How to go from 50+ to looking 20+ with plastic surgery rejuvenation.
- Thread starter MissOrange
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
- Status
@EmmaDr 선생님 you win by a month! LOL! Okay need to explain better. Dr Hyoseok Seo of Seoul, Korea does eyes, noses and facial fat graft. He does not do smas facelifts. I had my smas facelift done in the UK due to covid travel restrictions.
Hi @EmmaDr, I had filler in my upper lip removed surgically during a vermillion border lip lift by Dr Choi at MVP in July 2016 as it gave me a trout pout or duck lips. I then had my upper lip everted and a full thickness bullhorn lip lift performed by Miss Caroline Mills a maxillofacial consultant surgeon in Jan 2017. Never needed lip filler ever again as the lip eversion left me with permanently fuller lips and I apply carmex lip balm to my lips every day which is also known to plump lips. My lower lip must have plumped up from years of daily carmex lip balm as it never got filler or surgery.
Hi @Gats, thank you for the link to Karam’s video. Really useful. I think the cut off age of 45 he mentions may apply to Westerners but not to Asians who age slower. I have put a collage together to demonstrate that facial fat graft alone corrected my loss of facial volume. This was before I had a facelift. I did not have sagging just profound loss of volume at age 50 (in the bottom left pic), aargh the dreaded ugly menoface. Excuse the eyes as it was the next morning after Dr Seo had operated on my eyes and I still had sutures, purple ink marks on my lids and below my eyes and bruising. Interestingly it shows that eyebrow tattooing makes a big difference when comparing the pics. Ellen at MVP advised me to get eyebrow tattooing when she first saw me in 2016. At the time it cost $200 but the lady they use was not available so I paid a lot more to have it done in the UK when I got back.
The top pic is me in 2019 at 53 next to former Korean ambassador to the UK Enna Park aged 57. By this time I had had 4 full facial fat transfers. I think what eventually created lower face sagging was the number of times I kept going back for more facial fat graft top ups and the subsequent strain on my facial skin from repeated skin stretching after the 5th facial transfer. My facial skin had reached its limit from repeated profound swelling, made worse as I chose to fly back to the UK on a 12 hour flight on days 2/3 which is the worst for swelling and this contributed to sagging after I deswelled. I did not know back then how to retain facial fat graft but now I do so I have maintained my fat graft for almost 4 years with no need for a further top up. If you have no skin sagging then yes you can try full face fat graft without a facelift and even one top up but make sure you control the postop swelling with postop steroids for a week. My case is unique in that I had 5 facial fat transfers (3 at DA (2016-2017) and 2 at MVP (2018 and top up 2020).
As for should you get fat transfer at the same time as a facelift, the answer is no. This applies to breast lift with fat transfer also. The trauma of a face or breast lift to the tissues would not be a conducive environment for fragile fat transfer cells to take and may lead to faster reabsorption of the newly grafted fat cells.
Also the best time of year to get any fat transfer is in the warm months as the cold weather may not help the grafted cells survive. Seriously this tip occurred to me just now as I recall thinking my 2nd full face fat graft in hot September in Korea looked so good but when I returned to the cold UK it started to reabsorb. I did not know to keep feeding the fat cells foods high in fat and protein back in 2016.
Hi @kaixin05 there are 2 facial fat transfer doctors in Seoul who are excellent, Dr Seo who is a board certified plastic surgeon and Dr Hong who is just a doctor with no board certification in surgery. Dr Seo has a consultant anaesthetist administer IV sedation vs Dr Hong injects himself without the presence of an anaesthetist. I am averse to medical mishap risk which is why I opted for Dr Seo.
As for whether to use refridgerated harvested spare fat vs newly harvested fat for top up, the latter is better as cold kills fat cells.
Hi @kaixin05 yes he was the doctor at MVP. He has his own clinic now Machimpyo by Apgujeong metro station. The kakao for the clinic is handled by an English translator. You can kakao for a quote based on photos but to book a consult and surgery one needs to provide flight details and pay a 10% deposit. His price for what I had revision DES, ptosis correction and upper lid fat graft is now 4.3 million won for January 2024 (high season and 7 years later price). I paid 3.5 million won in May 2016 (low season and paid with cash for this price). I think any mature lady with hollow wrinkled eyelids should strongly consider Dr Seo as no one else that I know of does upper lid fat graft.
@EmmaDr don’t laugh but this is me in 2023. People treat me like a kid asking if my bank account belongs to my mother and calling for the bank manager to question me, supermarket staff offering to help me use the self service till when I don’t need help, train station staff asking me if I am lost when I am not lost, etc. Life is hard looking 19 when you are 57.5! This is what happens when you have one too many facial fat grafts! lol. The more you get in Korea, the younger you look. I’ll never forget the 40 year old lady at MVP I saw who literally looked 12!
Last edited:
I am so excited that I am helping a close friend take the first steps to rejuvenation. Dr Seo at Machimpyo kindly gave her a discount as she mentioned my blogger name. She is literally only paying 500,000 won (£300) more than I paid in 2016 for the exact same procedures and she is having it done 8 years after and when post covid pricing has shot up global pricing! It looks like I shall be flying out to Korea Jan 22-29 and arriving on the 23rd. I can accompany her to her consult, operation and help with her recovery. It also gives me an opportunity for another selfie with Dr Seo for the year 2024! And I won’t be bruised or swollen in the selfie. lol. He can see my, by then, almost 8 year old eyes he gave me and how the last facial fat graft in Jan 2020 is still there thanks to me finally figuring out how to retain newly fat grafted cells.
It reminds me of the excitement of my first trip to Korea to see Dr Seo in May 2016 after chatting with and reading Rebecca’s blog http://deskorea.blogspot.com/. She was an avid poster here on tpf as @smittenkitten and she kindly allowed me to chat with her off tpf. The fact she flew all the way from Australia to Korea and how Dr Seo fixed her eyes botched in Thailand and turned her eyes into sexy vixen eyes was truly remarkable. Now I feel I have returned the favour to someone else and can’t wait to see the transformation in my mature friend. She too will go from 50s to much younger with the first surgery and step to rejuvenation. Too often in the UK and US plastic surgeons omit the fact that hollowing upper lids is a strong sign of aging and should be addressed. Instead of fat graft they either refer the patient to an oculoplastic surgeon or try to fill with filler. Yet none have the experience with permanent autologous fat graft like Korea does who have used this method for decades for rejuvenation. I saw these photos on the MVP website and loved the sexy eyes and also later had the facial fat graft too like in the b&a photos.
Another lady got a quote for incisional double eyelid surgery from JK for a whopping 4.39 m won! And this does not include ptosis muscle correction so may drop in 1-2 years. Compare this to Machimpyo’s price of 2.7m won for revision or secondary incisional double eyelid surgery. And because JK is a big hospital you may not know if you have a ghost doctor do your surgery or a junior doctor. This is another reason to pick a clinic with 1-3 doctors max. I have said many times to be careful of larger hospitals as they may overcharge foreigners and more so if you are Chinese as there may be unconscious bias against the Chinese by some Koreans.
It reminds me of the excitement of my first trip to Korea to see Dr Seo in May 2016 after chatting with and reading Rebecca’s blog http://deskorea.blogspot.com/. She was an avid poster here on tpf as @smittenkitten and she kindly allowed me to chat with her off tpf. The fact she flew all the way from Australia to Korea and how Dr Seo fixed her eyes botched in Thailand and turned her eyes into sexy vixen eyes was truly remarkable. Now I feel I have returned the favour to someone else and can’t wait to see the transformation in my mature friend. She too will go from 50s to much younger with the first surgery and step to rejuvenation. Too often in the UK and US plastic surgeons omit the fact that hollowing upper lids is a strong sign of aging and should be addressed. Instead of fat graft they either refer the patient to an oculoplastic surgeon or try to fill with filler. Yet none have the experience with permanent autologous fat graft like Korea does who have used this method for decades for rejuvenation. I saw these photos on the MVP website and loved the sexy eyes and also later had the facial fat graft too like in the b&a photos.
Another lady got a quote for incisional double eyelid surgery from JK for a whopping 4.39 m won! And this does not include ptosis muscle correction so may drop in 1-2 years. Compare this to Machimpyo’s price of 2.7m won for revision or secondary incisional double eyelid surgery. And because JK is a big hospital you may not know if you have a ghost doctor do your surgery or a junior doctor. This is another reason to pick a clinic with 1-3 doctors max. I have said many times to be careful of larger hospitals as they may overcharge foreigners and more so if you are Chinese as there may be unconscious bias against the Chinese by some Koreans.
Last edited:
I wish I had your problem, @MissOrange. Nothing better than aging backwards! 🤣 🥰
@MissOrange, Is Dr. Seo someone you'd trust for a SMAS lift?
@MissOrange Thank you for this very helpful thread that you created. I've been following you for several years (but just lurking around). I decided to send some questions today as I just had some procedures done, hope you could answer when finding time 
- Do you know if fat graft to upper lid can be performed WITHOUT incisional eyelid surgery? I just had my Revision DES done together with upper lid fat graft. I'm almost 4 weeks out and noticed the hollowness on my upper lid is slowly creeping back. I'm thinking of another round of upper lid fat graft earlier next year, but don't really fancy the idea of having another incisional surgery on my eyelid.
- Is it better to have a 2nd round of fat graft (full face or upper lid) within a specific time frame? like 3months? 6 months? Or it doesn't matter?
- I remember you mentioned a rich fat + protein diet after facial fat graft. Could you advise what kind of food specifically? Salmon, avocados, olive oil and so forth? Just wanna make sure I'm not compromising my health by taking too much fat (and unhealthy fat).
- I also had facial fat graft and now (after almost 4 weeks post-op) it seems like only 20% is left (compared to right after operation, which included a lot of swelling as far as I understand). Do you have any recommendation of how to retain this precious 20% of fat as much as possible? My face looks so gaunt again and I honestly don't want to go back to my pre-op face.
Hi @huongkhanmoon, thank you for reading my posts for several years! Well done!
Here are my answers to your questions:
1. Yes you can get eyelid fat graft top up on its own without incisional DES.
2. Usually fat graft is offered with either one free top up within 3-6 months or top up for a much reduced price at a year.
3. and 4. The key to fat graft survival is to GAIN weight. This is why I suggest being a few lbs under your ideal weight before you get fat graft. If you are losing facial fat graft early that means you need to eat double what you are eating to gain weight. Things that may cause fat graft to shrink is freezing cold weather (so turn the heater up to max while indoors and try to avoid going out in the cold as much as possible), losing weight and dehydration (so avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water). As for what to eat, bulgogi is high in fat and protein, avocados, olive oil, salmon, peanuts and then if you are still not gaining weight you may need to add doughnuts, cakes, muffins, ice cream temporarily until the fat is restored. It is vital to keep feeding the fat cells in your face even if it means gaining 5-7 lbs. Once the fat has taken in 3-4 months, then you may eat less and wean yourself off unhealthy fats and stick to a healthy diet of fat and protein.
Here are my answers to your questions:
1. Yes you can get eyelid fat graft top up on its own without incisional DES.
2. Usually fat graft is offered with either one free top up within 3-6 months or top up for a much reduced price at a year.
3. and 4. The key to fat graft survival is to GAIN weight. This is why I suggest being a few lbs under your ideal weight before you get fat graft. If you are losing facial fat graft early that means you need to eat double what you are eating to gain weight. Things that may cause fat graft to shrink is freezing cold weather (so turn the heater up to max while indoors and try to avoid going out in the cold as much as possible), losing weight and dehydration (so avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water). As for what to eat, bulgogi is high in fat and protein, avocados, olive oil, salmon, peanuts and then if you are still not gaining weight you may need to add doughnuts, cakes, muffins, ice cream temporarily until the fat is restored. It is vital to keep feeding the fat cells in your face even if it means gaining 5-7 lbs. Once the fat has taken in 3-4 months, then you may eat less and wean yourself off unhealthy fats and stick to a healthy diet of fat and protein.
Today’s post is on ageing hands! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...Pepp2hmY0_-l7QKBW6osLfB79jqvYfGlbnxHdfMhlUOdk
Nicole Kidman is a classic example of what happens when your hands age and have a history of chronic sun exposure, so what can you do? Fat graft or fillers like radiesse may plump up volume in bony hands but what do you do to sun damaged skin?
I use 30% glycolic acid (purchased on ebay uk) and apply it with a Q tip to any age spot for as long as I can endure the sting…3 to 5 minutes then wash off with copious water. Age or sun spots may appear on the back of hands or side of cheeks from sun exposure while driving. This will disappear after application of glycolic acid. I also use garnier aloe vera to moisturise my hands regularly to prevent crepey skin. I do not have bulging veins which is another sign of aging hands. My left hand is the middle pic.
The bottom pic demonstrates aging hands with multiple age/sun spots. I need to put a pair of driving gloves in the car to prevent my hands aging like this in my 70s or 80s. At this stage, one may need laser or a chemical peel.
I next have to tackle my neck as I have forgotten to apply sunscreen or foundation with spf to my neck for decades!
Nicole Kidman is a classic example of what happens when your hands age and have a history of chronic sun exposure, so what can you do? Fat graft or fillers like radiesse may plump up volume in bony hands but what do you do to sun damaged skin?
I use 30% glycolic acid (purchased on ebay uk) and apply it with a Q tip to any age spot for as long as I can endure the sting…3 to 5 minutes then wash off with copious water. Age or sun spots may appear on the back of hands or side of cheeks from sun exposure while driving. This will disappear after application of glycolic acid. I also use garnier aloe vera to moisturise my hands regularly to prevent crepey skin. I do not have bulging veins which is another sign of aging hands. My left hand is the middle pic.
The bottom pic demonstrates aging hands with multiple age/sun spots. I need to put a pair of driving gloves in the car to prevent my hands aging like this in my 70s or 80s. At this stage, one may need laser or a chemical peel.
I next have to tackle my neck as I have forgotten to apply sunscreen or foundation with spf to my neck for decades!
Last edited:
OMG this is super helpful. Thank you so much. I wish I'd asked you earlier before the surgery. Never thought the severe fat absorption would happen to me...
I was going out all the time after my surgery. It was cold, and yes, freezing cold. I was exposed to the cold most of the time, at least for 10 days post-op. and I'm not a person who can easily gain weight.
Do you think now that I'm almost at 4 weeks post, it's still not too late to put on some weight?
Hi @huongkhanmoon, I am sorry to hear you went out in the freezing cold for 10 days postop. OMG! You did a version of cryolipolysis (fat freezing) which kills fat cells! I don’t know how many fat cells were killed. I guess the only thing to do now is force feed yourself fat and protein to gain weight and hope you have some grafted fat cells that are still viable. The remaining fat cells can hypertrophy/expand as long as you feed it fat and keep warm! If you need to book a top up, pick a surgery date in a hot month.
Had to share this screenshot of an article written earlier this year. The headline is so true! It even shows a photo of MVP clinic where I had my eyes done, full face fat graft and vermillion lip lift. Here is a collage comparing me at age 47 in 2013 to me at age 57 in 2023. I have obscured my daughter’s face but she was 16 in the top pic and 26 in the bottom. I truly did come back looking like a whole new person like a scene from the Stepford wives sci fi film.
S Korea truly is an addictive place for plastic surgery. Too many trips and you could get the Korean nickname plastic surgery monster or gangnam face!
S Korea truly is an addictive place for plastic surgery. Too many trips and you could get the Korean nickname plastic surgery monster or gangnam face!
Thanks! I will keep this in mind for my top up. Doc advised to walk as much as possible for faster deswelling, that's why I spent most of my time awake to walk around Seoul lol. Never thought I would kill the precious fat, not to mention my surgeon was quite conservative with fat injected to my face.
I really miss my face 2 weeks ago!!!
But on the bright side, I kinda had a sneak peek of how much better my face would look when it's fuller.Can we have as many fat graft sessions as we want in our lifetime?
For upper lid fat graft, do you know if the fat tends to retain better there? Or does it also suffer from absorption as on face?
Is fat from inner thighs or from belly better for retention rate?
That's a lot of questions, but thank you
Last edited:
- Status