xmirame Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Hey guys, I’m leaving a review for Banobagi for my breast augmentation. Felt like after getting so much info and help from this site over the years, I can return the favor by contributing my experience. Plus, I’m kinda bored at my hotel just recovering, so might as well talk about it I had the BA on November 5. Considering I was traveling overseas for major surgery, I decided to go with a medical tourism company to help ease the stress. I know, I’m sure I could have handled it on my own cause I heard the clinic will take care of you and getting around is easy, but why bother when the service is practically free? I went to Korea with the help of Seoul Cosmetic Surgery. I thought about Docfinder, but I liked how responsive and personal SCS felt. I saved my money to get the best service, implants, and experience, so I wanted to be pampered *shrug* My consultation was on November 2 with Dr. Han. Two reps from SCS, Mona and Dean, and one of Banobagi’s translators were with me. They were so friendly and didn’t mind to chat with me while we waited to see the doctor, so it helped with my nervousness. First impression with Dr. Han: He was very attentive and knowledgable. He first listened to what I wanted and looked at my photos. After he measured my chest, he laid out what he could realistically do and how he would do the procedure in detail. Any questions I had, he made sure to answer them. I’m an A and wanted to go to a small D. He said since my breasts sit kind of high, he had to make space further below in order for the implants to sit proportionately on my chest. He recommended I do it over the muscle via IMF since I have enough breast tissue and I weightlift. I was concerned about “bottoming out” or getting a “double bubble” if he made space underneath, but he says since I’m getting Motiva Silk Surface implants, it wouldn’t happen. I also asked him about the risk of autoimmune illnesses and the recent concern over the new development with malignant tissue forming with textured implants, but he said since Motiva Silk isn’t textured the same as the typical gummy bear implants, the chances of that occurring are very low. Motiva Silk uses nanotechnology to make the surface compatible with the surrounding tissue, thus these babies are pricey. I figured if I’m gonna put anything foreign in me, it better be top quality. So, if anyone has concerns about putting anything foreign in your body, it’s something you might wanna consider. At the end of the consultation, I felt pretty confident in his skills and wanted to go ahead with the surgery. On the day of surgery, Mona and Dean met up with me, and I was surprised that they stayed with me until I actually had to walk into the surgery room. That was nice. They made sure I understood all the paperwork and I met up with Dr. Han one more time. He confirmed the size I was getting (450 cc) and went over any complications that can generally occur during and after surgery. Once I gave the thumbs up, they took me to the surgery room. Once I woke up, a nurse was there to greet me. My chest felt super tight and sore, but no real pain. Dr. Han came in soon after to check if I was feeling okay and to let me know any discomfort I might feel after the anesthesia. Then, they took me up to the recovery room for the night. Mona and Dean were there to greet me and they went to the pharmacy to pick up my meds. I wasn’t allowed to drink water until three hours later and THAT HONESTLY SUCKED. I was just staring at the clock, just waiting to quench my thirst. Mona stayed with me a bit to distract me from the discomfort (this is exactly what I wanted: someone there to help me). It was hard for me to move around cause I couldn’t use my arms to push myself up, so she helped me. Throughout the early evening, nurses came in to check and change my bandage and gave me rice porridge. I slipped in and out of sleep cause I was just so uncomfortable from not being able to move and my chest feeling so tight. Next morning, a nurse came in to check on me one more time and change my bandage, and a consultant came in to check me out. She handed me the box of pumpkin juice that was supposed to help with swelling (I know we’ve all seen the famous pumpkin juice from surgery vlogs, so I found this pretty amusing ) and reviewed how to take the medication with me one more time. She ordered a black luxury taxi and helped me in. She even told the taxi driver to help me bring my bag up to the hotel room It’s been a week now, and I’m super happy with my results. My implants are sitting on my chest pretty high right now, but that’s expected. The scars aren’t bad and they gave me a gel to put on them. Sleeping has been annoying. I can’t believe how much I miss being able to sleep on your side. You take such simple things for granted. I had my first check up yesterday, and I asked a list of questions to the doctor. He answered every single one patiently and I didn’t feel rushed at all. I really appreciated that. Overall, it’s been a pretty successful and good experience so far. If anyone has questions, you can post here or DM me I’ll post an update later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary-nguyen Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 So happy to hear you had a positive experience! I was thinking about going myself to Banobagi, but with Dr. Barnes instead! Out of curiosity, why did you choose Dr. Han and not Dr. Barnes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted November 18, 2018 Author Share Posted November 18, 2018 Hey! No real reason. When I scheduled the consultation, he was the one available for the day, and I heard good things about him. I’m happy I got him to do the BA though cause he was very down to earth, kind, and professional. He also understood the differences between American and Korean beauty standards and gave realistic/objective opinions. He definitely put me at ease with the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo0777 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Thank you for sharing! I am considering of doing it in 2019. I was looking at the available brands and saw that Motiva hasn't been approved by FDA and most surgeons are still using Mentor. some of the online articles did mention that Motiva is more advanced but i'm worried about that they are from promoters. have you considered the other brands when consulted the surgeon? Do you mind sharing your price as well? I'm in NYC and here it costs about $9k-$10k USD in total using Mentor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted November 23, 2018 Author Share Posted November 23, 2018 Hey! I know they are going through the clinical studies now in order to approve it through the FDA. They’re mostly used widely in Europe and Asia. And from what I’ve read, they’re the Australian brand of choice in countries like UK, Germany, Switzerland, etc. I’ve personally read up on doctor interviews when it came to Motiva implants. Most of them mention they like Motiva because it’s the only brand that use nano-texturing on the surface to reduce risk. The other gummy bear implants have rough textures, so there’s a higher risk of complications. Here’s one interview that goes in-depth:https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/Motiva-implants-why-fast-becoming-australias-implant-choice-hammond/ Also, I don’t always trust the FDA due to many reasons. Like any organization, it can be corrupted and there’s a reason we say they’re in bed with particularly pharmaceutical companies. So just cause it’s FDA approved, doesn’t mean it’s absolutely safe. If anything, I probably trust European/Australian safety standards. Plus, it’ll take years for the clinical studies to be done so that’s why they’re still stuck on using Mentor. But look at how many clinical studies are going one; a LOT of American surgeons are very interested in using Motiva. In Korea, they mostly use either Motiva or Belle(?). Most patients will choose the latter cause it’s cheaper. It cost me about 16,300,000 million won. I believe it would roughly be the same with the price range you stated cause they’ll be using less advanced implants and considering the currency exchange. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Mentor cause they’re textured gummy bear implants. There have been reports by the FDA and elsewhere that anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is a big problem with textured implants cause they irritate the skin that they’re adhering to. The chances are low of getting it, but it’s a higher chance than a smoother surface implant. Motiva avoids this. That’s why I spent years saving to get the best thing possible if I’m gonna consider putting anything in my body. I hope I answered your questions! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo0777 Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Thank you so much for the reply! in the US, most doctors are still using Mentors and the after pictures are not as natural and ideal as i think they could be... I think Motiva would be the best as of now for implants. Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 I'm a month post-op, and back in the US. I was in Korea for 2 weeks and flew just fine back. I had two check ups with Dr. Han before I left. The first time, I had an injection of minerals/vitamins that help promote healing. And then the doctor checked my stitches and my overall healing. He seemed very happy with the results and said the implants will look better over the next month. He asked how much longer I’ll be in Korea, and said he wanted to see me one more time before I leave, which was nice. The second time was pretty much the same and answered any other questions I had. My implants are still sitting high and my skin is still tight, but this is expected. It’s definitely not as bad as before. The doctor said it’ll take at least 3 months for the skin to finally relax and up to a year to see the final result. I absolutely looooove how they look. I can tell they will look great once they "drop" and “fluff.” Most of the discomfort is gone and beginning to feel normal. But OMG I miss sleeping on my side. The doctor said as long as I feel comfortable, I can sleep on my sad, but I don’t wanna risk it and will start sleeping on my side around the second month point. They still feel a little stiff to the touch, but glad I don’t have to massage them like non-gummy bear implants. Size wise, I’m so glad to go a bit bigger. I was debating between 425 cc and 450 cc, and Mona from Seoul Cosmetic Surgery recommenced the bigger size cause in her experience, most of her clients always regret not going bigger and 25 cc isn’t that much of a difference. I’m glad I listened. I’ll try to update around the third month mark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary-nguyen Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Thank you so much for this post! I definitely feel like Banobagi really makes their implants look natural! Would you say that yours look fairly natural despite being newly post-op? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted December 11, 2018 Author Share Posted December 11, 2018 Hi Mary! With my clothes on, yes. But without my clothes, they honestly looked like torpedos at first, haha. But it’s definitely more natural now than the first week. And because my skin is tight, I didn’t have to wear a recovery bra so that my implants can drop to a more natural state. People actually think I’m wearing a push up bra when I have nothing on. I don’t have a natural cleavage yet, so just sticking to wearing button up shirts with a tank top and nipple covers for now I think I have it worse than normal because I was so flat and my breasts were sitting high. So the fact that he had to make some pocket space beyond my natural breast line at the bottom is why they look a bit higher than natural. But like I said, they’re slooooowly nestling as the time passes. And as scar tissue forms around the breast, they’ll “fluff” aka be fuller and softer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary-nguyen Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 Thank you for replying! I definitely understand the being flat part. I literally can't even fill up an A cup because my boobs are so small and it feels like nothing sits how it's intended to! Did you happen to take any before and after photos before you went in? I know a lot of people go to Barnes so there's a lot of photos of his work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Yeah, it’s standard to take before/after photos at any plastic surgery clinic. Maybe they’ll be up on the site for Dr. Han Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary-nguyen Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Thank you! I saw that Banobagi was having a promotion with Dr. Han. Would you say it's worth it to put down a deposit to see him? I was interested in going to Dr Barns only because so many have raved about him! But if their work is the same then I wouldn't mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Oh yes, most definitely. I’ve seen a lot of plastic surgeons and I honestly felt the most comfortable with him (although, never met up with Dr. Barns). I felt like he really listened to me and was so patient with everything. He really helped me feel relaxed with everything, and you can tell he was genuine in his opinions/recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mary-nguyen Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Thank you so much! Any updates on your healing process? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmirame Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 They’re still sensitive (especially my nipples) but that’s still normal at this stage. They say wait up to 6 months for the breasts to still feel normal again. The doctor said that the nerves are still repairing themselves, especially cause I went from an A to a D. It’s good cause whenever I have questions, I just message Banobagi and they usually get back to me within the week, even though I’m abroad. They’ve definitely “softened” up since the surgery. I just can’t wait to see what their final look is after a few months pass! When do you plan on getting it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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