The 7 procedures I got at Remus were revision rhinoplasty, philtrum reduction, sliding genioplasty with mini v-line, sub brow lift, under eye fat repositioning, full face fat graft, and chin liposuction. I won’t be sharing my photos, but otherwise I will answer any other questions about my personal experience with consultation and surgery processes. It’s a very lengthy review, so please skip to the places you find relevant if you don’t want to read the whole thing.
Surgery Considerations and Consultations
So I went to Seoul in February for about four days for consults at 6 clinics on my shortlist (that I have researched and consulted online beforehand). My initial shortlist coming to Seoul was One Percent, JT, Eight, DA, BT and Arc. I was looking to address my overall flat face which consisted of my weak chin, deviated septum/nose proportion, and overall flat sunken face.
I was looking for was a skilled doctor, or team of skilled doctors who would be able to do rhino, fc and fat surgeries all at the same time. I did not want to go undergo multiple surgeries at multiple clinics. Also, I was looking for a surgeon skilled in revision rhinoplasty, as my nose is a pretty complicated case as according to my initial rhinoplasty surgeon. I had limited and thin skin, short upturned nose and contraction from my previous gore-tex implant. I specially wanted a doctor who was skilled enough to remove the goretex without damaging my already limited skin.
Retmus was initially not part of list and I didn’t even know they existed (at the time). I coincidentally got to talking to a someone who had surgery recently at Retmus in KKT. We had similar cases and nose pre-surgery (goretex removal, revision surgery for short, upturned and contracted nose). On my first night there we had met for dinner and I noticed her post-op result was really nice, so I took a chanced and contacted them for a consult. Thankfully they were able to fit me in on my trip.
To summarize, most of consults on this trip were fine, they generally took about 2.5-3 hours due to the multiple procedures and doctors I was meeting. I could fit about 2-3 consults in per day. Some clinics are famous for one type of surgery, but sometimes certain doctor’s vision didn’t really align with what I wanted for myself despite nice B&As and good reviews.
Top contenders by the end of the trip were JT and Retmus, who provided me with a clear plan (for all the surgeries and the reasons how each surgery would contribute to my final outcome). I was quite clear and upfront with all the clinics that I wouldn’t be deciding a clinic on this trip as I wanted time to go home and consider all the surgical plans and options. As I would be getting a lot of procedures done in one time, I checked how busy each clinic was, and how much time ahead I would need to schedule my surgery as a factor in my decision making.
Consultation with Retmus
Retmus requires you to bring your own English language translator for consultations, surgery day and discharge day. Despite this, Dr Chung speaks English at a native level. Retmus has a fee for consultation, if I remembered correctly it was about 30,000 KRW. At first, they take you in for photos and CT scans. Then I consulted with the beauty consultant about what surgeries and results I was looking for. For some parts of my face, I had a desired result in mind, but wasn’t sure what surgery would help me achieve the look I wanted. Their consultants were extremely kind and understanding. They helped me articulate things I couldn’t quite put into words, so it was helpful. I also got to talk to the consultant again about the overall surgical plan after speaking with each doctor (and to confirm which surgeries I would consider doing). We also discussed prices after doctor consults, surgery precautions, recovery duration and other trip related considerations I would need to plan for.
Revision Rhinoplasty and Philtrum Reduction
The first doctor I got to meet was Dr Chung, we conversed in English. He’s quite known for his scarless philtrum reduction and expertise in revision rhinoplasty. We discussed in detail about my facial proportions and what nose I would end up with to best match my facial features. My goretex implant from my primary rhinoplasty 13 years ago at this point was deviated, upturned and contracted. I also had a pinched nose (diamond shaped nostrils) and uneven nostrils from my primary rhinoplasty. According to him, all the old materials would need to be taken out, my bridge height lowered slightly to allocate more skin to lengthening my nose, downturn the tip and correct the angle of my alar. The revision rhino in addition to the philtrum reduction would help my face look less long and balance out the top half and bottom half of my face.
The materials to be used would be dermofat for my bridge as I have thin skin and using materials like silicone would stretch out the skin and make me look like I had a rod in my nose. For deviated septum correction and work on my tip, I would be using donated rib cartilage and my own conchal (ear) cartilage. We discussed in detail the angle of my tip, the height and curve of my bridge, where the dermofat bridge augmentation would start as I was very specific on what I wanted my nose to look like. Dr Chung was quite honest regarding the limitations of my rhinoplasty based on the available limited and thin skin I had (which I already knew about since my primary rhinoplasty) and assured me he would do his best. This is probably one of the most detailed rhinoplasty consults I’ve had.
Sliding Genioplasty with Mini V-line
Dr Chung would also be doing my sliding genioplasty with mini v line. I trusted him to do my genioplasty as he used to be the former director at ID Hospital Maxillofacial Center. I have people who I know personally that did fc with ID back when it was popular over 10 years ago that looks amazing to this day, so I trusted him completely to not overdo the bone cutting. He looked at my CT scans and helped me determine the amount of advancement I would need based on his evaluation of the Rickett’s E-line. As I have a very weak chin, he estimated that he would need to advance my chin by about 4-5mm. He actually drew this out for me to see using the images from my CT scan during the consult. I asked him to help determine this again on the operating table based on my new nose as I trusted his judgement and keen eye. He would also do a T-shaped osteotomy and remove about 2mm to narrow my chin a little to fit better with the genioplasty advancement. The removal of bone was minimal as I didn’t want a sharp chin and would prefer to keep my rounded face. He ended up advancing my chin by 6mm.
Sub Brow Lift
Another surgery I had Dr Chung do was a sub brow lift. I didn’t need double eyelid surgery as according to most of my consults, as I had pretty double eyelids already. The only thing I would be need is to remove the excess skin which was weighing down on my eyes and making me look always sleepy and tired. More skin would be removed from the outer edge as my eyes were beginning to sag in my mid 30s. This was preferable to getting excess skin removed on my eyelid as this would hide the scar under my eyebrow line instead of having a scar on my double lid. Dr Chung assured me no hair follicles would be damaged in this procedure. We discussed removing a tiny bit more skin on my right eye as the sagging was worse on that side to help balance and even out both of my eyes.
Face Fat Graft, Under Eye Fat Repositioning and Chin Lipo
I had a consultation with Dr Lee right after as he was the fat surgery specialist. We talked about the procedures I would be getting with Dr Chung, and what it would change and what other additions and reductions I would need. I told him about how I was unhappy my face was hollowing out the past few years due to aging and stress, making me look a lot older than I was. The main point I emphasized was that I wanted a balanced and proportionate face. Specifically my forehead and chin. My forehead was recessed, making my eyebrows jut out, and my temples were sunken, making me look like I needed zygoma reduction.
Thankfully the doctors at Retmus advised me against zygoma reduction saying I already have a small face, and the reason my cheekbones look like they were jutting out was because my temples were sunken. This could be resolved with forehead fat graft, with fat taken from my inner thighs. Regarding my lower face, Dr Lee advised against buccal fat removal saying it would age me even more, that the advancement of my chin would stretch my skin and address my sagging jowls. He suggested chin lipo after genioplasty to help define my weak chin a bit more.
Other areas we talked about to help reverse signs of aging were to reposition fat and add a bit more under my eyes as it was sunken and hollow, adding more fat to the hollows of my outer cheek near my ears, and adding a bit of fat to nasolabial folds. Combined with philtrum reduction, the addition of fat would help minimize the look of my protruding mouth and fill out the shadows on my face. He advised me against adding too much fat as it would look unnatural. I initially wanted a bit more and a rounded forehead, but he advised me against this as well as my face was small, and adding too much fat would make my face unbalanced. I also had asked him to take a look at me after rhinoplasty, sliding genioplasty and sub brow lift to help add fat to areas that may need additional fat.
Pre Surgery Planning
At this point, I went home already knowing in my heart which PS clinic I wanted to go with that aligned with the outcome I wanted. I just wanted some time to sleep on and process the information as this was a major decision and a lot of information overload the past few days.
I highly suggest everyone take some time to go for consults and taking some time before putting down a deposit and deciding, as some clinics that I thought I liked ended up not seeing the vision I wanted for myself despite amazing before and afters. Retmus wasn’t the choice I thought I would end up with, as all throughout the online research process, I was pretty sure I would pick the other short listed clinics, which ended up having surgery plans that didn’t fit my vision.
I took about a week to finally decide and placed my deposit with Retmus, book my flight tickets, book airbnbs, and began prepping for the rough recovery ahead. I would say at this point, I was more excited rather than nervous or scared. I had experience with a few surgeries before (cosmetic and other medically necessary procedures) so I was familiar with recovery under general anesthesia. Some friends and family were worried about me undergoing so many procedures alone, but honestly I wasn’t really scared.
Final Consultation
My surgery was scheduled on a Monday March 17<span>th</span>, about a month after my consultation trip. I had asked the consultants to help me schedule a final consult the Friday before surgery to go through the finer details of my surgery as I wanted to discuss in more details about each surgery and what the doctors were going to do to confirm my vision. I brought inspiration photos of people who had facial features similar to mine to articulate changes I want from the surgeries we planned from on our initial consultation and to confirm the doctors saw the same vision for me.
I also spent this time discussing with the beauty consultant about each surgery, the aftercare, the precautions, and signing surgery and consent forms as I wanted to avoid information overload and wanted a stress-free surgery day. I had made payment through international wire transfer at this point, as I didn’t want to show up to surgery and have my card declined for whatever reason. So as much as possible, I got everything out of the way beforehand. I initially wanted them to prescribe my medication for me before so I wouldn’t have to walk to the clinic wrapped up as a mummy, but they told me they would need to test my blood while I was under to see the dosage of medication I would need. I ended up having my translator help me with this.
Surgery Day (Monday)
To be honest. I don’t remember much of the surgery day as it was a blur. I was told to fast about 10 hours before surgery as I was going under general anesthesia. I wasn’t nervous or scared at all and just went through all the motions and instructions by the nurses. I prepped all I could beforehand already so just wanted a relaxing chill surgery day. I came to clinic with my translator, changed into the surgery pajamas, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I met the doctors again so they could blue marker my face and was led into the operating room. The nurses were incredibly kind and made me feel comfortable as they hooked me up to a huge IV on my arm. The only thing I really hate about surgery is how its always so cold in the operating room. I recall being sedated first and being told to lie on my stomach so they could harvest the dermofat from my butt (around buttcrack area). I think I was woken some time after to lie back down on my back. This was around the time I first met the anesthesiologist as she put me under general anasthesia. The only reason I knew it was her was because I saw her photo on the doctor profile on the website.
Next thing I remembered was Dr Chung telling me to wake up and asking how I was feeling. At this point it was around 6pm and I was super groggy and out of it. The surgery ended up taking about 7 or 8 hours. I had bandages on my eyebrows, under eyes, cast on my nose, tape on my chin, and my whole face was wrapped up in bandages topped with a chin compression garment. I recalled the consultant told me I wasn’t allowed to sleep for an hour as I needed to take deep breaths to exhale out all the anesthesia from my lungs. I recall all three doctors taking their turn to check up on me. I was shivering a lot, which was an anticipated effect of general anesthesia so the nurses used heated blankets to warm me up. I wasn’t allowed water for a few hours either. Somehow the concern of dry throat wasn’t as pertinent as I thought it would have been. I couldn’t sleep that well the first night.
By morning, Dr Chung ,Dr Lee, my consultant and anesthesiologist came by to check up on me. By this time the top half of my face has already begun to swell up. I had a bit of trouble opening my eyes due to the swelling so the anesthesiologist squirted lidocaine in my eye to make me more comfortable. Dr Lee and Dr Chung removed a bit off the cast from the side of the bridge as my eyes were so swollen my eyelid was rubbing against the cast a bit. I am so grateful all the doctors, nurses and consultants were extremely kind and attentive and took great care of me. Honestly, at this point I was wondering what I was thinking by doing so many surgeries in one time.
My translator came back to help me discharge by around 10:30AM. Apparently its quite common to give the consultant or your interpreter your card to help them buy medication for you. I wasn’t feeling so well yet so they let me stay until noon. Joy, my translator was amazing throughout the entire experience and helped me take care of my medication and arranging my uber home. She helped me carry all my meds and aftercare stuff to my Airbnb. I was worried I was a bit groggy and dizzy, but the walk to the uber and into my Airbnb was enough to actually wake me up.
Days 0-3 Post Op (Tuesday)
There wasn’t much to say the first 3 days. My aftercare instructions were quite extensive so I just alternated between sleeping, eating and doing all the aftercare as instructed (wound cleaning, gargling, using the compression garment at timely intervals, and using cold compress). I also meal prepped beforehand as I could only take liquid foods for the next 3-4 or so days. Thankfully I had Joy help me order meal replacements and brought along a hand held immersion blender, so I had more variety meal options. It was a cycle of wake up, eat, medicate, wound cleaning, sleep, rinse and repeat. I couldn’t really sleep for long periods of time as forcing myself to sleep on my back elevated wasn’t what I was used to. My butt felt numb. I was sleeping for periods of 2-3 hours at a time before I had to get up and walk around. There was some pain the first 3 days, so I was advised to take Tylenol when needed.
Philtrum reduction made me not able to control my upper lip so well and genioplasty made it hard for me to open and close my mouth. I was using a syringe provided by clinic to drink water. Liquid foods tended to dribble a bit since I couldn’t control my lips well. Eating, medicating and cleaning up took up most of my day. I felt feverish and tired all the time too which was normal so slept a lot for my body to recover.
On day 3, the lower part of my face started swelling up a lot. The swelling has moved from my eyes and the top half of my face down to my cheek and neck. I looked like a swollen chipmunk without a neck. My jaws were still numb at this point, but I could slowly move to semi-solid foods so I had more energy on my walks from this point forward.
Day 4 First Post Op Suture Disinfection Day (Friday)
Can’t begin to explain how good it feels to be less of a mummy. Dr Lee was there to supervise the nurse and evaluate to see if the sutures and bandages were ready to be removed. Dr Lee had the most gentle touch; he made suture and tape removal so pain-free. I’ve had my fair share of cosmetic and medical surgeries, and honestly I would have been happier if the was the one removing all the sutures since he made it look so easy and pain free.
At this point, the tape and gauze came off for my sub brow incisions to dry. Tape came off from under eye fat repositioning. Rhino cast stayed, incisions and nostrils were cleaned. Chin bandaid was replaced. The bandage wrap on my ear was removed and incisions were cleaned. Incision on my thigh and butt (for fat graft and dermofat harvest) was also cleaned and bandages were replaced. On the first appointment, Dr Chung and Dr Lee popped in to answer any questions I had and made sure my incisions were healing nicely.
I had the consultants at the front desk help me book a hair washing service as there was a Juno Hair right in the building. It felt so good to have clean hair after your whole face was mummy wrapped up. Honestly hair wasn’t even that dirty, but the clean hair helped me feel more like myself again after the surgery.
At this point I was settled into a comfortable routine of waking up, eating mushy foods, doing aftercare, sleeping, lunch, aftercare, taking walks in the afternoon walks until dinner, dinner at home, more aftercare and then going to bed.
7 Days Post Op (Monday)
Came into clinic for first suture removal and antibiotic injections. I was seen by both doctors again who commented how nicely I was healing. My face was still very swollen and uneven due to the swelling and fat grafts. I had issues controlling my upper lip still, which the doctor told me was normal. My sutures on my eyebrows, chin, and ear were removed. The nose cast also came off, and half the sutures on my nose came off. Unfortunately, not all the sutures on my nose were ready to be removed and the process was quite painful. I was led into another room where the nurse gave me an antibiotic injection and was allowed to rest for 15 minutes before being sent home. I was told to come back on Thursday to get the rest of the sutures in my nose removed.
At this point, I had finished all the medication from clinic, but was keeping up with gargling, wound cleaning, ointment for incisions, deswelling medication and usage of the compression garment. I had more free time as I was not sleeping so much and had a bit less aftercare to rotate through, so was taking the time to venture further from my apartment and taking the time to go shopping and sightseeing. Weather was quite cold, so I was walking around in a thick coat, my compression wrap, a mask to prevent my nose from leaking too much due to the cold, and a hat to hide my compression wrap. I started eating out around this point as I was starting to be able to take solid foods without making too much of a mess.
10 Days Post Op (Thursday)
Apparently there was only 2-3 sutures left in my nose. It was the usual checkup by both doctors and the nurse cleaning my incisions. No more bandages at this point which was a relief. The nurse noticed my incision on my butt was a bit red, so advised me to sit down even less. At this point I started staying out more and tracking my walking to speed up deswelling.
Day 10 was the first day I treated myself to Korean BBQ (yay to solid foods). I still couldn’t chew well so resorted to cutting up my food finely with scissors at KBBQ. I think being able to chew lightly helped kickstart my deswelling process as I didn’t see a reduction in my midface and lower face swelling until I started eating solid foods and exercising the jaw and face muscles. I had Korean BBQ almost everyday until I flew home.
14 Days Post Op (Monday)
The two week mark is my final appointment with clinic, they took B&A photos at this point. The remaining sutures at this point were the dissolvable stitches in my mouth, which they removed for me and the sutures on my butt from dermofat graft. On my final appointment, I was given final aftercare instructions and saw the doctors for the final time. I am supposed to keep wearing the compression face wrap and gargle still for a month. I was also taught how to tape my nose. Apparently, I’m supposed to tape for 2 months.
I was prescribed silicone nose retainers to wear for six months that would help my healing process and maintain symmetry in my nostrils. The nurse told me to wear it as much as possible, as this would help maintain the nostril shape balance. I’m allowed to take them out throughout the day if I’m working or meeting people. They were a bit expensive and costed about 70,000 KRW per pair. I bought 3 as backup just in case I lose them.
At this point, I was still swollen so I couldn’t really see my final results yet, but the changes look promising. I knew before surgery that I tend to swell a lot and for quite a long time, so I wasn’t so worried. Doctors were also pretty satisfied with my result. I spent the next 2 days buying more deswelling medicine from pharmacy, shopping for last minute gifts, and decluttering the Airbnb to prepare for my trip home. I think the flight home contributed a bit to more swelling, so when I flew back I spent a few days resting at home to recover.
3-4 Weeks Post Op and Final Thoughts
I didn’t get to walk as much home as I did in Korea since it’s hot and rainy. I just reached the 1 month post op period recently and am writing the review now. I am seeing the most deswelling and improvement during this time. I would say I’m about 60-70% deswollen, but currently because I’m sleeping on my side due to habits at home, my deswelling is a bit unevenly right now. I can finally see my neck and chin again and my chipmunk cheeks are going away. My forehead and eyes aren’t so puffy anymore and my nose is starting to settle in. I still have some tinging sensation in my chin and upper lift though overall my face is slowly regaining feeling and movement back. I still look a bit stiff and unnatural though, which I suppose will go away once I regain all movement back in my face.
I’m deswollen enough to actually see and appreciate my forward sliding genio. This was a really long recovery process, and I don’t think I can see the final result yet, but from what I see so far I’m really happy with the outcome! Despite having dome so many procedures, I’m glad I still look like me as each change was relatively subtle. The frontal profile hasn’t change too much, but my face isn’t so flat anymore from the side profile, and I look like I took years off my face. I still have some swelling around my forehead cheeks and chin and some stiffness in my upper lip, but it should go away by the second month.
Overall, the surgeries contributed to my face being more in proportion with each other, symmetry is a lot better and I really like how I look.
Surgery Considerations and Consultations
So I went to Seoul in February for about four days for consults at 6 clinics on my shortlist (that I have researched and consulted online beforehand). My initial shortlist coming to Seoul was One Percent, JT, Eight, DA, BT and Arc. I was looking to address my overall flat face which consisted of my weak chin, deviated septum/nose proportion, and overall flat sunken face.
I was looking for was a skilled doctor, or team of skilled doctors who would be able to do rhino, fc and fat surgeries all at the same time. I did not want to go undergo multiple surgeries at multiple clinics. Also, I was looking for a surgeon skilled in revision rhinoplasty, as my nose is a pretty complicated case as according to my initial rhinoplasty surgeon. I had limited and thin skin, short upturned nose and contraction from my previous gore-tex implant. I specially wanted a doctor who was skilled enough to remove the goretex without damaging my already limited skin.
Retmus was initially not part of list and I didn’t even know they existed (at the time). I coincidentally got to talking to a someone who had surgery recently at Retmus in KKT. We had similar cases and nose pre-surgery (goretex removal, revision surgery for short, upturned and contracted nose). On my first night there we had met for dinner and I noticed her post-op result was really nice, so I took a chanced and contacted them for a consult. Thankfully they were able to fit me in on my trip.
To summarize, most of consults on this trip were fine, they generally took about 2.5-3 hours due to the multiple procedures and doctors I was meeting. I could fit about 2-3 consults in per day. Some clinics are famous for one type of surgery, but sometimes certain doctor’s vision didn’t really align with what I wanted for myself despite nice B&As and good reviews.
Top contenders by the end of the trip were JT and Retmus, who provided me with a clear plan (for all the surgeries and the reasons how each surgery would contribute to my final outcome). I was quite clear and upfront with all the clinics that I wouldn’t be deciding a clinic on this trip as I wanted time to go home and consider all the surgical plans and options. As I would be getting a lot of procedures done in one time, I checked how busy each clinic was, and how much time ahead I would need to schedule my surgery as a factor in my decision making.
Consultation with Retmus
Retmus requires you to bring your own English language translator for consultations, surgery day and discharge day. Despite this, Dr Chung speaks English at a native level. Retmus has a fee for consultation, if I remembered correctly it was about 30,000 KRW. At first, they take you in for photos and CT scans. Then I consulted with the beauty consultant about what surgeries and results I was looking for. For some parts of my face, I had a desired result in mind, but wasn’t sure what surgery would help me achieve the look I wanted. Their consultants were extremely kind and understanding. They helped me articulate things I couldn’t quite put into words, so it was helpful. I also got to talk to the consultant again about the overall surgical plan after speaking with each doctor (and to confirm which surgeries I would consider doing). We also discussed prices after doctor consults, surgery precautions, recovery duration and other trip related considerations I would need to plan for.
Revision Rhinoplasty and Philtrum Reduction
The first doctor I got to meet was Dr Chung, we conversed in English. He’s quite known for his scarless philtrum reduction and expertise in revision rhinoplasty. We discussed in detail about my facial proportions and what nose I would end up with to best match my facial features. My goretex implant from my primary rhinoplasty 13 years ago at this point was deviated, upturned and contracted. I also had a pinched nose (diamond shaped nostrils) and uneven nostrils from my primary rhinoplasty. According to him, all the old materials would need to be taken out, my bridge height lowered slightly to allocate more skin to lengthening my nose, downturn the tip and correct the angle of my alar. The revision rhino in addition to the philtrum reduction would help my face look less long and balance out the top half and bottom half of my face.
The materials to be used would be dermofat for my bridge as I have thin skin and using materials like silicone would stretch out the skin and make me look like I had a rod in my nose. For deviated septum correction and work on my tip, I would be using donated rib cartilage and my own conchal (ear) cartilage. We discussed in detail the angle of my tip, the height and curve of my bridge, where the dermofat bridge augmentation would start as I was very specific on what I wanted my nose to look like. Dr Chung was quite honest regarding the limitations of my rhinoplasty based on the available limited and thin skin I had (which I already knew about since my primary rhinoplasty) and assured me he would do his best. This is probably one of the most detailed rhinoplasty consults I’ve had.
Sliding Genioplasty with Mini V-line
Dr Chung would also be doing my sliding genioplasty with mini v line. I trusted him to do my genioplasty as he used to be the former director at ID Hospital Maxillofacial Center. I have people who I know personally that did fc with ID back when it was popular over 10 years ago that looks amazing to this day, so I trusted him completely to not overdo the bone cutting. He looked at my CT scans and helped me determine the amount of advancement I would need based on his evaluation of the Rickett’s E-line. As I have a very weak chin, he estimated that he would need to advance my chin by about 4-5mm. He actually drew this out for me to see using the images from my CT scan during the consult. I asked him to help determine this again on the operating table based on my new nose as I trusted his judgement and keen eye. He would also do a T-shaped osteotomy and remove about 2mm to narrow my chin a little to fit better with the genioplasty advancement. The removal of bone was minimal as I didn’t want a sharp chin and would prefer to keep my rounded face. He ended up advancing my chin by 6mm.
Sub Brow Lift
Another surgery I had Dr Chung do was a sub brow lift. I didn’t need double eyelid surgery as according to most of my consults, as I had pretty double eyelids already. The only thing I would be need is to remove the excess skin which was weighing down on my eyes and making me look always sleepy and tired. More skin would be removed from the outer edge as my eyes were beginning to sag in my mid 30s. This was preferable to getting excess skin removed on my eyelid as this would hide the scar under my eyebrow line instead of having a scar on my double lid. Dr Chung assured me no hair follicles would be damaged in this procedure. We discussed removing a tiny bit more skin on my right eye as the sagging was worse on that side to help balance and even out both of my eyes.
Face Fat Graft, Under Eye Fat Repositioning and Chin Lipo
I had a consultation with Dr Lee right after as he was the fat surgery specialist. We talked about the procedures I would be getting with Dr Chung, and what it would change and what other additions and reductions I would need. I told him about how I was unhappy my face was hollowing out the past few years due to aging and stress, making me look a lot older than I was. The main point I emphasized was that I wanted a balanced and proportionate face. Specifically my forehead and chin. My forehead was recessed, making my eyebrows jut out, and my temples were sunken, making me look like I needed zygoma reduction.
Thankfully the doctors at Retmus advised me against zygoma reduction saying I already have a small face, and the reason my cheekbones look like they were jutting out was because my temples were sunken. This could be resolved with forehead fat graft, with fat taken from my inner thighs. Regarding my lower face, Dr Lee advised against buccal fat removal saying it would age me even more, that the advancement of my chin would stretch my skin and address my sagging jowls. He suggested chin lipo after genioplasty to help define my weak chin a bit more.
Other areas we talked about to help reverse signs of aging were to reposition fat and add a bit more under my eyes as it was sunken and hollow, adding more fat to the hollows of my outer cheek near my ears, and adding a bit of fat to nasolabial folds. Combined with philtrum reduction, the addition of fat would help minimize the look of my protruding mouth and fill out the shadows on my face. He advised me against adding too much fat as it would look unnatural. I initially wanted a bit more and a rounded forehead, but he advised me against this as well as my face was small, and adding too much fat would make my face unbalanced. I also had asked him to take a look at me after rhinoplasty, sliding genioplasty and sub brow lift to help add fat to areas that may need additional fat.
Pre Surgery Planning
At this point, I went home already knowing in my heart which PS clinic I wanted to go with that aligned with the outcome I wanted. I just wanted some time to sleep on and process the information as this was a major decision and a lot of information overload the past few days.
I highly suggest everyone take some time to go for consults and taking some time before putting down a deposit and deciding, as some clinics that I thought I liked ended up not seeing the vision I wanted for myself despite amazing before and afters. Retmus wasn’t the choice I thought I would end up with, as all throughout the online research process, I was pretty sure I would pick the other short listed clinics, which ended up having surgery plans that didn’t fit my vision.
I took about a week to finally decide and placed my deposit with Retmus, book my flight tickets, book airbnbs, and began prepping for the rough recovery ahead. I would say at this point, I was more excited rather than nervous or scared. I had experience with a few surgeries before (cosmetic and other medically necessary procedures) so I was familiar with recovery under general anesthesia. Some friends and family were worried about me undergoing so many procedures alone, but honestly I wasn’t really scared.
Final Consultation
My surgery was scheduled on a Monday March 17<span>th</span>, about a month after my consultation trip. I had asked the consultants to help me schedule a final consult the Friday before surgery to go through the finer details of my surgery as I wanted to discuss in more details about each surgery and what the doctors were going to do to confirm my vision. I brought inspiration photos of people who had facial features similar to mine to articulate changes I want from the surgeries we planned from on our initial consultation and to confirm the doctors saw the same vision for me.
I also spent this time discussing with the beauty consultant about each surgery, the aftercare, the precautions, and signing surgery and consent forms as I wanted to avoid information overload and wanted a stress-free surgery day. I had made payment through international wire transfer at this point, as I didn’t want to show up to surgery and have my card declined for whatever reason. So as much as possible, I got everything out of the way beforehand. I initially wanted them to prescribe my medication for me before so I wouldn’t have to walk to the clinic wrapped up as a mummy, but they told me they would need to test my blood while I was under to see the dosage of medication I would need. I ended up having my translator help me with this.
Surgery Day (Monday)
To be honest. I don’t remember much of the surgery day as it was a blur. I was told to fast about 10 hours before surgery as I was going under general anesthesia. I wasn’t nervous or scared at all and just went through all the motions and instructions by the nurses. I prepped all I could beforehand already so just wanted a relaxing chill surgery day. I came to clinic with my translator, changed into the surgery pajamas, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I met the doctors again so they could blue marker my face and was led into the operating room. The nurses were incredibly kind and made me feel comfortable as they hooked me up to a huge IV on my arm. The only thing I really hate about surgery is how its always so cold in the operating room. I recall being sedated first and being told to lie on my stomach so they could harvest the dermofat from my butt (around buttcrack area). I think I was woken some time after to lie back down on my back. This was around the time I first met the anesthesiologist as she put me under general anasthesia. The only reason I knew it was her was because I saw her photo on the doctor profile on the website.
Next thing I remembered was Dr Chung telling me to wake up and asking how I was feeling. At this point it was around 6pm and I was super groggy and out of it. The surgery ended up taking about 7 or 8 hours. I had bandages on my eyebrows, under eyes, cast on my nose, tape on my chin, and my whole face was wrapped up in bandages topped with a chin compression garment. I recalled the consultant told me I wasn’t allowed to sleep for an hour as I needed to take deep breaths to exhale out all the anesthesia from my lungs. I recall all three doctors taking their turn to check up on me. I was shivering a lot, which was an anticipated effect of general anesthesia so the nurses used heated blankets to warm me up. I wasn’t allowed water for a few hours either. Somehow the concern of dry throat wasn’t as pertinent as I thought it would have been. I couldn’t sleep that well the first night.
By morning, Dr Chung ,Dr Lee, my consultant and anesthesiologist came by to check up on me. By this time the top half of my face has already begun to swell up. I had a bit of trouble opening my eyes due to the swelling so the anesthesiologist squirted lidocaine in my eye to make me more comfortable. Dr Lee and Dr Chung removed a bit off the cast from the side of the bridge as my eyes were so swollen my eyelid was rubbing against the cast a bit. I am so grateful all the doctors, nurses and consultants were extremely kind and attentive and took great care of me. Honestly, at this point I was wondering what I was thinking by doing so many surgeries in one time.
My translator came back to help me discharge by around 10:30AM. Apparently its quite common to give the consultant or your interpreter your card to help them buy medication for you. I wasn’t feeling so well yet so they let me stay until noon. Joy, my translator was amazing throughout the entire experience and helped me take care of my medication and arranging my uber home. She helped me carry all my meds and aftercare stuff to my Airbnb. I was worried I was a bit groggy and dizzy, but the walk to the uber and into my Airbnb was enough to actually wake me up.
Days 0-3 Post Op (Tuesday)
There wasn’t much to say the first 3 days. My aftercare instructions were quite extensive so I just alternated between sleeping, eating and doing all the aftercare as instructed (wound cleaning, gargling, using the compression garment at timely intervals, and using cold compress). I also meal prepped beforehand as I could only take liquid foods for the next 3-4 or so days. Thankfully I had Joy help me order meal replacements and brought along a hand held immersion blender, so I had more variety meal options. It was a cycle of wake up, eat, medicate, wound cleaning, sleep, rinse and repeat. I couldn’t really sleep for long periods of time as forcing myself to sleep on my back elevated wasn’t what I was used to. My butt felt numb. I was sleeping for periods of 2-3 hours at a time before I had to get up and walk around. There was some pain the first 3 days, so I was advised to take Tylenol when needed.
Philtrum reduction made me not able to control my upper lip so well and genioplasty made it hard for me to open and close my mouth. I was using a syringe provided by clinic to drink water. Liquid foods tended to dribble a bit since I couldn’t control my lips well. Eating, medicating and cleaning up took up most of my day. I felt feverish and tired all the time too which was normal so slept a lot for my body to recover.
On day 3, the lower part of my face started swelling up a lot. The swelling has moved from my eyes and the top half of my face down to my cheek and neck. I looked like a swollen chipmunk without a neck. My jaws were still numb at this point, but I could slowly move to semi-solid foods so I had more energy on my walks from this point forward.
Day 4 First Post Op Suture Disinfection Day (Friday)
Can’t begin to explain how good it feels to be less of a mummy. Dr Lee was there to supervise the nurse and evaluate to see if the sutures and bandages were ready to be removed. Dr Lee had the most gentle touch; he made suture and tape removal so pain-free. I’ve had my fair share of cosmetic and medical surgeries, and honestly I would have been happier if the was the one removing all the sutures since he made it look so easy and pain free.
At this point, the tape and gauze came off for my sub brow incisions to dry. Tape came off from under eye fat repositioning. Rhino cast stayed, incisions and nostrils were cleaned. Chin bandaid was replaced. The bandage wrap on my ear was removed and incisions were cleaned. Incision on my thigh and butt (for fat graft and dermofat harvest) was also cleaned and bandages were replaced. On the first appointment, Dr Chung and Dr Lee popped in to answer any questions I had and made sure my incisions were healing nicely.
I had the consultants at the front desk help me book a hair washing service as there was a Juno Hair right in the building. It felt so good to have clean hair after your whole face was mummy wrapped up. Honestly hair wasn’t even that dirty, but the clean hair helped me feel more like myself again after the surgery.
At this point I was settled into a comfortable routine of waking up, eating mushy foods, doing aftercare, sleeping, lunch, aftercare, taking walks in the afternoon walks until dinner, dinner at home, more aftercare and then going to bed.
7 Days Post Op (Monday)
Came into clinic for first suture removal and antibiotic injections. I was seen by both doctors again who commented how nicely I was healing. My face was still very swollen and uneven due to the swelling and fat grafts. I had issues controlling my upper lip still, which the doctor told me was normal. My sutures on my eyebrows, chin, and ear were removed. The nose cast also came off, and half the sutures on my nose came off. Unfortunately, not all the sutures on my nose were ready to be removed and the process was quite painful. I was led into another room where the nurse gave me an antibiotic injection and was allowed to rest for 15 minutes before being sent home. I was told to come back on Thursday to get the rest of the sutures in my nose removed.
At this point, I had finished all the medication from clinic, but was keeping up with gargling, wound cleaning, ointment for incisions, deswelling medication and usage of the compression garment. I had more free time as I was not sleeping so much and had a bit less aftercare to rotate through, so was taking the time to venture further from my apartment and taking the time to go shopping and sightseeing. Weather was quite cold, so I was walking around in a thick coat, my compression wrap, a mask to prevent my nose from leaking too much due to the cold, and a hat to hide my compression wrap. I started eating out around this point as I was starting to be able to take solid foods without making too much of a mess.
10 Days Post Op (Thursday)
Apparently there was only 2-3 sutures left in my nose. It was the usual checkup by both doctors and the nurse cleaning my incisions. No more bandages at this point which was a relief. The nurse noticed my incision on my butt was a bit red, so advised me to sit down even less. At this point I started staying out more and tracking my walking to speed up deswelling.
Day 10 was the first day I treated myself to Korean BBQ (yay to solid foods). I still couldn’t chew well so resorted to cutting up my food finely with scissors at KBBQ. I think being able to chew lightly helped kickstart my deswelling process as I didn’t see a reduction in my midface and lower face swelling until I started eating solid foods and exercising the jaw and face muscles. I had Korean BBQ almost everyday until I flew home.
14 Days Post Op (Monday)
The two week mark is my final appointment with clinic, they took B&A photos at this point. The remaining sutures at this point were the dissolvable stitches in my mouth, which they removed for me and the sutures on my butt from dermofat graft. On my final appointment, I was given final aftercare instructions and saw the doctors for the final time. I am supposed to keep wearing the compression face wrap and gargle still for a month. I was also taught how to tape my nose. Apparently, I’m supposed to tape for 2 months.
I was prescribed silicone nose retainers to wear for six months that would help my healing process and maintain symmetry in my nostrils. The nurse told me to wear it as much as possible, as this would help maintain the nostril shape balance. I’m allowed to take them out throughout the day if I’m working or meeting people. They were a bit expensive and costed about 70,000 KRW per pair. I bought 3 as backup just in case I lose them.
At this point, I was still swollen so I couldn’t really see my final results yet, but the changes look promising. I knew before surgery that I tend to swell a lot and for quite a long time, so I wasn’t so worried. Doctors were also pretty satisfied with my result. I spent the next 2 days buying more deswelling medicine from pharmacy, shopping for last minute gifts, and decluttering the Airbnb to prepare for my trip home. I think the flight home contributed a bit to more swelling, so when I flew back I spent a few days resting at home to recover.
3-4 Weeks Post Op and Final Thoughts
I didn’t get to walk as much home as I did in Korea since it’s hot and rainy. I just reached the 1 month post op period recently and am writing the review now. I am seeing the most deswelling and improvement during this time. I would say I’m about 60-70% deswollen, but currently because I’m sleeping on my side due to habits at home, my deswelling is a bit unevenly right now. I can finally see my neck and chin again and my chipmunk cheeks are going away. My forehead and eyes aren’t so puffy anymore and my nose is starting to settle in. I still have some tinging sensation in my chin and upper lift though overall my face is slowly regaining feeling and movement back. I still look a bit stiff and unnatural though, which I suppose will go away once I regain all movement back in my face.
I’m deswollen enough to actually see and appreciate my forward sliding genio. This was a really long recovery process, and I don’t think I can see the final result yet, but from what I see so far I’m really happy with the outcome! Despite having dome so many procedures, I’m glad I still look like me as each change was relatively subtle. The frontal profile hasn’t change too much, but my face isn’t so flat anymore from the side profile, and I look like I took years off my face. I still have some swelling around my forehead cheeks and chin and some stiffness in my upper lip, but it should go away by the second month.
Overall, the surgeries contributed to my face being more in proportion with each other, symmetry is a lot better and I really like how I look.
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