoma to be cut smaller as well. All in all, I felt that this clinic did a good job in explaining to me the problems, with evidence from the scans. An advice: these scans tell you exactly what's keeping you back, with exact measurements of bone thickness, so having it done before talking to the doctor will give you a much more productive and meaningful consultation. JW: I actually didn't have an appointment with this clinic but just found it while cruising around after my appointment with The Line. Keep in mind that ALOT of clinics mentioned on this forum were ALL located on this street: Grand, Dream, JK, and Tenium. The exterior of this clinic was quite normal but the inside was very luxurious, with the floors and walls covered in stones. As with all big clinics, there were in-house translators, in this case, they generalized them as being in the "foreign division" department. Not going to lie, but as who-ever's review just a few pages back mentioned, the "cute" male there was really .. feminine (the one that keeps playing with his cracked note 2 ). Anyways, this clinic didn't wast my time and quickly took me to see the doctor so no more consultant un-professional analysis bs. This doctor recommended v-line and zygoma reduction reduce the size of my face - as per requested. The price that they quoted me was 15 million with a "cash discount" of one million, so totaling at 14 million. Not surprised- just plain foreigner pricing. remember id's 8.5 million + 5 million pricing on their on-line consulting page?haha The Line: Alot of locals actually go here. My translator said that the girl in front of me with like a group of photographers was actually a girl in this korean ps show "let me in". The consultation was rushhed. This clinic, instead of the doctor coming in your room during the consultation, it is you going to him. So the doctor just touched your face and kinda feel the position of the bones, then say what he feels was wrong. Then he sends you with consultant and off you go to another room. Overall, I do not feel a connection with this clinic at all, and as other forumers said, go with the clinic/doctor that makes you the most comfortable. Prices: I'm going to post the prices I've received as I was once very interested in knowing the prices for these procedures as well. BK: Nose-job (basically everything including the tip with ear-cartilage) - 6.5 million won, Sliding -Gen - 5 million won, with silicon chin implants at 4 mill won. There is a discount of 800k won if done together, but obviously, as i'm not interested, i didn't bother negotiating any further. EverM: Zygoma - 5 million, V-line (mandible reduction + sliding gen) - 8 million, This clinic actually print and laminate their prices and it's in Korean, so i guess it's a one for all price. Anyways, they said if i got the two procedures together, then both can be done for 10.5 million won. And this is after like 10 minutes of talking. The Line: 10 million for V-line, 5 million for zygoma, cash reduction of 500 k. I can feel that this consultant want me to negotiate.. and as i leave in disinterest, the consultant told my translator and I to stay. haha. JW: 15 million total, pretty similar to The Line but instant cash discount of 1 million. In the end, I chose EverM and here's why. 1. CT and X-ray scans before consultation, 2. Only one main surgeon for surgeries. There are six doctors here but only 3 are involved in surgeries. This includes the doctor that performs, stitches, and regulates anesthesia. It's really relieving to know that the doctor you consulted with is actually the doctor that performs as other bigger clinics, namely ID, BK, etc, are known to "switch" doctors after you're knocked out. 3. The appointments are FILLED for 3 weeks but they managed to switch a patient to a later day to give me his spot. They only do 2 - 3 surgeries a day so this reinforces the fact that there's only one doctor performing. 4. All the patients are local, i'm like the only foreigner there, not only during the consultation but during my stay in their clinic, and after one check up. TRANSLATOR COMMISSION FEES: I cannot stress this enough but translators DO 100% take commissions. My friend who is translating for me told me that when she booked my appointments, the clinics kept asking her about her "fee". And this is with every clinic she booked with so do be aware about this practice. The commissions are apparently not set by the clinic but by the translator. If you don't believe me, ask a korean friend of yours to call in any clinic to book an appointment for someone foreign and i guarantee you'll be hit by that question about fees. I would find a translator by searching by searching Seoul craigslist for a korean-english tutor as someone that could teach the language is more of sufficient to know more or less the medical terminology- which there's like none other than the names. Disclaimers: I'm not promoting any clinics here, just wanted to share with you guys my pure honest opinion and experience with the above clinics. Although I have done my surgeries with EverM, I have yet to see the final results so do not base your face on my reviews but rather, treat it as some more additional information on your decision for surgery. I'm a male btw. Feel free to ask me questions but as I haven't reached my 10th post yet, I'm unable to do any pms so just comment below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planc Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 After posting my reviews/experiences with clinics, I'm going to proceed to the actual recovery. Surgery day: Right in the morning @ 10:30 It's actually better to have the surgery at an earlier time since you cannot eat or drink 8 hours before surgery. Doing so will not ruin your usual eating and sleeping schedule. When you wake in to the clinic, they prep you for surgery. They insert an IV, and test for skin allergies with this shot. After that, you're wheel chaired - yup - to the operating room, which in my case in a floor below. You are then asked to lie down on the operating bed, and the nurses there will attach monitoring devices on you and soon, the anesthesia doctor will tell you that he's gonna put you to nap by this breathing thing. After that, you're unconscious and I mean it, you won't remember or feel anything, no dreams, nothing! Post surgery, they will call your name and ask you to slide onto another bed. At this state, you will be really really weak, and want to sleep soooo bad. They will then regulate your blood pressure and make sure you're breathing up to their standards, so absolutely no sleeping unless you could heavy breathe while sleeping - i can't. After four hours, you can drink water from a cup ( I didn't have to use a syringe like what others are doing for some reason). You are then told that drinking alot of water after general anesthesia will cause you to throw up so you are advise against it but w/e i didn't. Also, you will be very very hungry and I made the wrong choice not to bring in a pack or two of protein shakes. Instead, I have to rely on their soy/vegetable milk available. but ok. Post 1-3 day (s) op: I'm writing these together because the experiences are really similar. First, you will be discharged the next day and you will feel better, a bit more energy but nothing great. I was sleeping through these days until i decided on the third day to go out and have some fun at myeongmon of however you call that place. The swelling is sooooooo bad, omg, it's like you've gained 20 pounds right on your face. I was told that the third day is the worst, but for some reason, my swelling kind of peaks on the 5th or 6th day. Post 3 -5 days op: Energy level is alot better but swelling is still very bad. My face is literally bloated. I'm eating fresh pineapple (including the core as there is where the active ingredient for swelling is located), fresh pumpkin, and drinking pineapple juice as water. but there's still no signs of swelling going down. Post 5 - 6 days op: Swelling is declining at a very very snail slow rate just it's visible. Energy level is coming back. I guess everyday on wards will be better in terms of energy level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Translator will take at least 10% of the surgery cost . What pissed me off is some of them is not very helpful and if they fail to earn the commission from you then their attitude towards you can be very rude. I have also learn that do not tell your medical coordinator what is your occupation because they will know whether you are well to do. When you are at the clinic they don't really stand at your side to negotiate the price in fact your surgery cost is 20% higher . And when you are in trouble they only help you half way. During the negotiation with the clinic for refund and compensation, I doubt that my medical coordinator stand on my side , in fact she is finding an easy way out instead of helping me . Originally I thought it is better to have a translator to accompany you and help you when you are in trouble but they are not . The problem with Korea is all the medical coordinator is not at strictly regulated and they can be rude towards their client and yet they can get away . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atseoul Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Does anyone here know anything about JK? I had a consultatiOn with their young looking female surgeon- the only female surgeon I've had out of the 9/10 clinics we've been to. It's right across from JW but I don't see it being mentioned much here on the forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterntht Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I agree with you. Some translators become rude when they lose their opportunity of getting comission. If you really need a translator to go with you to clinics, try to book all the appointments by yourself or ask a friend to help you to do that. In this way, the translator cannot get much comission so you don't have to worry about clinics raising the price to pay the translator fee. Last time, I had my consultations with clinics booked before I hired this translator and she insisted that she only helped me if I let her rebook all my appointments, you know why. Also, don't expect translators to support you when you have problems with clinics ( e.g. botched surgeries, unsatisfied results, revision or refund ...) They are likely not taking your side because they have to mantain a good relationship with the clinic so don't rely on them for sorting out your problems for you, you still have to do that yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winli Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 so in this case, should or should not take translator? i am panic on this issue. do u think the translator recommend here also get commission?i need advise. pls pm me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Winli if you speak mandarin and English you don't need a translator and lost clinic have their own translator . Your price will be mark up by 10%-20% if you hired a translator . On top of that you have to pay usd 150 for 6 hours of their service . And sometimes translator will recommend certain clinic yo you based on the highest commission earned . So far there is no standard guideline how much they will earned as a commission . Some clinic pay more some pay less. Therefore if you hired one your decision making is very much depends on your translator recommendation which might not to your interest. You should only hired if you want up file a complaint to the authority in case of malpractice by the clinic or read to you the final terms and conditions once you have decided to do the operation. Because you have to sign a paper written in Korean Language just before the operation . This is to prevent you from having to pay extra premium for the surgery just because you are a foreigner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Some non license medical coordinator but acting as a translator will charge much lower price eg usd50-100 per day. But they might not speak very good English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 For all the foreign customer who wish to do plastic surgery as long as you can speak mandarin and English please don't hired a translator .If you think you hired a very professional and from a well reputable company with ISO standard and approved by the government....., I can tell you from my experience it is a lousy service if something goes wrong you will be left alone because you have no value to them. If nothing goes wrong you will get their first class service becuse they have earned 10-20% of your surgery cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Winli I mean most clinic have their own in house translator and there is also a phone service whereby you can call when you are in Korea and the person over the phone will act as your translator . I don't remember the telephone number but it is available at the help desk in airport, tourism center or when you board a taxi/can , there is a huge sign on the window . Korea generally is much easier to travel as compared to Japan or china . Translator is easily reached with a phone call and you only need to pay the local phone charges . For those who have the international premier/private try to get assistant by calling your own bank, they do provide concierge service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Finally don't be cheated that the translator will help you or stand by your side in case if anything happened although you have paid them. And from my experience Korean is not very good at keeping promised although with the email confirming the price before you go to the clinic. When you are on Korea and decided to do a surgery they will give you 101 reasons why you should pay extras . And this clinic or hospital is a well reputable and internationally well know mid size to large organization . Just be extra careful, the problem is the marketing coordinator , the translator, clinic , medical coordinator is earning a lucrative income .The Korean government turn a blind eyes because the medical tourism is a booming industry and contribute a substantial GDP growth in their country . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soong-sister Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Even if you don't speak English or mandarin well but other languages , all you need to do is write the email to the clinic and book the appointment . The clinic will hired a translator for you. In another words you don't pay the fees and you let the clinic pay for it . And you can made a better decision. Both the clinic and yourself don't have to pay the extra 10-20% of the commission to the third party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyif Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hi guys, for those who remember me, I went to NSC and did laser on my nose to reduce the ugly scarring caused by Grand, and thankfully there is imprvement. Sadly it cost a lot. My damn ugly chin line caused by Dr Seo is still there, and my face is obviously unsymmetrical to my horror and has been proven by asking my friends. There are other problems that I don't even want to talk about it even... Does anyone writes Korean here? Can you PM me? (need help to write some stuff and will pay accordingly) Planning to write blogs in English, Chinese and Korean (I am well versed in the first 2 languages and will write out my experiences with Grand, and just need help to do a proper translation. Simple job.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pei-pei Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 These are very good advices, thank you, Soong sister! I totally agree, after you spend money to hire a translator, but she may be won't stand your side. You and clinic are both pay her or him, that cause you hard to reduce the price from the clinic, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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