Hi everyone! I wanted to share my experience getting incisional DES and upper epicanthoplasty with Dr. Kim at Thank You Plastic Surgery last winter.
Online Consultation:
I started my search last summer and narrowed down my clinic list after talking to their online consultants. I got a response back on WhatsApp within the same night from Chloe, who is their English interpreter. After some back and forth, I received their recommendations and an estimated quote (fyi pricing might change depending on the difficulty of your case after meeting in-person). I scheduled an in-person consultation and put down a deposit to secure my surgery date. I recommend this option if you’re going during peak season (summer or winter holidays) since it can be difficult to find surgery slots. Be sure to check the deposit policy since each clinic has different rules.
In-person Consultation:
For anyone that’s planning to schedule several consultations in one day, fair warning that each consultation can be delayed by 1-2 hours depending on the doctor’s availability (some could still be in surgery during the scheduled time). Luckily my consultation went according to schedule. I arrived at the clinic and went straight to the reception area to give them my info. I was then greeted by Chloe who basically guided me through the whole process. I filled out some forms and went to take my ‘before’ photos and came back to wait in the lobby. I later met with their in-house consultant, and we discussed the procedure and my ideal aesthetics. She took notes of our conversation and provided some recommendations.
I went back to the lobby again and waited for my meeting with Dr. Kim. I’ve consulted with several clinics and Dr. Kim was by far the most meticulous. He was patient and provided thoughtful feedback on different crease styles (in-out, semi-out, and out line). He speaks English so it was easy to communicate exactly what I wanted. He was honest about which crease would work best for me and what certain limitations I should expect. In the end, I went with a semi-out line for a more natural look.
For all the girlies who have deep-set hooded eyes like me, Dr. Kim (and other surgeons I consulted with) recommended an endotine forehead lift. It can help if you want a more pronounced crease (like round dolly eyes) and less of that hooded look, though he wasn’t at all pushy about the procedure. I politely declined since I haven’t done much research and felt I was a bit young to get any sort of lift. Perhaps I might be more open to it in the future as gravity takes its course lol.
Surgery Day:
I was provided with pre-op instructions so I came relatively prepared on surgery day. I got in my surgery gown and Chloe went over the consent forms. I then met with Dr. Kim and he went over the surgery plan that we discussed during my consultation. He was very precise with the measuring tools and asked me to open/close my eyes several times to get it right. I also printed out my ideal photos and went over them, so he knew exactly what I wanted.
The surgery was performed under twilight sedation so I didn’t remember much, though I was conscious towards the end but completely pain free. The surgery only took about an hour and I was brought into the recover area where I sat on a comfy reclining chair and iced my eyes. I was pretty much awake and didn't feel tired so I left shortly to pick up my medication and ointment at the pharmacy downstairs. The stitches did make my eyelids feel tight and looking up was a bit uncomfortable, so I just looked down for the rest of the day lol. After the first day, the tightness was gone but I had mild bruising on my eyelids.
5 Day Post-op:
It was time to get my stitches out and the process was pretty swift. A nurse gently removed my stiches and Dr. Kim popped in to check my results. Afterwards, I got deswelling laser treatment and I was out of the clinic within the hour.
7 Days Post-op:
I came back for a final check-up with Dr. Kim and everything went smoothly. I took some “after” photos and the in-house consultant provided additional post-op care instructions. At this point, the bruising improved and I didn’t feel any discomfort. I was pretty over the moon with my results!
1 Month Post-op:
It was almost impossible to tell that I got any work done at 1 month post-op since the bruising was completely gone within the first 2 weeks. The puffiness was still there so my crease was a bit higher and more pronounced (almost like out line style), but that gradually dropped over time. I am prone to hypertrophic scars so I did see some thin raised scar tissues, but that also went away by the second month after I religiously used silicon gel.
3 Month Post-op:
Now that the swelling is completely gone, my crease dropped from an out line to a semi-out line, which is what I had originally asked for. I’m satisfied with my results and everything healed nicely.
Overall, I highly recommend Thank You if anyone is looking to get DES!
PHOTOS: Before / 1 Month / 3 Months
Online Consultation:
I started my search last summer and narrowed down my clinic list after talking to their online consultants. I got a response back on WhatsApp within the same night from Chloe, who is their English interpreter. After some back and forth, I received their recommendations and an estimated quote (fyi pricing might change depending on the difficulty of your case after meeting in-person). I scheduled an in-person consultation and put down a deposit to secure my surgery date. I recommend this option if you’re going during peak season (summer or winter holidays) since it can be difficult to find surgery slots. Be sure to check the deposit policy since each clinic has different rules.
In-person Consultation:
For anyone that’s planning to schedule several consultations in one day, fair warning that each consultation can be delayed by 1-2 hours depending on the doctor’s availability (some could still be in surgery during the scheduled time). Luckily my consultation went according to schedule. I arrived at the clinic and went straight to the reception area to give them my info. I was then greeted by Chloe who basically guided me through the whole process. I filled out some forms and went to take my ‘before’ photos and came back to wait in the lobby. I later met with their in-house consultant, and we discussed the procedure and my ideal aesthetics. She took notes of our conversation and provided some recommendations.
I went back to the lobby again and waited for my meeting with Dr. Kim. I’ve consulted with several clinics and Dr. Kim was by far the most meticulous. He was patient and provided thoughtful feedback on different crease styles (in-out, semi-out, and out line). He speaks English so it was easy to communicate exactly what I wanted. He was honest about which crease would work best for me and what certain limitations I should expect. In the end, I went with a semi-out line for a more natural look.
For all the girlies who have deep-set hooded eyes like me, Dr. Kim (and other surgeons I consulted with) recommended an endotine forehead lift. It can help if you want a more pronounced crease (like round dolly eyes) and less of that hooded look, though he wasn’t at all pushy about the procedure. I politely declined since I haven’t done much research and felt I was a bit young to get any sort of lift. Perhaps I might be more open to it in the future as gravity takes its course lol.
Surgery Day:
I was provided with pre-op instructions so I came relatively prepared on surgery day. I got in my surgery gown and Chloe went over the consent forms. I then met with Dr. Kim and he went over the surgery plan that we discussed during my consultation. He was very precise with the measuring tools and asked me to open/close my eyes several times to get it right. I also printed out my ideal photos and went over them, so he knew exactly what I wanted.
The surgery was performed under twilight sedation so I didn’t remember much, though I was conscious towards the end but completely pain free. The surgery only took about an hour and I was brought into the recover area where I sat on a comfy reclining chair and iced my eyes. I was pretty much awake and didn't feel tired so I left shortly to pick up my medication and ointment at the pharmacy downstairs. The stitches did make my eyelids feel tight and looking up was a bit uncomfortable, so I just looked down for the rest of the day lol. After the first day, the tightness was gone but I had mild bruising on my eyelids.
5 Day Post-op:
It was time to get my stitches out and the process was pretty swift. A nurse gently removed my stiches and Dr. Kim popped in to check my results. Afterwards, I got deswelling laser treatment and I was out of the clinic within the hour.
7 Days Post-op:
I came back for a final check-up with Dr. Kim and everything went smoothly. I took some “after” photos and the in-house consultant provided additional post-op care instructions. At this point, the bruising improved and I didn’t feel any discomfort. I was pretty over the moon with my results!
1 Month Post-op:
It was almost impossible to tell that I got any work done at 1 month post-op since the bruising was completely gone within the first 2 weeks. The puffiness was still there so my crease was a bit higher and more pronounced (almost like out line style), but that gradually dropped over time. I am prone to hypertrophic scars so I did see some thin raised scar tissues, but that also went away by the second month after I religiously used silicon gel.
3 Month Post-op:
Now that the swelling is completely gone, my crease dropped from an out line to a semi-out line, which is what I had originally asked for. I’m satisfied with my results and everything healed nicely.
Overall, I highly recommend Thank You if anyone is looking to get DES!
PHOTOS: Before / 1 Month / 3 Months
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