rapid Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 This is a very long writeup, I wanted to share as much details as I can recall simply because this was the type of info I looked for during my research and I hope my experience will help others. I shared my issues when I signed up and you can read my first post here so there's no need for me to discuss what I wasn't happy with again. To solve my problem I wanted to have jaw reduction, acculift, and PRP treatment. Thanks to the wealth of info and feedback on this forum I was able to learn so much about the many clinics I considered and have narrowed my choices down to four: TLPS, Regen, DARPS, and Banobagi. I went with these clinics because they had the best before and afters when it comes to men and seemed to have the most natural results and least amount of negative feedback. I also decided to hire a translator as I was traveling alone, not only to translate but also to help me book my appointments and to have someone there with me while taking these risky decisions and I must say I am eternally grateful for Zoe because she turned out to be one of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met which I'll elaborate on later. So I booked my hotel through booking.com, bought my flight tickets, and Zoe arranged a cab to pick me up and help me rent a phone at the airport. I arrived and found the taxi driver waiting for me, he carried my luggage and within an hour and a half I was all set and already in my hotel room. As a vegetarian I had concerns with finding food but thankfully there was no trouble at all, vegetarian porridge is available everywhere and there was a super market and a 24hr convenience store right next to the hotel. Zoe booked all my appointments and picked me up from the hotel, I brought with me my own photo rendering showing the before and the exact outcome I wanted and we visited 3 clinics in one day. Later that evening I decided to cancel my fourth appointment with TLPS after learning that it was a fairly new clinic and not as experienced as Regen and Banobagi. All three doctors mentioned that my asymmetry problem can only be completely fixed by performing a 2-jaw surgery because my x-rays clearly showed that my jawbone was tilted, but at the same time they all felt that my case wasn't severe enough and not that visible to justify going through such a painful procedure. Here's my experience with each:DARPS: Clinic was calm and a little empty compared to the others, the consultant was very kind and complimentary which I thought was sweet, she suggested shortening my chin but then the doctor suggested the opposite which I found confusing. The doctor was very nice, he understood my problem and suggested jaw reduction and reducing the soft tissue on one side to improve the symmetry. They had no PRP treatment and I felt the price was a little high.Regen: This hospital was huge compared to DARPS and very busy, the waiting room seemed more like a hotel lounge than a clinic and looking around I noticed the majority had dramatic and very obvious work done which set me off a little cause I'm looking for more natural and subtle results. The consultant was fixated on wanting me to have 2-jaw surgery as she felt I also need to fix my slight mouth protrusion which I never really noticed. The doctor meeting was disappointing, he didn't acknowledge my soft tissue problem and when I pointed it out he dismissed it but instead kept focusing on my chin and wanted me to have an implant to bring it forward which took me by surprise and when I told him that I quite like my chin he disregarded what I said and continued to convince me that I needed to have it done. Later on the consultant gave us the price which was a little high and she was a bit pushy but I already knew by then that this wasn't the right place for me.Banobagi: This really looked and felt like a serious hospital, it was also the busiest with mostly local and Chinese patients. We were greeted by an extremely nice consultant that spoke perfect English and one of the first things I was pleased with was the fact that she was the only consultant that have taken my rendered photo to show it to the doctor before meeting him! The waiting room was extremely busy so we had to wait some time, Zoe told me that it was the beginning of spring break which is why plenty of younger patients were in there. We were then taken to see Dr. O and out of all three doctors he greeted us the most and was the warmest and most welcoming by far. I was extremely impressed that not only was he interested in listening to all my concerns but he also went on to explain everything in detail very slowly. He completely understood what my issues were and did not suggest anything aside from what I felt was necessary, he also addressed my soft tissue problem and explained perfectly how he plans to fix it by using laser lipo and partial buccal fat pad removal to give me the results I wanted. After all of this he still wanted to know if I had any other concerns or questions and did not rush me at all even though there are still countless of other patients waiting outside! The consultant then gave us the price and surprisingly it was the lowest compared to the other clinics I visited even though it included more procedures, it was even lower than the prices I was quoted via email by other clinics. She was also the only consultant that asked me to take as much time as I wanted to decide and to call back anytime if I'm still interested whereas all the others gave us a deadline before leaving their office. Later that evening I informed Zoe that Dr. O was my choice and a few days later I was back there for my pre-op checkup and to see the doctor once more. I was very happy that the doctor still remembered what I wanted when we met again and he assured me that he'll follow my rendered photo as close as possible and indeed when I entered the surgery room the day after I saw my print hung in there! I met the anaesthesiologist and all I remember is the consultant waking me up from my surgery immediately after and she stayed by my side the whole time. I was then moved to my room where Zoe came in and remained by my side till I fell asleep, I stayed the night and both the consultant and nurses were checking on me constantly. Surprisingly my jaw and mouth did not hurt and even my swelling wasn't as bad as what I've seen online but my throat irritation from the gas pipeline was absolute torture, I could hardly swallow anything and it took a few days for it to recover. Zoe picked up my meds, I was given pills to take 3 times a day, ice packs, and a gargle to use every 2 hours and after each meal. I drank a lot of soy milk the first day and was able to eat porridge the day after. The doctor came to visit before I left and he told me how happy he was with the success of the surgery and that everything went perfectly. My swelling started to subside by day 4, by 2 weeks it was mainly hanging under my chin and now 4 weeks later I still have some left on my left side but none of my co-workers or friends have noticed that I've had anything done at all and they've been seeing me for a week. I had my final check up around 2 weeks after surgery where my stitches were removed (painful but quick) and also had new x-rays taken, the doctor was very impressed and showed me a comparison of my old and new x-rays which was incredible, I was floored at how natural and clean the new jaw line looked and how much it resembled the shape drawn in the rendered photo I've given them. My face still isn't symmetrical of course as that would require 2-jaw surgery but that said both sides of my face are much closer in size now and my jaw line is no longer heavy and that is a huge improvement. The doctor repeatedly mentioned that it takes at least 3 months to see the final result therefore it's still a little early to tell and I'll update this thread again with more feedback as things become clearer. If there are any questions I'd be happy to answer them and last but not least I must thank Zoe for the amazing service she provides, commission or not I still managed to pay less than what other clinics have quoted me online and in my opinion her help and support is truly priceless. Not only did she do the things I already mentioned but she also called regularly to check on me, took me out for shopping and meals, and remained in touch to this day even though I left Korea over a week ago so I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a reliable translator. Thanks a lot everyone for all the information and advice I have received from many of the members here, I truly appreciate it and I can't thank you enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 hi rapid! I am so glad your surgery went well! It seems banobagi was a good choice for you. Can i ask how much you paid for the surgery and did it include hospital stay and anesthesia? Also how much did zoe cost u? happy healing! Jaw surgery takes a while for swelling to go down. When i had mine a month later i thought i looked normal then i looked in pictures and i was like oh my..........haha Took me like 8 months for most of it to subside. Have 200g of vitamin C it helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyglittery Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 yes please tell us the results. vitamin c is good but if you eat more than 2 grams a day you might get diarrhea, be careful! but you can eat up to 8g a day more is not bad for you but it won't get absorbed so it won't help to take more. heal well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 2g? noooooooo 2g is like....nothing......the max is like 300g a day the rest you pass back out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 oh wait haha sorry 200MG not G haha my bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyglittery Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 hahaha yeah. 2000mg = 2g. 200mg per day is actually not enough to help you heal faster, for that take at least 1000-2000mg (1-2g) a day. vitamin C recommendations are really wrong and downplayed. apes and chimpanzees produce vitamin C naturally in their body and it's something like 10000mg (10g) a day! but we have to take extra because we can't produce any in our bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 LOL yes u are right. i just checked my bottle of blackmores vitamin C hahaha omg i am embarrassed at how shocking my conversion is /shunned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyglittery Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 haha it's not so bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 omg how did u do that! pm me cos i feel bad that we r hijacking Rapid's thread....sorry Rapid! xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiree24 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hi Rapid. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It's very informative. I was also looking into banobagi and everm. Can you give me information on how to get in touch with Zoe. I will also need an interpreter and she seems very good.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelbug80 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Hi Rapid, I'm going to Banobagi for surgery too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pres30 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Did you pay $12,000 for jaw reduction and Accu Lift? That seems high. I've been reading $5,000 was the going rate on jaw reduction. Was this the lowest quote you got? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapid Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thank you so much K! It was rounded down to 12000000 krw which included everything including my deswelling massages, I paid in US dollars and the consultant came back to me after my surgery with extra change, apparently the dollar value was lower by then which was very kind of them I thought. Zoe charged $150. As for the swelling, wow @ 8 months! I notice improvements everyday but I really wish the area under my chin subsides sooner, it gives me a small double chin that is oddly more visible on one side and looks a little weird lol Anyway, I'll definitely make sure I focus on vitamin C a bit more though, thanks again! LOL Thanks for the tip shiny glittery! I'll definitely update on my progress occasionally cause I notice differences even within the same day, for instance since my surgery one side of my chin was larger but this morning it finally looked normal again! Thank you Desiree and of course, Zoe's email address is clinickorea(at)gmail.com If you don't mind please do share how it goes for you too, would love to know more That's great! Are you going there for facial contouring too? Let us know and best of luck Travelbug!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyglittery Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 haha it's diarrhea or stomach ache... maybe just stomach ache haha. but 2g should not give those problems! just wanted to warn you just in case i hope you heal quickly! 12M for what, square jaw and acculift? idk how much acculift is but that's really expensive even if it's square jaw and chin too. can you tell us what was included in the price? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pres30 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I've heard they are good for contouring. Did you try and Bargain? From looking at what you got it could have been 5m for jaw and 3m for acculift. Total 8M . 12M seems really high for these services. You think it was translator commission? Well as long as your satisfied! Thats what matters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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