everyone seems to be quoting this letter to say BK is bad, but i havn't seen any other negative comments and in this one, no doc or nurses' names were mentioned. this letter to me sounds a bit fake...
also, BK has been around for >10 yrs rite, and still so renowned..must be for a good reason?
please let me no if i m wrong. i wanna do thorough research before i go ahead with the operations
thanks
DON'T Ever go to BK Clinic in Seoul ruined my face: HORROR STORY
I researched BK Clinic in Seoul to get my plastic surgery procedure done. They seemed to have a clean website, they spoke fairly good English, and their prices were competitive. What I couldn't find were testimonials on their site. I didn't quite know what the feedback from actual patients were which was quite unsettling as they seemed to be a corporate giant with no comments from actual patients. Anyways, I was planning to visit Seoul so I went ahead and set up an appointment.
The first time I walked in was for a consultation. The lobby was filled with patients who were complaining about their procedure. One lady walked into the office and said that the bandages on her face were not properly placed therefore fluid was leaking out. Another lady walked in and demanded for a doctor because the implant in her nose was slowly receding to the side of nose. At that point, I wanted to jump off the couch and walk out of the clinic but I had already put down a deposit of 50,000 Won so I decided to wait and at least see the doctor before jumping to conclusions.
First I was ushered to a room where a "consultant" not the doctor analyzed my face and suggested what work I should get done. I clearly told her that I just wanted my lips augmented but she went on with her evaluation. She wasn't pushy but she had a way of making you feel that you "needed" work done in areas you didn't really want. For example, I have a pretty straight nose but she suggested that I get a tip-plasty and a silicone implant to heighten it. I adamantly refused.
Then she said my eyes were rather small and suggested that I "elongate it" by getting a medial epicanthoplasty. I had never heard of it. She explained the procedure to me assuring me that "many" patients get it and that it was totally natural and common. I refused and said I only wanted my lips augmented.
She said I would need to get fat graft from my abdomen and transfer the fat to plump up my lips. As she said, "it is the only way to achieve the natural look" I was thinking juvederm or restylane would have been simple method but she said they were not natural but synthetic therefore potentially harmful. (In retrospect, she was trying to make more money for the clinic. As I later found out fat graft is 3 times the cost of fillers and both achieve the same effect.)
I eventually agreed but I didn't understand why I would have to go under total anesthesia for lip augmentation. She said they would need to numb my stomach area and extract fat. She agreed it was pretty intense for lip augmentation so she said I should get cheek augmentation as well.
I never considered it but she brought the mirror up to my face and showed me that my cheeks were hollow. She said it would give me a more "youthful" look which was ironic because I was only 22. Then she retracted her comment and said "most young people get it to heighten their cheekbones, you know to achieve the western look."
So after coaxing me for about an hour, I agreed to the procedure and my total cost went from $1,500 to $3,000. She said that getting two procedures done would be better because I "needed" the cheek improvement and that I might as well get it now than later since I would have to go through the pain and downtime twice.
I then asked, when I was going to see the doctor. She paused and went "Oh you wanted to the see the doctor?" I was surprised. Yes, I would like to see the person who is performing surgery on my face. She grew impatient and said he would say the same thing. After seeing that I was not satisfied, she abruptly left the room.
When I met the doctor, he was uninterested, tired, and bored. I would assume after performing on so many people. He seemed to view it as another procedure rather than another patient. He barely answered my questions and agreed to what the consultant said over his shoulder and nodded his head.
I was then told to head back to the lobby. I was given a card and told to go home and come back on the day of surgery. Everything that I went through would have been easily forgiven if not for the results of my surgery. What happened next is every patient's nightmare.
On surgery day, I was rudely escorted to the operation room and the doctor nowhere in sight. They injected some fluids into me and put me under anesthesia.
The next thing I know, I wake up with my face fully bandaged and my stomach feeling like a ton of brick fell upon it. The nurses told me it was totally natural and told me to go to the waiting area. I was literally told to get off the operation table and walk myself out of the room because they had to clear it for the next incoming patient. This is when I knew this place was like a factory with people moving in and out like a conveyor belt. I was disgusted.
I went to another room with three makeshift cots crammed in one room. The beds were already occupied so I settled myself down on a steel chair (right after having surgery they couldn't even provide a laying area.) Finally when a patient vacated the bed, I got to lay down for the first time but about 30 minutes later a nurse came in and said "I was good to go" and that I should leave since there are other patients waiting. I was appalled. I got myself out of bed, undressed, and left the clinic with no assistance. You would think after having fat removed from your abdomen and having stitches they would provide a wheelchair.
As I said before, up to this point, everything could have been forgiven only if my results were satisfactory. However, they were FAR from satisfactory, my face currently looks botched up by unnecessary fat injections on my face. My face is asymmetrical because the doctor applied fat right above my cheekbone instead below, making me look like the bride of Chucky. My lips are asymmetrical as well because he put more fat into one side than the other. So people ask me why I am smirking all the time! I purposely have add more lipstick on one side. My volume of my lips has not changed at all as the fat has reabsorbed into my body in a matter of a few days.
The only thing left is a crooked smile and disfigured cheeks which show signs of small bumps in the light. I called the clinic multiple times but they were unresponsive. They are fully aware that I can't visit their office because I am overseas in the U.S. and they took full advantage of it.
Finally, when I threatened to visit them, the doctor was put on the line and told me he would re-perform the surgery. I refused and asked for my money back. He said he could not do that. If this surgery was performed in the states, I would sue them through and through for medical malpractice and emotional distress but I know nothing about Korea and their laws which puts me in a very difficult and frustrating position.
I consulted with a plastic surgeon in the states and he said the doctor who performed surgery was not experienced and skilled in fat injections. He told me NOT trust this doctor and recommended that I no longer receive any services from him.
At this point, I regret ever going BK Clinic. Not only is my face disfigured, I can do nothing about it. I don't know how to sue in a foreign country and they know it. All I can do is wait until it "settles" and consider reconstructive surgery later in the future. More than anything, I am so angry that I went ahead with the surgery when all the signs were so clear to me in the beginining.
1.) Crowded area with too many patients and too few staff
2.) Complaining patients who were brushed off with false assurances
3.) Marketing procedures a patient does not need or want
4.) Price inflation on surgery procedure
5.) Absence of the doctor performing surgery
6.) Grandiose Advertising and Promotions
7.) Lack of customer service or consideration pre-op and post-op
8.) Ruining someone's appearance and NOT taking responsibility for it.
I called around to other Plastic Surgery Clinics in Seoul to see if the behavior at BK was what was considered normal in Korea and they were very responsive. Both Oz and Rosee Clinic offer full refund of your money and take responsibility if the procedure goes wrong or not to the patient's satisfaction.
These are the clinics I called:
Rosee Plastic Surgery
Oz Plastic Surgery
For anyone considering plastic surgery, I would advise to do your research.
1.) Do it in your home country, so as a consumer you know your rights
If you do it overseas, thinking they are more skilled or cheaper you are dead wrong.
Problems arising from overseas plastic surgery is 10 times worse since you are a foreigner.
2.) Do you research. Just because the place is well-known, popular, or have an established website DOES NOT mean they are skilled at what they do. What it means is, that they invested alot of money on PR and advertising to make their clinic seem so. The best way to find out if a clinic is trust worthy is from references through friends or family who personally had a procedure done at the place.
3.) Do not settle for less. Ask for the doctor during your consultation and no one else. If the place seems like a conveyor belt, get the hell out. They don't care about your well-being you're just a number. They care about your money and how soon they can get you in and out.
