pinkcats-purplepeonies Posted August 2, 2018 Author Posted August 2, 2018 Hi girls, PCP Peonies here again. ~ Updates ~ Well i've been very busy the past months and haven't actually went to SK yet to get the aforementioned procedures I had planned on doing. Life and things got in the way as it does. Now i'm at a point where i'm completely free to do so. I plan to have rhinoplasty, chin reduction, jaw shave (or vline in place of chin reduct. and jaw shave), fat graft to plump up areas where the face fat has decreased, and possibly a procedure to revive my tired eyes removing dark under eye circles. My maximum budget is around the KRW 30 000 000 - 45 000 000 range. Possibly including accommodation and other costs within that price. I am foreigner as you know. I've thought to decrease foreign price charge by adopting the following: Do multiple procedures at once i.e rhino and chin reduction, jaw shave/vline combined. Be aware of local pricing to bargain and settle a more reasonable price. Attend consultations with South korean local either willing to come with me freely if they are looking for someone to join them in their Plastic Surgery exploits in August/September or by paying for someone's time through some network i.e buying friends. Agreeing to do promotional material i.e release of before and after photos for the company. I have made the following notes regarding the areas of concern:Eyes - Dark under eye circles Procedures to address area > fractional CO2 laser to treat the external skin and also platelet-rich plasma (PRP) which is derived from your own blood. It is actually used for wound healing, but we’ve figured out a method to use it under the skin of the eyelid to help improve the skin quality, resulting in improvement of dark circles. > Combine platelet-rich plasma with a filler like Restylane, Juvederm or something in the hyaluronic acid family to add volume > HA filler to the area - like belotero or restylane > Fat graft > Lower blepharoplasty surgery which will remove excess fat and redeposit remaining fat revealing a smoother under eye area. > Fillers, lasers, and microneedling, PRP and stem cellsNose (Clinic: GNG) - bump, deviated septum, flared nostrils, droop > Rhinoplasty to correct these, make smaller and functional, golden ratio, symmetry, bullhorn liplift - philtrum reduction in range of 11-13 mms, nose angles at 106 degrees. 》Ask Surgeon: if he uses permanent sutures under the skin inside your nose or dissolvable. In the US they predominantly use dissolvable under the skin but Ion prefers permanent. Permanent sutures may serve as a nidus for infection/abscesses which is why most surgeons just use permanent outside the skin to close and then remove a week later. (I had a reop in May 2016 to exchange the permanent sutures inside my nose with dissolvable ones as I could not live with the anxiety of not knowing when the next abscess would occur and contract my rib graft more and continue to take doxycycline for weeks on end to keep an abscess from returning while the permanent sutures remained inside my nose.) Facial contouring/Chin reduction/V line (Clinic: GNG) Questions to ask during consultation: Is V line suitable for my face structure? What about sagging? Will there be sagging and facelift needed? How will it age?Hollows of face, loss of plump and fat and sagging (Clinics: MVP, Fresh clinic): > Full face fat graft with top up > vampire facelift? > Stem Cell facelift? 》Tips - (look into 3-4 rounds of fat grafting to the face. One round with free top up is approximately 2 million won or just under $2k and then you negotiate for one more top up after for 1 million. And make sure you drink at least 1 litre of water a day to plump up the fat cells. And do not take a selfie first thing in the morning as you wake up slightlydehydrated, with slight hollowing in the lids and saggy in the lower face. Wait until you have literally inflated your face like a balloon with a litre of water for that young refreshed baby face!) (Some notes taken directly from PurseBlog posters and their advice). I need to know the following: Payment: How do I most effectively pay for the procedures? Card? Cash? I read that with card there is an extra charge? And regarding cash, how could I possibly even bring that sum of money in physical form.. My banks will have to be notified in advance before I leave so they do not block my cards. This is one of my biggest worries because they are notorious for messing up and blocking my card even when I make purchases for £1000 - £2000 range Accomodation: Good places to consider? Close to the airport and GNG clinic? How should I prepare and what steps do I take to organise this? Who is the the best surgeon at GNG for rhinoplasty and regarding the jaw and chin area?? I am considering DR. CHOI? Does anyone talking in this thread have any updates/progress on their aspiring surgeries?? I have saved a lot of photos of womens' faces feauring the kind of nose i like and regarding the other areas to give a general idea of what i'm looking to achieve within the limits of my own structure and tissue will allow. I could post photos of my face if you'd like to see and give your opinion, whether you agree with my choice of surgeries or not. Thanks very much.
csolare Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 Firstly, the most important thing that I have personal woes with: Call your card companies before you leave and tell them you're planning on making a purchase of no less than "__thousand dollars." Make sure they leave a note to approve this. Then, regardless of how much faith you have in them, call their international hotline when you are about to make the payment. Make an associate stay with you on the line as you swipe the card so they can immediately fix any outstanding issues. It will save you a lot of headache if your card company is unreliable with large purchase permissions. BTW, any questions about airbnb, how to look for good accommodations, or anything at all, feel free to PM. I'm always up to help out if I can. Definitely stay near GNG. It's practically across from coex (and 10 min away from every other plastic surgery clinic) so you can find close accommodation. I personally love the Yeoksam/Teheran-ro area because it's Gangnam Square and a great source of life–shopping, Gangnam restaurant street, every clinic you can name condensed into one area, etc.... If you are willing to make the 50 minute commute, you can stay in the more concentrated area of Seoul where all the other fun places are...but if you're not, then I recommend doing this–stay near GNG for about a week or so to rest and remove stitches, then move airbnb's to the Mapo area so you can easily access Hongdae, Myeongdong, Sinchon, and all of the REST of Seoul that you're inevitably going to want to visit. Take the commute back to GNG when you go for follow ups. Or, you can just stay in Gangnam ^.^ Your choice! South of the river is really just Gangnam/Apgujeong (while amazing, fun, and charming, there are other places to explore that are a tad bit out of the way. Though I've grown to really like that area!) Public transportation is pleasant as long as it's not rush hour so I've never had a problem with commutes. GNG uses dissolvable sutures inside the nose and removable stitches for the columella (incision line.) Dr. Choi no longer works there so they do not have a maxillofacial surgeon for the time being. There are tons of updates and aspiring travel-goers if you look~ Tbh, I never had any problems with my fat graft bloating or looking weird but that's because I never got fg in the cheeks (which you should not do...anymore. It's gone out of style. Unless you like that bloated look? haha.) That's quite a lot of money–you can bring it in cash if you want, you just have to declare it over 10,000 dollars and go through some paperwork, etc....if you're lucky you won't be hounded for too long. It's not usually THAT much trouble despite the experiences of some but some people have concerns that it will lead them to be searched more likely in the future lol. If you don't want to declare, I'd take out just under 10k in cash with me (I highly recommend keeping cash around in Korea anyway,) and then withdraw the rest at a bank or atm (lower limits...might be annoying to keep doing a bunch of separate transactions). Otherwise, I'd take out as much as I'd be comfortable with, declare it for cosmetic procedures, and then use the rest on card. You can technically take all of that amount in cash with you overseas but that's a relatively more brow-raising amount than say, 13-15,000 so it's totally up to you. To be fair, you still get VAT refund so it would be equivalent to being paid back slightly less tax than if you were to pay with a 0 fee card or cash. If that sounds good to you then that's a possibility. If your card doesn't charge international fees that would be great. Otherwise, I'd just withdraw cash in Korea at an atm or a bank and bite the bullet regarding fees; it'll probably be less than swiping a card (in my personal experience but this can vary.) However, you can easily do all of those procedures for way less than 45,000,000 won and less than 30 mill as well! Dr. Seong and Dr. Hong are most commonly chosen for rhino at GNG. You should consult with them to see who you like or ask for photos at the very least. The general consensus is that Dr. Hong does more dramatic noses and Dr. Seong opts for more natural (though his changes can be dramatic, people say he opts toward a less in-your-face aesthetic. I recommend doing individual research on this, if you're dead set on GNG ^.^ I actually went there myself. )
pinkcats-purplepeonies Posted August 2, 2018 Author Posted August 2, 2018 Thanks for your reply, I enjoyed reading it. How are you finding things after your surgery? Happy with the results? You must feel like a completely new you, free of any the insecurities you may have had before and feel very confident. Like you can finally breathe and be yourself fully. Comfortable and happy in your new reeinvisioned image. I'm excited yet completely riddled with anxiety and nerves in chasing this. Very exciting. Shame about Dr.Choi I read he was very good for noses.
picturethis Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 A lot of clinics prefer cash and would give you a 10% discount but you don't get the 8% tax refund which a lot of clinics provide so it's almost the same if you pay with cash or credit card. For payment the easiest would be to pay with credit card but usually theres a limit so you would need several credit cards or arrange it with your bank so your limit is higher. You would also have to notify your bank to tell them you're going to another country so they don't block your card when you're in Seoul. You could also do a wire transfer which I did but these might take up to 5 days to go through. Another option is paying in cash but personally I don't feel comfortable carrying such a big amount of money with me even tho Gangnam is as safe as it can be. You would also have to declare your money if you're carrying over 10.000 euros in European airports which could be a hassle. Be careful if you plan to use your debit card because my maestro was practicly useless in South Korea and would only work for withdrawing money from an ATM. As for accomodations if you have a lot of money you could go to hotel. Some clinics are affiliated with specific hotels usually nearby which they can provide you with a discount but they are usually very expensive even with the discount. Personally I like airbnb more. Try and find an accomodation in Gangnam near the clinics you are planning to visit with at least a private room. If you can afford it a whole appartment or studio would be ideal. Right after surgery when you're all swollen like a balloon you will love the privacy and having your own place to stay complete with kitchen and having your own bathroom. Dr Choi doesn't work anymore at GNG. I think they have a new surgeon now for facial contouring but I don't know if he is good. I would suggest to do as many online consultations first to get a feel of how much clinics charge and see which procedures they recommend. Short list a few clinics you like and then have f2f consultations with these clinics once you're in Seoul. Also the purse forum has a lot of useful information and has helped me a lot. It's the nr 1 place to find information for english speaking people. To prepare I would suggest you to read K-Couture's guide which is really helpful for people planning to have surgery in Seoul. There is a lot of information on the forums. # Sorry for the long post but you seemed a bit lost and it can be overwhelming once you start doing your research. I hope this post helps!
strawberryshortcake Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 Dr Choi never did noses, he is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, so he only did facial contouring.
csolare Posted August 4, 2018 Posted August 4, 2018 You can read my review–it's posted somewhere here on a new thread, you can search through my profile for it. I do have updated info/photos if you PM me ^~^ You're going this year, correct? Good luck! It's definitely a huge experience, and I don't regret it at all!
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