misssweety Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Hi Everyone, I am writing about my plastic surgery (ps) experience in Seoul. A lot of people on this forum tend to disappear after their surgery, leaving no feedback for the rest of us. Whilst the information on purseforum is varied and at times flawed, I want to give back to the community that got me started on my plastic surgery experience. My goal is to give an HONEST review, and just maybe shed some more light on the world of ps in South Korea. On the 9th of July, I consulted 3 different clinics for rhinoplasty: April31, Dream and Banobagi. My Objective: Natural looking enhancements of my old nose. Some of the issues I had with my nose included: short nose, nostril visibility and low bridge.April31: This was my first consult. Firstly, Ill say that the English translator, Brian, is a really nice guy and very helpful. I had to wait awhile to see Dr. Kim and Brian made good company. My consultant, her name eludes me now, was very pretty. Furthermore, she was forthright about what I needed in terms of my nose, I appreciated that I dont care for fluffing about. As a pedantic girl, I had a lot of questions, which she happily addressed with Brian translating. Eventually I got to see Dr. Kim. Is it weird to say that I got star struck? Lol. Id seen him so many times on the April31 website, and it was a bit surreal seeing him in real life. Dr. Kim has a friendly demeanour and was thoroughly approachable. He was sufficiently proficient in English, albeit when I couldnt quite understand him Brian was there to translate. I showed pictures of noses that I liked and what I did not like. It is important to be realistic. I did not expect to have one of the noses I liked plastered on my face. The pictures were simply a guide. I also had pictures of myself on which I scribbled my desire changes ( this is useful if you, like myself, are clueless when it comes to photoshop). After a lot of touching and pinching of my nose Dr. Kim recommended tiplasty, silicon augmentation, septal extension and alar rim graft. Since the last procedure is lesser known I will briefly explain what it is: an alar rim graft is usually performed to address alar rim retraction (where the alars are abnormally short thereby causing excessive nostril visibility). My case of retracted alars was mild to moderate. As will be mentioned below, the two other clinics did not suggest alar rim graft; both believed that septal extension alone would be sufficient to reduce my nostril visibility. Banobagi: My next stop was Bano. The English translator I had was Stella. She was very sweet, and cute. My consultant was Mary; she was friendly, and pointed out that I had a nice forehead LOL. All the consultants were very attractive, and I could tell that most of them had their noses done; this is unsurprising as I was told that the staff get 50% off procedures. This was the only consult where the clinic took my picture which I thought was neat. It meant Dr. Lee had my pictures to refer to in our consult, save me from pulling out my own. The consult with Dr. Lee was very brief. I have read things about Dr. Lee being rather curt, but I did not really find that to be the case. He was merely succinct and to the point. He recommended tiplasty, augmentation and septal extension. In contrast to Dr. Kim (April31), Dr. Lee didnt feel that I had excessive nostril visibility, despite this being one of my primary concerns. He assessed the visibility of my nostrils as being down to my short nose alone, compared to short nose and short alars. Something I really appreciated about Bano was that it was the only place that went through the risks of rhinoplasty with silicone implant. Going into the consults, I was already very aware of the risks and knew what I was getting myself into, but nevertheless it was refreshing to see a clinic tell potential clients of the risks. Dream: This was my final clinic. I was so exhausted by the time I got here. Jasinee was my translator, and she was very, very sweet. I found her very genuine and just wanted to put her in my pocket lol. Like my consultant at April31, my consultant at dream was very to the point and business like. She recommended tiplasty, augmentation and septal extension; there was no mention of alar rim graft. However, something she did point out that my nasal bone might need shaving down otherwise the implant wouldnt sit properly and make tip too high. My meeting with Dr. Park was brief. He had just come out of performing an operation. He wore a mask on the entire time-not sure why. Regardless, he was sufficiently pleasant and answered my questions. There was an emphasis on natural, which was right up my alley. The Decision At the end of the day I had narrowed my choices down to Dream and April31. I did not choose Bano because I didnt feel like I knew enough about the clinic to make an informed decision, it was one of my last minute d consultations. Additionally, I found it a little odd that Dr. Lee didnt think my nostrils were excessively visible. That evening, I messaged Brian from April31 and told him that one of my other consults suggested that I need bone shaving. I expressed concerned as to why that wasnt something Dr. Kim suggested. Subsequently, I went in the next day for at CT scan at April31. It turns out that it wasnt bone but cartilage. The same consultant from the day before and Brian then explained to me the process of shaving cartilage. Even after the CT scan at April31, I wasnt entirely sure who to go with. Both Dr. Park at Dream and Dr. Kim at April 31 are held in high regard. However, I ultimately opted to go with April31, because nostril visibility was a primary concern and Dr. Kim recommended alar rim graft. Fixing retracted alars is a complex procedure, and I believe that if Dr.Kim didnt have confidence that he could do a good job he would not have recommended it. Day of surgery: I had my surgery on the 15th of July. The night before surgery I wrote down a list of things to reiterate and ask before my operation. In the operation room, before signing my consent form, I went over this list with Brian and Dr. Kim. I was adamant that the implant was not to be any bigger than 3.5 mm, and that I wanted a natural looking nose. At one point, Dr Kim placed his hand on my shoulder and told me to trust him, which was reassuring. I went under local anaesthesia and IV sedation. I remember talking to Brian while lying in the operation room; he kept talking to me which helped abate my nerves. Eventually I must have fallen asleep, and when I woke up I was in the recovery room. I was very lucky to wake up with my friend and Brian next to me. I recommend having a companion if you are planning on doing surgery in Korea. Of course you can go by yourself, but I think its nice to have that emotional support. Before changing out of my operation attire, Brian instructed us on my medication and post-op care. My friend and I took a taxi home. But first we popped by a convenience store. Contrary to my expectation, people did not so much as bat an eyelid at my bandage swathed face. I was also able to get pumpkin juice from a pharmacy just down the road from April31. And in terms of food, there is a porridge store right around the corner from where I am staying; Pumpkin porridge aint too bad ~ Now girls (and guys), Im going to get real with you, my nose hurt like crazy; specifically my alars, which I assume was a result of the alar rim graft. Every other part of my nose felt okay. I will not lie but I did shed some tears. I am pretty sure that without the alar rim graft my pain factor would have been significantly lower ( lets just hope the pain is worth it, ey?). Luckily, the pain subsided after taking some painkillers. Tomorrow, I am going in for my first post-op check up. I will make another post in a couple of days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00little Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Thanks for following up with your experience. Those are exactly the 3 clinics I plan on consulting with if I go through with rhinoplasty in Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blasian Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Thank you for the review! So you had your surgery today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misssweety Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 I had my surgery yesterday I'm working off Korean time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy905 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Thanks for your review. How did you find pricing between Dream and April31? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-couture Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 good luck my dear! I hope everything went well and the pain has subsided Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00little Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 x2. Could you let us know the relative pricing between the 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misssweety Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 The pricing would go : April31, Dream and than Bano. April was significatly higher than the other 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy905 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Thanks very much Misssweety. Hope you are recovering well. I am undecided between April31 and Dream and will look forward to my consultations. I hope you continue to keep us updated on your progress and satisfaction with the surgery and service! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peonylam Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I'm from vietnam. I want to go to korea eye and nose surgery. But i dont know pretty surgery. I'm afraid to listen to advertising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d00little Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi misssweety, How is the recovery going? I wanted to ask you do you knew if Dr. Kim also operates on many male patients? Did you happen to see any during your time at the clinic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhinoceros Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Hi misssweety, I am going to get my rhino on Monday with April. Do you mind pm-ing me or kakao? I would like to get your advice on April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missj93 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 edit: sorry posted on wrong thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qyqy Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Anybody going to Korea for surgery on October 2016? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0lotglenmarie Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 Hi, I will be in Seoul end Oct and will be visiting April31. Perhaps we could exchange some notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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