When some of these posters make it known before their surgeries that they are getting their surgeries done in a certain clinic, such as VIP, and then say that they will keep us posted and updated after their surgeries, follow-up by making a two weeks post op post, but then suddenly disappear, well that makes me very suspicious and cautious.
e.g. Are they unhappy with their surgeries? Are they being silenced? Have they signed paperwork that they are not allowed to say anything bad about their doctor and clinic or risk getting sued? Are these reviewers and posts fake? ETC.
I can understand that people will get on with their lives, but why say you will update us on your surgery experiences and results on this forum or via RealSelf post-op and then suddenly disappear?
I feel that REAL reviews from REAL people who under-go plastic surgery know just how valuable follow-up updates and feedback is for those of us who are considering PS in Korea, and so they will also know and understand that many of us are eagerly waiting for their real reviews on specific clinics, as they probably felt the same way before they had their surgeries.
And so (IMO) to suddenly drop off from the face of the planet, so to speak, it makes me feel very uneasy and like I can't trust the majority of these Korean PS reviews on these online forums, which then makes it all the harder to find a good doctor and clinic.
Also, I recently watched a video on YouTube from an ex Korean PS beauty consultant/interpreter and she talks about “shadow” doctors at Korean plastic surgery clinics … it’s definitely something to be aware of –
"Reasons why a former interpreter at a Korean plastic surgery hospital don't do plastic surgery" -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?vvGdR3CfcFFo
Plastic surgery in Korea is a big business and seems to run similarly to a factory.
My philosophy is don’t be paranoid, but it’s a good idea to be smart and cautious … and to do your research and to not rely on just reading some positive (or even negative) reviews here, because who knows which ones are real and which ones are fake, and which ones are being written by promoters and/or by competitors trying to give their competition a bad rap.
Also, most patients are asleep during surgeries with anesthesia and can't see their doctor before, during or after their surgery - because many of the doctors who are going to perform your surgeries aren't in the surgery room before someone puts you to sleep (preferably and hopefully by an anesthesiologist) and then they aren't there when you wake up.
It seems to me to be such a HIT OR MISS kind of situation going to Korea, and reading posts on these forums has only made me more confused and feel like I'm on a WILD GOOSE CHASE.
I agree with everything you said. I've been watching some clinics for a couple of years and have yet to see a positive review that I know can trust that isn't a promotional review. I want a regular person to give a review that hasn't had their flight or surgery paid for.
I think that the clinics such as ID are a no-go because of their shadow doctors, but supposedly the government has cracked down on the clinics that use shadow doctors so it's not as common anymore for them to switch doctors... you never know though... you ARE under anesthesia for the surgery.
BUT
In the US (where I'm from), there are plastics surgeons who teach their plastic surgery residents/students... Some of the premier surgery centers are universities, and I think they do shadow-doctoring, but we don't call it that here- the student is just "helping" the lead surgeon... sometimes they allow the resident to assist too much in the surgery; but it's like an unspoken thing here. In my situation (on my previous surgery), I wasn't botched, but I could most definitely tell where the resident was allowed to do the stitches. On another procedure, I was awake and I could see where the resident was assisting (the patient is like the teaching tool for the teacher and student)- again, not as horrible as what has happened in Korea frequently until the government got involved, but shadow-doctoring even happens in US (there are just barely any stories about it because the laws protect the doctors here and we sign so many waivers that release the doctor/facility from liability and from being sued/spoken about).
Before undergoing any surgery anywhere, I would look out for how how many residents/students are around, and I would ask questions in writing and at the consultation. I learned from my last experience dealing with residents poor stitching and one horrible time a resident injected lidocaine too close to my eyes and I could barely open my eyelids. I would request to have the residents as viewers only, very little hands on because 1. the price we pay if for a doctor with 10-20 YEARS experience, not a resident who barely knows what they're doing, and 2. the patients are not guinea pigs unless the patients agrees to that (hopefully receiving surgery for free and not paying a premium price.
That being said, I'm consulting with Dr. Lee at VIP on my Korea trip.