This is my review of a revision rhinoplasty and philtrum shortening (also called lip lift) at Retmus with Dr. Chung Seung-il about 3 months ago. I am also going to provide some findings from my research journey and tips in the hopes that it can help someone who might be going through this in the future, especially since there isn't a lot of info on this in English. I did receive a discount in exchange for agreeing to post reviews, but the discount was very small, and I agreed to it primarily because I thought they would do a better job of they knew the results would be posted online, lol.
BACKGROUND
I had been looking into lip lifts for a while since I had quite a long philtrum, but I also had a newly-contracting nose after a primary rhinoplasty 10+ years ago resulting in significant nostril show, so I really did not want to do a traditional bullhorn lip lift since the scarring would have been too obvious. Unfortunately in most countries, this is the only form of lip lift doctors perform.
A few months ago I started looking into lip lifts where the scar would be hidden inside the nose, and the clinic that seemed to have the most reviews and track record (judging from their gallery) was Retmus. Btw, this procedure is called philtrum shortening in Korea. There did seem to be at least one other clinic in Korea that performed this sort of lip lift (which I later learned was called endonasal), but I only scheduled a consult with Retmus since they had a lot of B&A photos with good results, and I was pretty sure I would go forward with them before I even had an in-person consult. I also went through the online consult process with another clinic that is highly reviewed for face procedures like mini FL, but they would not do philtrum shortening in the same surgery as any sort of nasal procedure (usually an indication that they do bullhorn), so that was immediately off the table for me. This is also the case with most clinics in the US--bullhorn technique has a different incision from a rhinoplasty, and apparently multiple incisions can compromise blood supply to the area and result in tissue necrosis, so doctors strongly prefer not to do them in one surgery.
I had originally requested philtrum shortening and tip plasty, since I didn't know the reason for my nose contraction. However, once I had my consult with Dr. Chung, he explained that the reason was because the Gore-tex implant in my nose from my first rhino now caused a reaction 10+ years later and my body was essentially rejecting it and building scar tissue around it. While a tip plasty could fix it temporarily, to solve the problem at the root, I needed to remove the Gore-tex and replace it with autologous (or at least natural) materials. He recommended Dermofat to replace the Gore-tex and rib (I used donor rib) for the columella and tip. I also requested we use a piece of ear cartilage at the very end of the tip to avoid the white tip issue many people end up having, and Dr. Chung agreed--this is also what he usually does. Dr. Chung seemed very calm and competent, and I decided to go forward with the revision rhino and philtrum shortening the next day.
Btw, I used both Serena and Joy for translation, although Dr. Chung seemed quite fluent in English.
SURGERY
They had instructed me not to eat or drink any liquids starting at midnight before the surgery. On the day of surgery, I had an extremely parched throat since it was the middle of winter and dry as the Sahara in my AirBNB. I had a tiny sip of water just to wet my throat, since right before a different surgical procedure I had undergone last year, the nurse on staff gave me a small sip of water and said it was fine. When I was asked in the Retmus OR when I last drank water, I mentioned this and the OR nurses got visibly annoyed at me. So lesson for anyone reason: follow their instructions and do not drink even a sip of water before your surgery!
The surgery took about 4 hours and I was way more drowsy and out of it than I expected when I woke up, and I was glad that a family member had come with me to pick me up. We went to the pharmacy across the street to pick up meds and I barely remembered any of the pharmacist's instructions, and didn't realize the antibiotics were meant to be taken 3x a day. I highly recommend having someone you trust accompany you to help with things like this because you will be very out of it.
RECOVERY
The first night was the worst for me because I couldn't breathe through my nose and it was SO DRY in my AirBNB that breathing through my mouth was extremely uncomfortable and gave me cottonmouth, and I couldn't sleep at all. The next day, I discovered there was something called dry mouth spray at all the pharmacies, and spraying this helped a lot. I slept through the entire night. I'd definitely recommend a cheap or portable humidifer as well if you're doing a rhino/revision rhino--I ended up just hanging wet towels all over the apartment which also helped.
And btw, I went around Seoul for a week without a face mask after the surgery and it was completely fine. No one (except a French tourist) even gave me a second look and I felt totally comfortable walking about with a sign of obvious cosmetic surgery.
RESULTS
Pretty much all my friends and family who have seen me think the surgery was a success, that the result is very positive, and that I look a lot younger! Hopefully this will get better and better as I recover. An unexpected positive consequence: one feature on my face that really bothered me were my nasolabial folds, and the philtrum shortening (which removed about 4.5mm of skin) actually seemed to reduce their prominence quite a bit. I do have some small asymmetry in my lip (one side being higher than another) which Dr Chung said should resolve itself after a while. The price of the surgery (for my procedures anyway) was $15k USD and includes a revision within a year if I am unhappy with the end result, which gave me a lot of confidence. I believe Dr. Chung also added some height to the area right below my nose, which gives me a much nicer side profile. My nose does feel quite stiff, which I think will be the case for a long time since my columella now has rib in it, but I can smile and talk completely normally and didn't really lose major function at any point, except maybe drinking soup with a spoon.
I think Retmus is a great choice for those who want a scarless lip lift, and they are very capable with revision rhino as well.
BACKGROUND
I had been looking into lip lifts for a while since I had quite a long philtrum, but I also had a newly-contracting nose after a primary rhinoplasty 10+ years ago resulting in significant nostril show, so I really did not want to do a traditional bullhorn lip lift since the scarring would have been too obvious. Unfortunately in most countries, this is the only form of lip lift doctors perform.
A few months ago I started looking into lip lifts where the scar would be hidden inside the nose, and the clinic that seemed to have the most reviews and track record (judging from their gallery) was Retmus. Btw, this procedure is called philtrum shortening in Korea. There did seem to be at least one other clinic in Korea that performed this sort of lip lift (which I later learned was called endonasal), but I only scheduled a consult with Retmus since they had a lot of B&A photos with good results, and I was pretty sure I would go forward with them before I even had an in-person consult. I also went through the online consult process with another clinic that is highly reviewed for face procedures like mini FL, but they would not do philtrum shortening in the same surgery as any sort of nasal procedure (usually an indication that they do bullhorn), so that was immediately off the table for me. This is also the case with most clinics in the US--bullhorn technique has a different incision from a rhinoplasty, and apparently multiple incisions can compromise blood supply to the area and result in tissue necrosis, so doctors strongly prefer not to do them in one surgery.
I had originally requested philtrum shortening and tip plasty, since I didn't know the reason for my nose contraction. However, once I had my consult with Dr. Chung, he explained that the reason was because the Gore-tex implant in my nose from my first rhino now caused a reaction 10+ years later and my body was essentially rejecting it and building scar tissue around it. While a tip plasty could fix it temporarily, to solve the problem at the root, I needed to remove the Gore-tex and replace it with autologous (or at least natural) materials. He recommended Dermofat to replace the Gore-tex and rib (I used donor rib) for the columella and tip. I also requested we use a piece of ear cartilage at the very end of the tip to avoid the white tip issue many people end up having, and Dr. Chung agreed--this is also what he usually does. Dr. Chung seemed very calm and competent, and I decided to go forward with the revision rhino and philtrum shortening the next day.
Btw, I used both Serena and Joy for translation, although Dr. Chung seemed quite fluent in English.
SURGERY
They had instructed me not to eat or drink any liquids starting at midnight before the surgery. On the day of surgery, I had an extremely parched throat since it was the middle of winter and dry as the Sahara in my AirBNB. I had a tiny sip of water just to wet my throat, since right before a different surgical procedure I had undergone last year, the nurse on staff gave me a small sip of water and said it was fine. When I was asked in the Retmus OR when I last drank water, I mentioned this and the OR nurses got visibly annoyed at me. So lesson for anyone reason: follow their instructions and do not drink even a sip of water before your surgery!
The surgery took about 4 hours and I was way more drowsy and out of it than I expected when I woke up, and I was glad that a family member had come with me to pick me up. We went to the pharmacy across the street to pick up meds and I barely remembered any of the pharmacist's instructions, and didn't realize the antibiotics were meant to be taken 3x a day. I highly recommend having someone you trust accompany you to help with things like this because you will be very out of it.
RECOVERY
The first night was the worst for me because I couldn't breathe through my nose and it was SO DRY in my AirBNB that breathing through my mouth was extremely uncomfortable and gave me cottonmouth, and I couldn't sleep at all. The next day, I discovered there was something called dry mouth spray at all the pharmacies, and spraying this helped a lot. I slept through the entire night. I'd definitely recommend a cheap or portable humidifer as well if you're doing a rhino/revision rhino--I ended up just hanging wet towels all over the apartment which also helped.
And btw, I went around Seoul for a week without a face mask after the surgery and it was completely fine. No one (except a French tourist) even gave me a second look and I felt totally comfortable walking about with a sign of obvious cosmetic surgery.
RESULTS
Pretty much all my friends and family who have seen me think the surgery was a success, that the result is very positive, and that I look a lot younger! Hopefully this will get better and better as I recover. An unexpected positive consequence: one feature on my face that really bothered me were my nasolabial folds, and the philtrum shortening (which removed about 4.5mm of skin) actually seemed to reduce their prominence quite a bit. I do have some small asymmetry in my lip (one side being higher than another) which Dr Chung said should resolve itself after a while. The price of the surgery (for my procedures anyway) was $15k USD and includes a revision within a year if I am unhappy with the end result, which gave me a lot of confidence. I believe Dr. Chung also added some height to the area right below my nose, which gives me a much nicer side profile. My nose does feel quite stiff, which I think will be the case for a long time since my columella now has rib in it, but I can smile and talk completely normally and didn't really lose major function at any point, except maybe drinking soup with a spoon.
I think Retmus is a great choice for those who want a scarless lip lift, and they are very capable with revision rhino as well.
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