My experience with BANOBAGI

[alorsondanse]

It's been done guys! Double eyelid on just my left eye! At this point, there's really not much I can reveal since I still have the bandaid over my eyelid. The lid is sore but not painful at all. I was instructed I'd be able to take the bandaid off tomorrow and then we'll be able to get a better look at what's going on under there. Here's a recap of what went on just a few hours earlier:

I actually had two Banobagi reps helping me out today: Hebe and her co-worker Grace. They were both fluent in English and assisted me throughout the whole process, from consultation, through surgery, to the aftercare. They were polite and made me felt taken care of the entire time. Banobagi has their own multi-level building (it seemed like each floor had its own specialized operation, for eyes, jaws, etc.), and walking in it was a pretty busy place and the girls were dressed up very professionally and actually looked quite chic. Inside, the place was clean and bright though not as extravagant as some of the other clinics I've seen on the internet. Of course, to me that wasn't really important in relation to the quality of the doctors and staff...

The consultation process was fairly simple, both Hebe and Dr. Lee understood what I wanted - to have a small, subtle double eyelid made on my left eye to match my right. Nothing dramatic, goal was symmetrical eyelids. I went with the double-embedding method. There's still some lingering worries over if ever the sutures would become undone, but Hebe assured me that it's only with the regulur suturing process that there's a 20%/30% chance the suture would undo, but she said that with double embedding 90% of the time the work is permanent. I only talked with Dr. Lee shortly as my procedure would be quite a basic one, anyway and plus I already communicated with Hebe my plan through email (in our email convos, she said she also showed Dr. Lee my photos and explained to him what I'd wanted, then reported to me what he recommended as part of our online consultation). I already ready knew what to expect of the procedure after doing research online thus most of the chat felt like formalities - Dr. Lee explained to me (mostly in Korean, Hebe translated) what would happen, then Hebe went over it again in English for me. Dr. Lee seemed like a pretty busy guy, but he knew some English and physically demonstrated the kind of eyelid fold he'd make for me in the office. Examined my photos. Standard stuff. Then the surgery.

Overall, the whole process went by like a breeze - checked in at 1pm and left at around 3:30/4pm to return to the guesthouse. Was knocked out the whole time. Grace, told me that they'd be injecting at my eyelids which kind of scared me a bit since I'm not too fond of needles, especially when they're going near such thin skin. However, they gave me some anesthetic shot before and was knocked out the whole time so I didn't even feel the part that actually psyched me out the most. All I can remember of the surgery was Dr. Lee coming into the room and drawing some marks on my eyes. Now, I've also read on various forums that some people were actually awake the whole of the surgery and could feel the suturing happening though still numbed from it! Don't know if this difference should be a point of concern or not...? (Again, guess we'll have to wait and see eh?)

Finally, Grace & Hebe explained the aftercare and sent me off with a bag of gauze, eyemask, cotton swaps, Green Hydrogen Peroxide to clean the sutures. Hebe also made sure I could contact her any time I had a question by giving me her What's App number. I'm writing this right after a nap and now I'm not feeling woozy anymore. Some of the other girls in the guesthouse have their whole heads wrapped up in gauze and seeing myself with just that bandage over my left eyelid makes me feel like such a lucky bird. The real big moment of truth will probably be tomorrow when I remove the bandage!!! Nervous about the results! I'm confident because it was such a simple procedure under the hands of a reputable doctor, but I'm anxious too because these things never seem to be for certain and I'll still have to wait a couple more days to get a better gauge of the quality of work.

My next trip to the clinic will be on the 7th to see if my stitches are ready to be taken off by then (if not, then I'll have to wait out the whole week).

EDIT: Haha, just realized I wrote almost a whole essay without even saying all that much... Guess I'm trying to blab off the anxiety. :shame:

 

[amandamoo23]

Wow! Good to hear feedback from you. How do u feel today? Swollen?

 

[alorsondanse]

Post-Op Day 2:

I am definetely swollen still and that's probably why my lid looks double the size I want it to (I desperately hope that's the case anyway)! However, the "sore" feeling has completely disappeared. There is still sensation there, though it's hard to describe - nothing that is painful, but it's as if I can feel the fold there (if that makes any sense). I'm super anxious to see what the final results will be... ARGH. However, my swollen lid didn't deter me from spending the whole day outside shopping and eating. Really glad I chose to stay at the guesthouse because I've just discovered it's only an approx. 10min. walk from the underground Gangnam shopping mall and ArtBox! Plan on going to Garusogil St. in Sinsa-dong tomorrow or the day after. My eyelid didn't seem to be much of a big deal to anyone. I mean, walking around town today I saw so many girls (and guys) who's work is so obvious because they barely even look Asian anymore so that kind of made me feel better about my non-discreet eyelid surgery. Even managed to get a foot/leg massage at JW Spa down the street.

 

[trixie_lettizia]

Rapid said: ↑

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!

Click to expand...

Hi, I was wondering can I get Zoe's contact/email? As I'm planning to go Korea soon )

 

[alorsondanse]

Post-Op Day 3

When I woke up this morning, my swollen eyelid has gone down almost half the size! Thank goodness, so now I'm not so worried that I'll have uneven lids for choosing to only get the one eye done instead of both. Whew. Time will tell I guess - can't wait to report after a few more days then I think I'll get an even clearer sense of the final results.

Also, on a personal note: again, spent the whole day shopping on Garosugil in Sina-dong - amazing hot spot for food and fashion! Google Maps says 30 min. walk to from Banobagi guesthouse, but I took a taxi and it was only ~10min. drive. Had a big dinner there and almost had motivation to walk back, but the colder evening temp. made me feel lazy again so I taxi'd.

 

[thelittlebean]

You have to visit insadong as well. Its a great place.

Great to know you are healing well! )

 

[alorsondanse]

Trying to decide if I should go to Myeong-dong too? Anyone been? Better or "about the same" as Garogusil - anyone know?

Oooohhh, and thanks thelittlebean and amandamoo23 for checking up on my journey, really appreciate it!

 

[amandamoo23]

alorsondanse said: ↑

Trying to decide if I should go to Myeong-dong too? Anyone been? Better or "about the same" as Garogusil - anyone know?

Oooohhh, and thanks thelittlebean and amandamoo23 for checking up on my journey, really appreciate it!

Click to expand...

myeongdong is different from garosugil but it is a MUST to go Myeongdong. lotsa street food and very happening place. don't miss that out and also insadong

 

[thelittlebean]

Can't agree more with amandamoo23. Myeongdong is a must!! Lots of skincare there and street food.

 

[amandamoo23]

thelittlebean said: ↑

Can't agree more with amandamoo23. Myeongdong is a must!! Lots of skincare there and street food.

Click to expand...

Hey!! How's your eyes!^^

 

[thelittlebean]

Pretty okay. I think it looks kinda natural. my mil didn't even ask me about it so I am not sure if that's a good thing or not but my friends think the double eyelids are cool!

 

[amandamoo23]

thelittlebean said: ↑

Pretty okay. I think it looks kinda natural. my mil didn't even ask me about it so I am not sure if that's a good thing or not but my friends think the double eyelids are cool!

Click to expand...

Hahaha. Did u wear shades when u were walking around Seoul?

 

[thelittlebean]

I did! Especially when I couldn't remove the purple marker lines on my face. It was quite hilarious. I was wearing my shades even at night when I was roaming around the streets.

 

[amandamoo23]

thelittlebean said: ↑

I did! Especially when I couldn't remove the purple marker lines on my face. It was quite hilarious. I was wearing my shades even at night when I was roaming around the streets.

Click to expand...

I'm gonna facr that problem!!!>< especially mine is blue..oh gosh

 

[blackchocolate]

Rapid said: ↑

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!

Click to expand...

Helpful sharing, through this forumn I can know Banobagi hospital.