levialo Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Hi guys! I've been stalking this forum for the last 3-4 years so I thought it would only make sense to post a review of my own after reading so many. I did v-line, rhinoplasty, and acculift at Girin 3 days ago. I've been unhappy with my wide lower face for as long as I can remember, and I don't really like my nose (it looks okay from the front, but it's kind of flat/wide) and I finally decided to come to Korea this summer to get surgery. Obviously there were a lot of variables at play here - my parents heavily disapproved, and I obviously had doubts - I think there was a thread here about whether it's worth it to get plastic surgery if you're already attractive, and I definitely felt that struggle. Sure, there are parts of my face I don't like, but shouldn't I be grateful I'm already pretty and just learn to accept myself as I am? In the end, two things helped me make the decision: 1) this fashion blogger who I've followed for a long time, and somewhat resembles me facially did zygoma/mandible reduction at Regen, and looked much better afterwards and 2) I looked through old pictures of myself and realized that my face shape would always bother me. If I could fix it while I was still young, why shouldn't I? That was my basic rationale. I talked to Girin via kakaotalk before I came and did my consultation on the second day I was here. It was super surreal actually being in the building and seeing the consultants after reading so many reviews of the consultation experience. The clinic was nice and clean. They have an English translator, Jefferson, who made the whole process much easier. I have Korean friends who I could've brought with me, but to be honest I find plastic surgery to be kind of a private thing - I didn't really want to drag a friend into the process and make them watch me suffer. The consultant asked me what I wanted done and I explained (making my lower face smaller, correcting my nose). We discussed for a bit, but these were the procedures that were suggested in the end: v-line -long-cut from jaw to chin - rhinoplasty - osteotomy, hump reduction, tip extension, and silicon implant (I really didn't want an implant, but they ended up putting a super thin sheet) - and acculift - my primary concern was sagging, and the doctor said that lipoplasty via acculift was a good option for me because I have a lot of facial fat. I was a little concerned because I've read online hat fat reduction can cause premature aging, but I have A LOT of fat in my face, and so do my relatives. I think I'll be okay (hopefully). The price was within my budget - I basically just stuck to what I had planned to pay - and we decided to do the surgery the next day. SURGERY DAY: One thing I found pretty funny was that the doctor, who's actually pretty young and cute, reassured me beforehand that the procedures were simple and I "didn't need to worry about pain or discomfort." OK, I'm pretty sure South Korea is the only place in the world where cutting bone out of someone's face is considered no big deal. I was pretty scared. Before surgery they made me take out all my earrings (somewhat of an ordeal, actually, since I have around 10, hopefully nothing has closed up), helped me change, and gave me the chance to have a final consultation with the doctor. I didn't really have anything helpful to ask, beyond: "Promise you won't **** up my face," lol. When I woke up I was super woozy and had a lot of trouble breathing. I'm happy I did all the procedures I wanted done together, because (fingers crossed) I am NEVER subjecting myself to that again. I don't know how you guys who have multiple revisions or do two-jaw or whatever manage to bear it. It's awful. I hate having to struggle to breathe, having an IV in my arm, not being able to sleep because I'm so uncomfortable... I wouldn't really say the experience is painful at all, but it's just super unpleasant. RIGHT NOW: It's currently the third day. Yesterday when I visited they took out the packing in my nose, which means I can breathe through my nose and mouth (thank god) and they sedated me so they could drain the ear where they took cartilage from. I'm super swollen and look like I've been in a car accident. Generally way more lucid and able to function than I was before (I mean, I am typing this). I'll be back home in approximately 10 days so I really hope I look somewhat normal by then because again, currently suuper swollen. I really can't judge the surgery at all yet, but hopefully I look prettier when the swelling goes down. Wish me good luck healing! GENERAL RECS: I opted to go through the process alone... I mean, I could've had my mom or friend with me the whole time, but I think they would've been stressed out and I would've been stressed out as a result. Korea's not too difficult to navigate even if you don't speak a single word of the language like me, there are lots of subway signs in English and people are generally really nice and polite (good change from the US, for sure). I think that fact I look local generally works against me - everyone expects me to speak the language, since I'm Asian and don't come across as a confused tourist. Things that are important: 1) buy lots of drinks, soft foods, etc beforehand 2) bring a syringe 3) bring a travel pillow 4) have Korean addresses on your phone to show taxi drivers, etc 5) don't expect this to be a vacation... I mean, it technically is, but you'll suffer a lot and won't exactly feel like sightseeing QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: Can anyone who's done similar procedures tell me what to expect after recovery? Like, do people notice, can I pass it off as weight loss or a new hair color or something, or is it going to be obvious I had surgery? When will I be pretty again (lol)? Will keep updating as I recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yay! Congratulations on your surgery Hope the healing goes well for you. I did vline and FG 6.5 weeks ago but I did T-osteotomy rather than long cut so mine was actually super painful to recover from and my swelling might be different from yours too. I'm only just starting to look pretty now. Up until now I've been super swollen and looked really odd (almost like a have some kind of ... Syndrome?!). My face looked really boxy due to the weird swelling. But now that I'm catching a glimpse of my new jawline and chin I cannot wait to see the final result!! I think I'm gonna be super cute ahahah I changed my hair just in case too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjaw Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 can i see before and after pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I will do them when the swelling is gone as its still too early for a proper BA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjaw Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 How much did u pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I paid 5.5 million won to have my chin implant removed, vline with T osteotomy and jaw shaving by the head surgeon and 1.5 million won for FG with top up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinda10 Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Thank you for sharing the review! I also had rhinoplasty in Girin as well lol Dr.Lee is super nice and looks very young haha, and nice translator Jefferson too! also, could you PM me about the price for vline surgery? i consider vline as well and Girin also the one of my list! thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levialo Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Just had my final checkup. At a week post-op I feel like I'm over the worst of it (no more discomfort, stitches out, can mostly function normally) but I still look really swollen - I literally resemble an Avatar character right now. I feel like I'll be pretty when I'm better though - I can kind of make out my new jawline now and it looks nice. Can't really say anything about my nose cause it's way too swollen - does anyone who's done osteo have any insight on when the bridge will become thinner? Found out today that they didn't actually put silicon in my bridge, which is weird because I swear someone told me they did when I first woke up. I'm happy about that - it's what I wanted originally, my nose was okay before and now there's a smaller chance there'll be infection issues later on. I'm super impatient waiting for everything to settle. All in all I'm happy I did the surgery. Everything went as well as I could've hoped for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hj88 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Osteo on the nose takes ages for the swell to go down fully. I'd say 6-9 months at least. Hang in there, it gets better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sodium Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 How does your rhino look so far? Anyone else who did theirs at Girin want to let me know how theirs went? I initially wanted to get my revision at Girin but I felt like their revision price was very high. But I do know that they have an excellent reputation with locals and that girls who have done reviews on them look stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonfireheart Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Hello, Congrats on your surgery and hope you're healing well! May I know how much did you pay for vline & rhinoplasty though? Thank you so much babe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levialo Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 PM'd people who asked about prices. And kyms, I actually did a consult with View as well - I kind of knew from the beginning I wanted Girin but I've heard good things about View and it's literally an elevator ride away so I was like "why not?" View seems very efficient (they had a translator, provided a lot of useful information about anesthesia, safety (they only do one facial contouring surgery a day, apparently?), aftercare, etc etc) and I felt I would be well taken care of but I didn't vibe as well with the doctor. He suggested v-line with t-osteotomy and was quite insistent even after I told him very clearly "I don't want screws in my chin". He eventually agreed to just do chin shaving but I was unhappy because I don't want someone to subject me to their aesthetic opinion and completely disregard my own concerns. I'm sure he's very knowledgeable/skilled but I wanted a doctor who would listen to what *I* wanted instead of forcing their thoughts on me - I mean, it's my face, I'm the one who has to live with it for the next who knows how many decades. My nose is looking better every day! I still don't look completely "normal" but I don't get any weird glances anymore. I think it'll be really nice once the swelling goes down, fingers crossed - it's weird cause a lot of people here complain about the tip swelling but I like my tip already, it's definitely the bridge swelling that's the issue. I'm happy Dr. Lee listened to what I wanted; the height and shape look really natural. I know it's fashionable to get a really high, defined nose bridge but looking at the girls here the biggest plastic surgery giveaway is an unnaturally high bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levialo Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 One more update: I'm at two weeks now and I'm super happy with everything! My nose has deswelled a LOT in the past week and it's adorable: nice slope, very natural-looking, much thinner than it used to be. I'm still so afraid of touching it - was visiting my boyfriend for a few days and couldn't really kiss him because I was scared of bumping it, ha. I really like my face shape. Honestly, it's only in the past day or two that the "V" really started coming out - I was starting to get worried that the surgeon didn't take enough off, but all of a sudden it kind of started taking shape and now it looks great. I'm really excited for how I'll look in a month. I was super terrified of sagging before the surgery, but everything seems to be okay - I definitely don't have a double chin or anything. I'm still wearing the compression band at night because I read that helps with swelling/preventing sagging. I definitely think that I look better now that my "problem areas" have been addressed. It's weird, I never really had an issue in the past with the front view of my nose, only the side, but after the osteotomy I can see what a huge difference it makes. I haven't seen any friends yet so I don't know how other people will react (my family/boyfriend say there's a perceptible difference, but they knew about the surgeries beforehand anyway). Now that there's more space between my eyes and nose I kind of want to do epi, but I'll wait a year before making that call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tifflee20000 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Does Dr.Lee perform open or closed rhinoplasty? I've been debating to get my nose done at Girin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levialo Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 On my nose he performed open rhinoplasty - the scar seems to be healing pretty well, I was worried that it was slightly misaligned right after but it looks a lot better now (nostrils have become symmetrical as well). I'm seriously obsessed with my nose - it's really pretty and natural now, I'm hoping the tip doesn't go down too much more. My facial swelling has also gone down quite a bit. I was pretty upset a few days ago because I thought my face didn't really look that much smaller, which is depressing because who wants to go through all that suffering for no change? But like at around 20 days suddenly the shape became a very distinct V, my jawline is really nice. I noticed that there's still a stitch in my ear, probably should go to a hospital to get it taken out. Anyone have a similar experience? I think there's a couple of dissolvable stitches still in my nose as well, they're super annoying. I've begun regaining sensation in my chin and lower lip - there's a lot of tingling and I can feel even gentle pressure (before when I tapped lightly on my chin I couldn't feel anything), so hopefully it goes back to normal soon. I'm still testing the waters regarding other people noticing the surgery - I've seen a few male friends and some family members in the past few days, and they haven't noticed anything, but I feel like close female friends are probably more observant. I'm really happy that the surgery is natural enough to not raise any eyebrows - I can observe a distinct change in my features, but everything looks natural enough that no one would be like "omg you got plastic surgery" if they didn't know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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