I have questions for people who had consultation or surgery before in Korea

E

elagrace

Member
Aug 23, 2018
33
4
#1
Hi Everyone,
I have a few questions since i've never have a consultation or surgery before. So if anyone have the time to answers my questions i would really appreciate that:smile:

Consultation questions:
-If you have a first time consultation with the doctor, do you also ask questions about the aftercare like what you can/can't do or eat after surgery or do you ask that when you have check up after surgery when they remove the stitches? I don't know when to ask questions about the aftercare, because i don't know if there is enough time to do that during one consultation.

-Let's say i have an appointment with 3 different clinics in one day (ofcourse it's smart to visit all 3 before making a decision).
For example: During the consultation they quote my surgery fee, but i can't ask for a discount yet, because i have not made up my mind. If i made my decision at the end of the day how do you contact back to the clinic to bargain with them? I heard many people could get a bargain during the consultation, but what if you haven't decicide which clinic yet, do i make a new appointment for consultation or how do i contact them back to discuss about the price?


Translator questions:
-If a clinic does not have a translator and they ask you to bring your own, where can i find a translator (Korean/Eng)?
-If a clinic does have a translator, what would be cheaper to use a translator from the clinic or rent your own translator for a day?


Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, sorry if my senteces are weird since English isn't my first language.
 
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#2
elagrace said:
Hi Everyone,
I have a few questions since i've never have a consultation or surgery before. So if anyone have the time to answers my questions i would really appreciate that:smile:

Consultation questions:
-If you have a first time consultation with the doctor, do you also ask questions about the aftercare like what you can/can't do or eat after surgery or do you ask that when you have check up after surgery when they remove the stitches? I don't know when to ask questions about the aftercare, because i don't know if there is enough time to do that during one consultation.
Yes. Definitely ask about aftercare during consultation. You might be too tired from sedation/GA to do this after your surgery. Most clinics give you written aftercare instructions and you can always call them when in doubt.

-Let's say i have an appointment with 3 different clinics in one day (ofcourse it's smart to visit all 3 before making a decision).
For example: During the consultation they quote my surgery fee, but i can't ask for a discount yet, because i have not made up my mind. If i made my decision at the end of the day how do you contact back to the clinic to bargain with them? I heard many people could get a bargain during the consultation, but what if you haven't decicide which clinic yet, do i make a new appointment for consultation or how do i contact them back to discuss about the price?
I would go back to the clinic of choice after the consultation and bargain with them. Also you get better discounts when paying cash.


Translator questions:
-If a clinic does not have a translator and they ask you to bring your own, where can i find a translator (Korean/Eng)?
-If a clinic does have a translator, what would be cheaper to use a translator from the clinic or rent your own translator for a day?
I think the Korean Tourist Office can assist you or refer you to a translator. Personally I think it is better to have your own translator even if the clinic has one just to make sure they are accurately translating and that you are on the same page with the surgeon to avoid any misunderstanding.


Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, sorry if my senteces are weird since English isn't my first language.
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#3
Why more discount for paying in cash vs credit card?
Clinic translator has more experience with the domain and hence might actually be more accurate than your generic translator.
 
#4
Coz they can keep the cash and change it when the rates are higher, kinda like currency trading.
Most clinic translators/consultants work for the clinic, so they will try and sell you procedures you don't need just to get more money from you that is why it is wise to bring your own translator who will have your back and make sure that your are well informed.
 
#5
Mazikeen said:
Coz they can keep the cash and change it when the rates are higher, kinda like currency trading.
Most clinic translators/consultants work for the clinic, so they will try and sell you procedures you don't need just to get more money from you that is why it is wise to bring your own translator who will have your back and make sure that your are well informed.
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If the doctor recommends it, your own translator would translate the doctor's recommendation so I don't see how it makes a difference. If the clinic consultant recommends something, you can ask the doctor's opinion.

Aren't you paying them in Korean Won regardless of whether it's cash or credit card? Why would they need to swap it if it's their native currency? Also your trading strategy doesn't really work because the rates could go down as well...if you believe the rates would go up then you could just do forex trading with high leverage.
 
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#6
Do you speak Korean? How do you know what the clinic translator has translated? You are missing the point here. I'm not telling her to replace the clinic translator, I'm recommending that she has her own translator as backup to make sure that all is above board coz in most Korean clinics there is alot of misinterpretation during consultation resulting in the Dr. carrying out procedures you never asked for or never agreed to coz all was lost in translation.

I have paid for surgery in different clinics in Seoul both with card & cash and cash in popular currencies like US$, Euros, British Pounds are always preferred and I got better discounts paying cash. That is a no brainer. Even in day to day transactions you get better discounts paying in cash rather than credit card so why should it be different when paying for surgery? If you are in Korea, try it out, go out shopping and compare how many discounts you get when you pay in cash as opposed to your card.

Regarding trading, you can open a multi currency account and stockpile just like you would stocks except you will be selling & buying currencies. The clinic doesn't need to dabble in fancy forex trading to make money. Myeongdong for example has many money exchange bureaus with competitive rates.
 
#8
elagrace said:
I really appreciate that you took the time to answer me thank you! Also i was wondering where did you find your own translator? Could you recommend me ??
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Unfortunately when I was there I never had a translator because I trusted the clinic consultants. My results were botched and when I consulted with other surgeons for revision I realised that there were so many things the consultant did not warn me about or explain that is why I recommend having your own translator and asking as many questions as possible if you're having major surgery. I don't know where you can get one apart from the Tourism board. Maybe ask on travel forums like Tripadvisor?
 
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#9
Mazikeen said:
Unfortunately when I was there I never had a translator because I trusted the clinic consultants. My results were botched and when I consulted with other surgeons for revision I realised that there were so many things the consultant did not warn me about or explain that is why I recommend having your own translator and asking as many questions as possible if you're having major surgery. I don't know where you can get one apart from the Tourism board. Maybe ask on travel forums like Tripadvisor?
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Yikes this sounds horrifying! It's so important to have clear communication when it comes to something major like surgery.
 
#10
catria said:
Yikes this sounds horrifying! It's so important to have clear communication when it comes to something major like surgery.
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Exactly. I noticed when I had consultations the doctor would give a detailed answer to a question and the consultant/translator would give me a summarised translation. I expect a translator to translate verbatim during consultations so that I can make an informed decision but unfortunately most offer their opinion or tell you what they think you want to hear. This is why I recommend having a neutral translator who has no affiliations to the clinic accompany you to the consultations.
 
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#12
elagrace said:
Hi Everyone,
I have a few questions since i've never have a consultation or surgery before. So if anyone have the time to answers my questions i would really appreciate that:smile:

Consultation questions:
-If you have a first time consultation with the doctor, do you also ask questions about the aftercare like what you can/can't do or eat after surgery or do you ask that when you have check up after surgery when they remove the stitches? I don't know when to ask questions about the aftercare, because i don't know if there is enough time to do that during one consultation.

-Let's say i have an appointment with 3 different clinics in one day (ofcourse it's smart to visit all 3 before making a decision).
For example: During the consultation they quote my surgery fee, but i can't ask for a discount yet, because i have not made up my mind. If i made my decision at the end of the day how do you contact back to the clinic to bargain with them? I heard many people could get a bargain during the consultation, but what if you haven't decide which clinic yet, do i make a new appointment for consultation or how do i contact them back to discuss about the price?


Translator questions:
-If a clinic does not have a translator and they ask you to bring your own, where can i find a translator (Korean/Eng)?
-If a clinic does have a translator, what would be cheaper to use a translator from the clinic or rent your own translator for a day?


Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, sorry if my senteces are weird since English isn't my first language.
Click to expand...

-I would recommend you to ask ALL the questions in advance, just to make sure that you're prepared. You will get mostly all the answers from consultant because they know all the answers and doctors are always busy.

-All the clinics where I had consultations gave me different surgery suggestions but they said they will give me better discount if I decide by the end of the day so its better to have consultations at all clinics on the same day (1-2hours is more than enough for one consultation if you are not consulting about everything. I went to three clinics with agency and 4 other clinics without agency because they didn't work with them. You should ask for discount during consultation, it doesn't matter if you're doing surgery with them or not. Usually they ask your budget in advance so they won't recommend you unnecessary surgeries.

-You better go to the clinic with translator, it's much easier and more simple, just use their translator, the result will be same
 
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#13
Consultation: normally, you can ask any surgery-related questions but things like after care, post-op management etc. are being explained by a consultant after you met the doctor. You can ask any questions you want if it’s not surgery-related I’m pretty sure the doctor would let you know.
Having appointments at different places is a really good idea, since you can get more experience. Also you can ask any price-related questions directly and ask them for a discount too. Not a problem at all, if you haven’t made a decision yet, that’s why you need a consultation for. So, don’t worry even to say that you are planning to meet some other doctor, maybe they give you even more discount lol
Translation: Honestly, I had no problems with language, since all hospitals I visited had their own English-speaking staff. They didn’t change anything for that, so I guess if you want to go with your own translator it’d cost you more than a regular consultation.
I had consultations at several places and each was kind of different. Some doctors answered all my questions directly, some of them redirected me to my consultant (with questions like, what the recovery would be like, swelling, stitches removal). I was looking for fc and ended up with regen’s dr.oh, have no regrets. Good luck!
 
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#14
I guess regarding surgery or non medical question, you can ask to consultant offline or online. And regarding price, how about asking them to let you decide in certain time like .. 1 week after consultation? There are clinics that ask for deposit to let you bargain too. If it's their rule, you can ask if it's refundable if you end up not choosing them.
 
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#15
elagrace said:
Hi Everyone,
I have a few questions since i've never have a consultation or surgery before. So if anyone have the time to answers my questions i would really appreciate that:smile:

Consultation questions:
-If you have a first time consultation with the doctor, do you also ask questions about the aftercare like what you can/can't do or eat after surgery or do you ask that when you have check up after surgery when they remove the stitches? I don't know when to ask questions about the aftercare, because i don't know if there is enough time to do that during one consultation.

-Let's say i have an appointment with 3 different clinics in one day (ofcourse it's smart to visit all 3 before making a decision).
For example: During the consultation they quote my surgery fee, but i can't ask for a discount yet, because i have not made up my mind. If i made my decision at the end of the day how do you contact back to the clinic to bargain with them? I heard many people could get a bargain during the consultation, but what if you haven't decicide which clinic yet, do i make a new appointment for consultation or how do i contact them back to discuss about the price?


Translator questions:
-If a clinic does not have a translator and they ask you to bring your own, where can i find a translator (Korean/Eng)?
-If a clinic does have a translator, what would be cheaper to use a translator from the clinic or rent your own translator for a day?


Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, sorry if my senteces are weird since English isn't my first language.
Click to expand...

I am on the same boat! I’m doing double jaw/vline, so far I’m quoted 9mil, I’m flying out in a few days and just hoping everything goes well with quarantine:smile:
Hope all goes for you!
 
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