Hey there! I just got my calves and abdomen (including love handles and upper hip) done at 365mc and my experience was phenomenal! I am fluent in both English and Korean so I didn’t need a translator but I overheard people being consulted in English and Chinese here and there and the translators seemed pretty fluent.
More details below:
1. Genesis: At work I am very much sedentary (a typical office worker bee) and it only got worse after 15 months (or even more) of WFH. I recently learned that we are gonna be back in the office by September but I was totally not ready for this! I was helplessly out of shape (gained 20 lb +) and needed some real motivation to get back on track. Plus this time I really wanted to work on my overall shape hence liposuction came to my mind.
2. Research phases: My calves have been always my no. 1 problem area (for some weird reason I gain fat on my calves when I gain weight.. sigh). However, not many doctors are equipped with the skills necessary to perform a liposuction on a delicate area like calves so I had to spend quite some time on searching for a good reliable clinic. I got my first liposuction 6+ years ago in the U.S. (upper arms and inner thigh) and the doctor back then specifically told me that I would have a real difficulty finding ANY doctor who would do calves in the U.S. The same was true even in Korea! I mean, they claim they can do this, but finding a doctor who has a decent level of experience was difficult. After spending many hours online, I found that Dr. Lee Jong-Won was specialized in calves (probably only one who performs on calves at 356mc).
3. Consultation: During my 2-week quarantine period, I scheduled my initial consultation at 356mc via KakaoTalk, which was seamless. I picked the Kyo-dae clinic (there are a few 356mc clinics in Seoul). I’m sure you can also call and make a reservation in the old-fashion way (sorry, almost everything in Korea is now done through KakaoTalk, which could be a hassle for a foreigner).
My consulting manager, Ms. Yoo, was extremely nice and witty and I very much enjoyed every conversation I had with her. I was debating between the unlimited LAMS v. liposuction because I was really afraid of having a full anesthesia without anyone to take care of me after the procedure. Ms. Yoo assured that they NEVER had any issue related with the anesthesia and they had an on-site anesthesiologist who would be overseeing my condition throughout the entire procedure, so I finally decided to proceed with the liposuction option, which I was told by far more effective. She measured me by area and provided me some suggestions based on my InBody result, and then I had more in-depth consultation with a doctor who measured my skin fat thickness of each area. The doctor was genuinely surprised that my fats are localized on my calves (which is unusual) and confirmed that I had enough fats to be removed via liposuction. I think she used an ultrasound machine to measure the actual fat-muscle composition. Some people have more muscle than fat and they would tell you upfront whether you have an enough amount of fat to be removed safely. I think 356mc is more conservative than any other clinics when it comes down to safety, which was very important to me.
In overall, they recommended me a full-body liposuction but they were not pushy by no means. After considering my budget and needs, I chose the calves and abdomen areas which were my primary target areas (plus I knew that I wouldn’t shed any fat from those areas even if I get back to my pre-COVID weight). Everyone who worked at the Kyo-dae clinic was extremely nice and professional, which was also very important to me. I was also very impressed by their use of technology (3D measuring machine, ultrasound, etc.) and how the process is streamlined. You would be tossed around multiple floors (yes the entire building is the clinic, I would say it is more like a hospital) but there will always be someone accompanying you, so it was very comforting.
4. D-Day: I wanted a real fast turnaround so I got scheduled for a surgery in 2 days. Two different doctors were assigned to me (probably due to Dr. Lee’s specialty in calves). I met with each doctor separately and had a separate in-depth consultation thereafter. Dr. Lee was “excited” to examine my calves (haha) and assured that my result would be great because I have a sufficient amount of fat to be removed which would result in a visible difference. Dr. Jung was also very nice and caring. I would say both of them were very realistic with expectations and came across as reliable. Then the showtime - I don’t really remember a thing after I got lay down and put the IV in (though I DO remember Dr. Lee and the anesthesiologist came in and said hi to me before I passed out).
5. Discharge process: I mean, they provided details for every step of the pre- and post-procedure more often than not (they even have a little booklet and app that tracks and explains everything!) so no need to worry about that. What I can tell you is that the nurses at the recovery room are EXTREMELY nice and caring, and I can’t find a good enough word to praise them. When I woke up, I was already put in the garment and laid down on the bed. The nurses provided me with water, food and orange juice for fast recovery. I was extremely dizzy for a while so they prescribed me something (it was another bag of IV bottle and a shot) that would help me with my nausea (all included in the final price I paid!). They also showed me the actual fat removed (I got rid of 800cc from calves and 2200cc from the abdomen area, which was above average for someone of my size, haha), which was fascinating too.
I got in around 2 PM and by the time I was fully recovered it was already 10PM (not because the surgery took too long but because of the consulting and recovery times), but they were extremely patient and caring (tears). One of them even went out to grab a taxi for me because it was literally impossible to get a cab around that time via app (10 PM is the magic time when all the bars and karaokes are closing ; still very strict COVID measure in force in Korea!!). I didn’t have much pain on the day of the surgery, but for me bruising and pain were more predominant for the next few days.
6. Result: Now I’m into 5 days post procedure and so far very happy with the interim result, especially with my abdomen (I’m already 2 inches down only after a few days!) For calves, I can definitely tell that it got thinner, but it’s still relatively swollen and bruised compared to my tummy and love handles, which was no surprise tho based on the consultation with Dr. Lee. It is largely due to gravity - basically all the extra fluid that didn’t get removed during the surgery gravitates toward your feet, thus slower recovery. Hopefully I can share some pics after removing stitches in a few weeks! Based on the result, I might schedule the next one for my arms and back
I like to log things like this for my own reflection as well (yes I keep a journal), and hopefully you guys find it helpful too!
