My Background
Name: Sharon
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Nationality: Australian (Chinese parents)
Surgery: Nose + Facial Contouring + Eyes + Fat Grafting + Thread Lifting
Reason Why proceed with Plastic Surgery
When I was young, all my friends and classmates would make fun of how I look. I became very insecure to the point that I really hated meeting new people and going outside to socialize. I really hated everything about my fxxking face…… My big fat and wide jaw made me look like a hippo, my bulbous and flat nose was just making everything worse and my weird looking eyes, I can tell everyone was trying to not contact my eyes because it was soooo hideous. Nothing about my appearance made me love or appreciate it genuinely.
At some point I wanted to just break all the mirrors in sight. This insecurity was reaching the point that made my life very unhealthy and affected every part of my life so much that I finally have decided to remove the core problem, my ugliness, from my life once and for all.
PS. I was literally ready to die if it didn't turn out well and that's how desperate I was in choosing this pathway.
This review is really a six-month long journey that I really put in everything i have in my life to become prettier, and I'm writing it down here hoping that it may help anyone who is going through similar life situation as i had experienced
The Overall Process
Step 1: Research research research
Before I decided on a clinic to go to, I did tons of research on the internet about the surgeries that I need and also different clinics from different countries.I had 4 countries to decide which were America, Turkey, Thailand and Korea. I spent around 3 years studying and researching and finally decided to do my surgery in Korea.
I chose Korea because
1. I love K-Pop artists and celebrities
2. Their styles are very effective while still very natural looking in my opinion
3. I am Asian myself and I also have Asian beauty preferences.
Then I read reviews from various sites, blogs and articles.
I also talked with several different clinics in Korea online before finalizing my decision. I intentionally asked many questions, literally 3-4 pages of questions online to these clinics for several weeks before deciding since I wanted to make my decision before traveling to Korea. The reason why I ended up booking my reservation with DA was because although sometimes their responses were very slow, their answers seemed very detailed and most importantly very caring.
As soon as I landed I went straight to DA first from the airport. I waited at the seventh floor for one of the translators to come. English translator Sophia came and helped me with registering. The chart I had to fill in was all in English so it was easy for me to write my information down. Sophia kindly explained regarding the process I will be experiencing, and then we can head upstairs for photos and CT scans needed for the consultation.
On the examination floor, I went straight to the photo studio room to take photos of my face from several angles. After the photos, we went into the CT scan room which was right across from the studio. This was done very fast, very systematic and efficiently.
After all the exams were finished, I went to another floor for the consultation. I waited in one of the rooms for the consultants, we waited around 20 min for the consultant. Despite the long wait, the consultant was very generous and thoroughly asked what I wanted to improve beauty wise. The consultant didn’t pressure me and didn’t recommend unnecessary procedures. Instead, he actually suggested not to do some of the surgeries I brought up for he thought I didn’t need to do so. This is one of the reasons why I liked DA.
After the consultation with the consultant, I met the doctors and showed him the photos of the desired preferences photos.
First for the Eyes Dr. Kim Chae Min
My main concern was asymmetry, one of my eyes had double eyelid fold and the other side didn’t, so obviously i wanted to fix that. I also didn’t like that my eyelid fold stopped mid way as you can see in my before photos and I wanted in-out double eyelid lines.
Doctor took around 10 min to look at my eyes closely, asking me to close and open my eyes several times, using a metal stick to try making different folds and pinching my eyelid skin (i think to check the thickness?..).
I told the doctor that I wanted to do double eyelid incision + epi canthoplasty + lateral canthoplasty but he only recommended non-incisional double eyelid surgery with ptosis correction.
He explained that because my skin is quite thin, non-incisional surgery would be sufficient enough to create the higher, more symmetrical double eyelid fold that I wanted without creating a scar. He also told me that there was no sagginess currently to go for the incisional method.
Finally he also mentioned that if my face becomes smaller after the facial contouring the current eye length is not bad therefore he does not recommend doing both the epi and lateral canthoplasty to increase the length of my eyes.
For the Nose Dr Seo Jae Won
I requested Dr Nam Dong Woo after seeing his before and after cases online but the consultant recommended to me Dr Seo Jae Won saying that my nose preferences and condition is more suitable for that doctor, so I said okay I will see the doctor you recommended first and decide.
I explained to the doctor that I hated the fact that my nose looks flat and wide at the nose tip. Doctor Seo took a look at my nose in person first, then examined the inner nostril and finally looked at the CT scan.
Then she drew on paper explaining that my cartilages are very weak currently so we will need donated rib cartilage to augment my nose tip. She also explained that the ratio height of my nose tip and bridge is currently bad so my nose tip needs to increase quite significantly to form a beautiful side profile. She also said that for my nose to have more definition from the front she recommended 1mm ~ 2mm silicone augmentation on the bridge.
She also recommended doing nostril reduction slightly to have a more feminine looking nose.
Finally she said since my forehead is very flat as well she thinks grafting fat to make it more round will make my nose look even better from the side. So I said yes, do everything necessary to make me the most beautiful.
I was very impressed how she explained everything in detail and felt very confident about listening to my consultant for his recommendation.
For the Facial Contouring Dr Lee Dong Chan
As soon as I saw Dr Lee I told him to please fix my hideous Wide big hippo like face, he looked baffled at first at how serious I was. He then smiled and said he would touch and look at my face first. He then asked if I had any preferences for photos to show him so I showed him several photos I prepared.
He then confidently said he understood my concerns and he explained that my target appearances were very realistic and easily achievable targets. He then went through the 3D CT X-rays with me in person and told me that I have a very large jaw angle bone, cheekbone and wide protruding chin. It was the first time I saw my skull and I understood clearly why my face was big,it was because my bone was fxxking big…..
He said large bones mean it is very safe to do surgery since the bone after surgery will easily fuse back together and the position of the nerve was located quite far above the jaw too!
He recommended me doing all 3 parts of the facial contouring which includes cheekbone reduction, Jaw reduction and genioplasty. He also said during the genioplasty he will push my chin back slightly since it was very protruded.
Finally I asked him about the skin sagging after the bone surgery, he said that considering my age and my current skin elasticity, sagginess should not be a concern for me but I insisted that I absolutely didn’t want even minor sagginess so he suggested me doing thread lifting along the facial contouring to minimize the possible sagginess of skin.
I agreed to everything Dr Lee explained and recommended.
The next step was finalizing the price of all the surgeries then choosing the earliest available date for my surgery which luckily I was able to get scheduled for surgery spot two days after the consultation.
Regarding the price I got a quite a large discount in return for allowing them to use my before and after photos on their website as their before and after cases.
I put down around 40% of my total surgery fee as a deposit on the day of consultation. I did a medical check up at the 9th floor of the DA clinic such as a blood check, EKG, etc.
They told me what I have to do before the surgery such as removing my Gel nails and fasting before the surgery. Sophia also sent me a youtube video with instructions on before and after the surgery precautions.
They also told me that I will be hospitalized after the surgery for one night.
During these two days I was quite tempted to try out other clinics for consultation but I didn't wanted to have doubts about my decision and I was fairly confident with DA doctors so I spent my time going through notes i wrote during consultation, making final decision on what to ask or tell my doctors on the day of the surgery when I meet them again and some sightseeing in Korea.
On the day of the surgery everything was efficient, I first got changed into surgery gown, washed my face and gargled with disinfected water, took another photo which I was told it will be used in the surgery room, met all my doctors again for final consultation and designing and went into the surgery room where I was greeted by anesthesiologist and nurses. Sophia was with me until I went under anesthesia.
Recovery in depth
Post- Surgery Day 4
My face is very tight and it was hard to breathe. However, I can already feel my chin and cheekbone reduced a lot! Even my family said we should post wanted posters on my chin . I’m very excited!
Post- Surgery Week 1
I got my cast removed for my nose. I had very noticeable asymmetry and the doctor also said it might look deviated from the swelling. But once the cast was off and saw the new nose, I couldn’t notice any deviation or asymmetry. It was the nose I wanted
The swelling came all the way down to my chin so it is still a bit hard to talk, but it is way better than before!Post- Surgery Week 2
The swelling for the eyes and nose faded a lot. However, because of the stitchings that are still inside the nose, it is still a bit hard to breathe and eat. But on the other hand, the doctor said I can continue with my regular daily routine and light exercises! Looking forwards to that~
Post- Surgery Week 3
It is still hard to open my mouth, but chewing got easier! I can now completely breathe comfortably with my nose, and the swelling on the eye and nose are mostly gone I’m feeling fresh!
Post- Surgery 1 Month
I was worried that after plastic surgery my daily routine would be very uncomfortable and I would be able to feel the implants for my nose, but that was a stupid thought Everything is at ease and the surgery went really well! On the third week I met my friends and they all commented on how natural the results were. Now my new hobby is putting on makeup
Post- Surgery 2 Months
It’s now two months post surgery, there is nothing uncomfortable at the moment! Except for not being to blow my nose, I keep forgetting I did surgery I literally jumped out of my bed when I coincidentally saw my photo from before the surgery My friends say the surgery went really well and I was born to do plastic surgery~ I am regretting I didn’t do this earlier!
Post- Surgery 3 Months
Starting from the third month I forget I did plastic surgery because there is nothing whatsoever uncomfortable! It is hard to notice that I did plastic surgery too! For the face contouring I was being very extra careful however, right now, I gained so much weight from eating too much Now i’m thinking of going on a diet
Post- Surgery 4 Months
I can feel that a lot of swelling is gone! When I look at the photos I took not too long after the surgery, I can tell that I got slimmer. Even then, I thought a lot of swelling faded but nooooo the swelling disappeared even more! I look like a steamed bun in the past photos Now the deswelling should take really slow, but i’m still looking forwards for the final results!
Post- Surgery 5 Months
It’s been five months since the surgery but feels like a year has passed Everything is very natural and comfortable! I’m glad I proceeded with the surgery as the doctors suggested! I still get surprised when viewing my old photos but this also means i’m truly satisfied with my current look
Post- Surgery 6 Months
The swelling has noticeably reduced! I used to think the swelling on the eyes and nose were already mostly gone but I thought wrong! The swelling on the eyes, nose, lower face, chin has all reduced! Therefore, my double chin is gone too
I am very very very satisfied
