manpurse88 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I'm still working on blogging my experience, so I can provide some details on each consultation if it would help. I will need to talk to my girlfriend about her thoughts though, a her consultations were separate from mine. Pitangui was my first choice, but after comparing them to other hospitals, it did not feel like a good place to get my double eyelids done. I wouldn't really say they were disorganised, but more that they were too organised in a way that it is all planned to do everything it takes to convince you to have your surgery there, rather than tell you what can and can't be done. It just did not feel like they were being honest. It was hard to not pay attention to the fact that we were the only people in the clinic, compared to literally 40+ Koreans in the waiting room at Grand. Nicole and the staff at Pitangui were very nice and polite, as you would expect, but we just didn't feel like it was right. I'm too new here to post private messages, but I'll update my blog and get back to you. Or you can ask me any questions about the hospitals we visited and I can answer here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanilla-creme Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi Manpurse88, I've finished reading some of your blog. Same as you, my first choice is Pitangui. But it seems some gave good remarks, some don't about Pitangui. Now I'm kinda like....sigh..how ah...Pitangui is the cheapest on my list. And I really have a budget problem and not ready to smash huge stacks of $$ on PS. And Nicole keep saying she'll tried her best to reduce down the the price after consultation. 1) Can I ask do you pay in cash or by credit card? Did you pay in KRW? 2) Btw, do you know what is the exchange rate like in Korea now? I'm kinda worry on this part. Because the exchange rate here really cannot make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taraunnie Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Can you please tell me a bit more about your experience with Banobagi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanilla-creme Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Does anyone have experience with Item Clinic? Their price for fat graft full face is relatively low compared to other clinics. I'm sure they'll jack up the price once they see you face to face for consultation. I'm doubtful about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taraunnie Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 In one way it would be kinda easier to decide on a clinic here and get airport pick-up and transfer if you're on your own, but I think it would be good just having a few consultations with different clinics. It's hard.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocoapple Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi, I'll be visiting Seoul in mid to late feb. I've made an appointment with Pitangui for an incisional double eyelid surgery and was pretty interested to see this thread. I'm not going to Korea just for surgery, I really want to enjoy my time there (food and shopping YES!) so I was wondering has anyone here had double eyelids done by Pitangui? And were you able to go out and about right afterwards wearing sunnies? Also how long did it take for the swelling to go down and how natural does it look in lets say.. 7 days time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan88 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree. Pitangui does have fewer patients waiting compared to others.I'm also considering Grand, but I paused when I read it's the most sued clinic in Seoul. Can anyone confirm this or am I wrong? Sorry to digress. We should have one thread for every popular clinic, instead of pushing them all into one big thread "Best Plastic Surgery Clinic". Seriously, how can I ever read through 588 pages????!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapid Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I totally agree with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manpurse88 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hey, We were initially planning on paying by credit card, as carrying such a large amount of cash with us was kind of worrying. The total cost of my partner's procedures was about $13,000 USD. We ended up paying mostly by credit card but paid some of it with KRW. A good site to view the current exchange rate is xe.com, but this is just a guide and it will vary depending on where you go. Being able to pay entirely in cash is a huge advantage when you negotiate your price. All hospitals want you to pay by cash. There was also a 10% credit card fee that we were told was for foreigners paying by credit card for cosmetic surgery. I'm not sure how legitimate that is, but something to look out for. You'll just need to estimate the fees from credit card and fees from withdrawing from a Korean ATM machine and see what would cost more. If you are totally comfortable withdrawing the entire amount from your home country, and then bringing it over to Korea, then that would be the best (I think there is a limit of $10,000USD), but probably not the safest, way to do it. In the end, the more cash you can pay with, the better. Sure. I'll need to ask my girlfriend about her thoughts then I'll get back to you. I didn't have a consultation there, but I remember waiting there in the waiting room for SO LONG while she saw two different doctors. Hey, I only had a consultation with Pitangui, but didn't end up having my surgery there. I had non-incisional double eyelid surgery and partner had revisional incision. I have written about it in my blog, but I'll stop posting the link because I don't think the moderators like it. You'll be able to leave right afterwards and you can wear sunnies, but you'll probably be a bit fuzzy from the anaesthetic and your vision might be a little blurry. It will take at least 1 - 3 weeks for the swelling to go right down, and even longer to look "completely normal". Just remember that Koreans are used to seeing people who have just had surgery. They see it every single day. Keep your sunnies on inside if you want. No one will point and laugh, so enjoy Korea! The worst part is that they might tell you to avoid salty/spicy food for a week or so, which is kind of inconvenient for trying Korean food! I agree with you, it would be easier to have an 'all in one' package where they pick you up from the airport and take you to your consultation, etc. I don't want to discourage you or anyone from doing this as I'm sure there are a lot of happy people that have done it this way. I also agree with you that it would be better to be able to have multiple consultations before making a final decision on which hospital you would like to have your surgery with. I understand that time and financial constraints may not make this possible, but perhaps you can commit your first day to having consultations with the top two hospitals on your list. We found that the maximum number of consultations we could have was 2 or 3, but that was because my girlfriend wanted multiple procedures and had to see multiple specialist doctors. Although Seoul is a very safe and efficient city with very good public transport, you might not be comfortable finding your own way around, which is fine. If you are able to spare the first day (or two) having consultations, then I recommend you try and do this so you can make the best decision for you. Plastic surgery will be with your for life, it's ok to spare an extra day. But of course, this all depends on your individual circumstances. I've also read that Grand was the most sued. A possible explanation is because it receives far more patients than other hospitals listed, so you would need to take it in proportion to the number of surgeries they do in relation to all other hospitals. We did end up gong with Grand, but I don't want to sound like nothing could go wrong with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taraunnie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 What was the waiting room like? Was it as nice or nicer than Pitangui? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taraunnie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I was worried about people on the street seeing me after surgery and thinking I am vain or odd and as I am kind of shy and self conscious I thought maybe I would just have to stay in my hotel room and eat hobakjuk (I've heard it's really good for jaw surgeries cause it helps swelling and is easy to eat) haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocoapple Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks for your response! I'm travelling with my boyfriend and it's his first time going to Korea so I was worried I might drag him down from enjoying his holiday. It's a bummer that I can't eat spicy food.. Probably won't stop me but I'll try to stay away. How did your non-incisional go? Did your swelling go down enough to be comfortable after stitches were out? I'm literally planning to go out every day with my sunnies on and pretend it never happened. Just wondering if I'm being too hopeful. I can imagine it could get very uncomfortable. I was initially planning to go non-incisional as I have half a double eyelid on one eye, but after showing pictures to Pitangui they insist I need incisional and ptosis correction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manpurse88 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 It felt like Banobagi was much bigger as the clinic is over several floors, whereas I think Pitangui was one or two, but I could be wrong. Pitangui was definitely 'fancier' with all it's shiny walls, mirrors and floor. I just can't under get past the fact that we were the only people there. No other clinic came close to being as empty. I think Pitangui was nicer looking, but Banobagi was bigger. Just noticed you're from Australia. I think a large part of choosing Grand was that there English translators/consultants were very good. One was Korean who studied in Sydney, and another was brought up in New Zealand, which is where we are from. This made us feel much, much more comfortable with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manpurse88 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 My girlfriend had to wear a head brace to support her jaw for the first week. This goes around the top of your head to support your jaw. There's a good chance you'll need to wear one too if you are doing a jaw procedure. I think after 3 or 4 days you can take it off for a couple of hours and then back on when you sleep. Koreans are very much used to seeing people after surgery and are used to it. I wouldn't worry too much. Plus, you probably won't ever see those people again! And yes! We were told pumpkin was very good for the swelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manpurse88 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Your boyfriend could always go and venture out on his own. That's what I did!! Yeah we were both quite naughty and ate a lot of spicy food since we both love kimchi. My surgery went well. The swelling was not really that bad and went almost right down after one week. After the stitches came out there wasn't really any pain unless you accidentally rubbed it or something. I also got ptosis correction but not really sure what difference it made. My girlfriend got revisional and her swelling was a lot worse since it was full incision. If you are only getting double eyelid surgery, I think you will be fine after a day or two, or even the next day once the initial blurriness goes away and you adjust to the stitches. They say that walking is very good for swelling so it is better to be out than staying in the hotel room. You will probably see a few people like yourself with sunnies on inside. Everyone knows why, and there's nothing wrong with it since the Koreans are used to it. If I remember correctly, Pitangui also told me that I needed incisional. I suggest you send your photo to a few more clinics and see what they have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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