maggiedee Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 Time in Seoul - 14 days Consultations booked - 3: BK Plastic Surgery - Dr Kim , Cosharp - Dr Lee, Dr Jin Premium Nose - Dr Jin Surgeon chosen - Dr Jin My goals for getting rhinoplasty were for a very natural result, just to enhance my features and look less two dimensional. I knew I wanted the width of my nostrils to be smaller, but still look natural. Also wanted a higher nose bridge. I had thread lift and meltable filler in my nose, so I was worried this would prevent me from being able to get the rhinoplasty. My close friend accompanied me to help me through the whole experience, what a lifesaver. Our mutual friend who is Korean and lives in Gangnam helped out on certain parts of the day too. My first consultation was with BK Plastic Surgery's Dr Kim. I know someone who had rhinoplasty with Dr Kim who has a result that I really like. After checking in with the receptionist and waiting around for a short period, I saw the nurse/consultant first, wasn't given and introduction to who she was, which I thought was so weird at first, but later on realized that's how the other clinics interacted with us as well. We talked in a private room about the desired result. We then went to the room next door to see Dr Kim. It was very brief, less than 5 min, but it is expected since I read reviews about these plastic surgery clinics and know that's their M.O. I wasn't against using silicon, but initially I wanted to use cartilage because I saw this before/after from Dr Charles S Lee and was blown away. Dr Kim recommended I use silicon for the bridge, cartilage from the septum to reshape my tip, and alar reduction for my wide nostrils. I did not have much other questions for Dr Kim and I went back to the other room to talk to the nurse/consultant. We talked about how much everything would cost and I asked to see before/after photos of other patients. I thought they before/afters were okay, but was just somewhat comfortable with Dr Kim's aesthetic. A lot of the results still seemed too "done" and not natural. The afters looked too sharp or did not match the faces of the patients. I thought to myself, well, it is probably because the patients asked for that look... The clinic did not have any pictures of one of the procedures I would be having ( i think it was the tip shaping). The final quote was $5000 for all those and to remove my thread and fillers. What I appreciated about Dr Kim I suppose was that he and his nurse consultant seemed very confident in the services they were providing and were not trying to convince me to choose this clinic. They seem to be going through the motions pleasantly. I said I would email or call later that day if I wanted to schedule surgery with Dr Kim. The second consultation was with Dr Lee at Cosharp. Cosharp was recommended by a contact who is a celebrity. I also read smokococo's thread from Dec 2016 and thought I'd book this consultation. Before I came to Seoul, I thought I would definitely be using Dr Lee because he came highly recommended. The clinic was the most upscale clinic out of the 3 that I would see. The paperwork was all in Korean and they did not seem to have anyone who spoke English there. Not an especially bad sign because that could mean this clinic is really for locals, could mean I still would get quality without a jacked up price. Thankfully my Korean friend came with us to this clinic so he helped me fill out the information. After submitting the form and the receptionist coming back to clarify some information, I was ushered over to the corner to take a photo of my nose from 3 different angles. After this, I went into the doctors office to talk about what I wanted for my nose. I was pleased that I did not have to go through the process at BK where I had to tell the nurse consultant what I wanted and then repeat it to Dr Kim. My Korean friend helped me translate whatever I was saying to Dr Lee. He had my photo in photoshop and showed a side profile view of my nose and how it would look. It was helpful but I realized that I was not sure how I wanted it to look from the side, I just knew what I wanted it to look like from a 45 degree view and the front. I was not 100% sure about the side profile. This is where I wanted to be able to trust the doctor's aesthetic. Dr Lee recommended silicon for the bridge, tip reshaping with septum cartilage, and alar base reduction. I asked about cartilage from the ear and he said he could do that as well for my bridge since I did not want such a high nose bridge, only raising it slightly. He said he could take out my thread and fillers as well. I was relived again to hear this. Dr Lee did not touch my nose, only editing the photo of my nose on his computer. After talking to Dr Lee, we went to another room to talk to the nurse consultant, who had a really fake looking nose that was so large, long, sharp, and curved. I was distracted by it. She spoke really fast in Korean, so I was so grateful my friend was there with us. My friend commented after that he felt very uncomfortable in that clinic, that all the girls who worked there were cocky. The nurse consultant showed us before/after photos and we discussed price. The before/after photos were unfortunately not convincing. They were all very "done" and too long or too curved or too high and sharp. Right now I cannot remember how much I was quoted, but I think it was $5000- $6000. At this point, I was feeling disheartened and thought I would not be going through with the surgery at all this trip because I was just not confident in the surgeons' aesthetics. My friends and I went for coffee before my next consultation and they also agreed with this sentiment. My last consultation was with Dr Jin. I had heard about Dr Jin from another contact who had surgery with Hanabi clinic using rib cartilage. It seemed that Dr Jin liked to use cartilage from what I could gather about him and Hanabi, so I was hopeful about that. I actually tried making an appointment with Hanabi, but they did not have availability for the date that I wanted. I also had the thought that I would not choose Dr Jin because I could not find any reviews from him online, I could also not find his own clinic's website. I could only find what seemed to be an agent website that summarized his work. I used the agent to make my consultation appointment. I would recommend skipping that part and contacting the clinic directly. I felt very comfortable at Dr Jin's clinic. It reminded me a lot more of an actual medical clinic rather than some kind of boutique medical spa which is what Cosharp felt like. Everyone looked and acted like healthcare providers. My Korean friend commented that his experience - which was framed on the wall, was the 'perfect' type of professional experience for korean doctors in terms of where he studied and where he got his postgraduate studies. We waited briefly before seeing Dr Jin. I really appreciated that we saw Dr Jin immediately and for most of our time at the clinic instead of with a consultation with a staff/nurse/consultant. He speaks English fluently and so does his some of his staff and nurses - they all understand English but some speak it more fluently than others. Dr Jin smiled less than the other doctors I had seen but was so much more attentive than the other doctors. He took time to really understand my current nose situation and in my opinion, was very socially aware of who to speak to in the room. It felt a lot more like an actual medical consultation for a major surgery. Dr Jin also physically used an instrument to check my nose and used his hands to touch and feel my nose - neither of the previous doctors did this. He does not use silicon or gortex, as his experience teaching other plastic surgeons how to do revision rhinoplasty work has led him to prefer using autologous material. This was a plus for me because from the pictures I'd seen of other before/afters, I liked results that ended up using cartilage instead of silicon. Dr Jin also showed and talked about some before/after photos of previous patients he had helped. Those photos really impressed me and I think it was at that moment I decided to have Dr Jin operate on my nose. His aesthetic was basically what I wanted. Consistently, his nose jobs were natural looking and not overly curved, overly long or high. After I had finished with all my questions, he summarized the procedures I would have. 1. width reduction (alarplasty) 2. tip reshaping using septum cartilage, and the third procedure for the bridge had 3 options (a) to leave my filler and thread in, (b) use ear cartilage, or (c) use rub cartilage. I decided on (b) in the end. I scheduled my surgery for the following week. It cost 8000USD. I notice that their main concern as healthcare professionals is that I could breath well. I think Dr Jin and his clinic have really high standards in general. The nurses were all so kind, nice, and approachable. Aftercare support from the clinic since coming back to my country has been great. I get replies from the nurse up until the night time. Dr Jin replies in a very timely manner as well unless he is in surgery. I feel very supported in this way, communication is so easy. Dr Jin is also very careful and cautious, which I truly appreciate. It will be 3 weeks since I had my surgery and it was a great decision. I am so happy with the results. Dr Jin said my tip is still swollen and will take 3-4 months to settle. Here's their instagram linkhttps://www.instagram.com/doctorjin_premium_nose/
phoebebuffey Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 Thank you for the detailed info on your consults! He only does rib rhino, correct?
honeyjello Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 How is the aftercare there? Do they provide other fancy aftercare treatment like other PS places that give patients things like IV vitamin drips, deswelling laser etc or it's more of just medication and followup since he is an ENT surgeon? I can attest to Dr Jin's careful manner as I went there with my mum when she had a bad flu. Our hotel recommended his clinic to us. He was really detailed in his consultation and even did a nose scope for my mum to check if she had any sinus infection.
ly-michellelpt Posted July 9, 2018 Posted July 9, 2018 Hello Maggiedee, Congratz for a successful surgery! If you don't mind, could you please send me B&A to my Kakaotalk. (lymichellelpt) I'm also interested in rib rhino. I would really appreciate it! Thank you!
maggiedee Posted July 10, 2018 Author Posted July 10, 2018 Dr Jin uses cartilage - so it can be cartilage from your nose, ear, or rib from my understanding. I used ear and nose cartilage.
maggiedee Posted July 10, 2018 Author Posted July 10, 2018 Dr Jin had me do antibiotic and vitamins iv drip after the surgery for 3 days. No laser, but I really don't feel the need for it. My recovery has been smooth, scar free, and surprisingly painless - my ear was sore.
maggiedee Posted July 10, 2018 Author Posted July 10, 2018 I think my nose is still swollen at the tip and I'm not comfortable sharing pictures, so I'd recommend checking out his IG and https://doctorjinent.modoo.at/
pulpy Posted July 10, 2018 Posted July 10, 2018 hi maggie, may i know the name of the agent that you consulted prior meeting with the dr. directly?
maggiedee Posted July 10, 2018 Author Posted July 10, 2018 I don't remember but I got his number from this site http://www.rhinoplastykorea.com/rhinoplasty-surgeon/dr-jin-hong-ryul/
meintea Posted July 11, 2018 Posted July 11, 2018 Thank you for sharing maggiedee, I really appreciate it and I am so happy for you!! I want to ask if Dr. Jin uses donor rib cartilage as an option if I opt not to use my own? And if you know where I can find before and after pictures of his other surgeries offered?
maggiedee Posted July 12, 2018 Author Posted July 12, 2018 Hi thank you. He does rib also. You can see pics here https://doctorjinent.modoo.at/ and here http://www.rhinoplastykorea.com/rhinoplasty-surgeon/dr-jin-hong-ryul/
pulpy Posted July 12, 2018 Posted July 12, 2018 thats the same number on the instagram. and site. im sorry i do suspect that you are not a patient but really just an agent for the doctor. the way you write and how you just go on few other threads to intro the doctor is suspicious. and a before and after pic with your eyes blurred wouldnt hurt.
maggiedee Posted July 13, 2018 Author Posted July 13, 2018 so what if it's the same number, that guy is probably an employee of Dr Jin's clinic then. i said this in another one of my posts on the forum - that i dont know if he is an employee or an agent, and i advise you to try and see if you can get around him in case he IS an agent. if i *was* him, i wouldnt advise you to try and get around me. sorry you think i'm an agent, pulpy. i'm a satisfied patient wanting to spread the word about my surgeon - especially since i couldnt find any review about him when i was looking at this forum, and i think there is a lack of surgeons in s korea who have his natural aesthetic, thus my long ass post. im a little butt hurt that i took all that time to write out my experiences and someone doenst believe im even real, but okay. you do you. i hope my post helps someone else who reads and doesnt comment (i hardly ever commented on posts while i was lurking around the forum doing my research). i write my posts because i am happy to share a great thing after having been through my surgery. i will never post or share any photos over kakao/whatsapp of myself even if my eyes are blurred out. the internet will always find a way to put it in front of people in your real life who you dont want seeing it.
honeyjello Posted July 13, 2018 Posted July 13, 2018 @maggiedee would you happen to know if dr jin only uses patient's own cartilage or rhino or does he also use donated cartilage like other clinics do? Like since i think you mentioned his preference is autologous cartialge (does he just prefer and push rib cartilage or he's open and does other cartilage like ear or septal too?)
lisa-cheng Posted July 17, 2018 Posted July 17, 2018 I am very happy to hear your story, similar experience^^, and also hope to hear your final result, Thank you for sharing
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