Hi, this is Christine (from the kakao chats). In 2018, I did primary rhinoplasty at Jewelry Plastic Surgery. The result was quite egregious. The doctor gave me the opposite of what I wanted: he gave me an overly pointy, over projected, unnatural looking, crooked, and droopy nose. He also pushed me into getting a silicone implant, which I never wanted because I thought my natural bridge height was good enough. The other doctors I consulted in 2018 said I didn’t have to get one. I think the doctor I had at Jewelry was just not that skilled (more accurately, a quack) and it was easier for him to use a silicone implant to make the bridge smooth.
Because of how my primary rhino turned out, I became very depressed and even when I got over the depression, I avoided seeing people for many years (unless I had a mask on); I could not tolerate having people see me with this obviously operated upon and overly defined nose that did not fit my Asian face. I did two other surgeries during my trip to Korea (which I posted about), but planning my rhinoplasty revision was the most stressful because of how self-conscious my nose made me and the fact that rhinoplasty is known as the most difficult plastic surgery to get right.
I consulted the following clinics: Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic, 1st button, Hanabi, Graceonyoung, and Conopi. Other than Graceonyoung, all of these clinics were ENT clinics. My preference was an ENT as I had functional issues. As I mentioned in my JW review, my mom accompanied me during the consultation and surgery process, and her help was invaluable (she is very clever and was useful as an extra set of ears to listen to the doctors’ explanations).
Consult at Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic:
Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic is a clinic with 2 ENT surgeons; the main surgeon is Dr Jin. Even though I wasn’t too impressed by Dr Jin’s pictures, I decided to consult because I heard he is considered an expert in revision rhinoplasty. I was able to get an appointment right away and when I got to the clinic, I saw that there were quite a few people in the waiting room. Dr Jin saw me right away (I didn’t need to speak to a consultant first) and his English was fluent. He asked me what bothered me about my nose and I told him I wanted my implant removed, wanted my tip to be less pointy and droopy, wanted my deviation corrected, and so on. He agreed to most of what I asked for, and had me take an x-ray in order to examine my functional issues (as he had poked inside my nose with a stick and noticed my septum was deviated). However, he didn’t look at the x-ray much and didn’t explain it to me, which I thought was a bit strange.
Dr Jin gave me two options: he would use either donated fascia or rib cartilage. If the former, the price would be 9000 USD; if the latter, the price would be 12000 USD. Dr Jin wasn’t bad, but I didn’t feel his results justified that price. Also, I heard he doesn’t change the tip much during surgery, which was my main concern. Worst of all, the two options he gave me, donated fascia or rib, were both tremendously unappealing. I have seen people say he is arrogant, I could see it a bit but overall he seemed like a nice doctor. The consultation fee and x-ray were each over 30 000 krw (can’t remember the exact price anymore).
Consult at 1st Button:
1st Button is a clinic with one ENT surgeon, Dr Kim Tae Hwan/Chris Kim. Dr Kim replies directly on kakao and is fluent in English, so no translator is needed. When I messaged him, he asked me to send pictures of my nose and told me the issues he noticed. I was able to get a consultation with him within a few days. I was quite nervous before the consultation, because I had a lot of hope for this doctor. Based on his before and after pictures, his style suited my preferences the best – his noses looked natural and soft and he did not seem to over-project the tip, like so many Korean doctors do.
Like the previous nose clinic I consulted, you do not need to talk to a consultant first before seeing the doctor (which was a relief because I find that practice so pointless). During my consultation, Dr Kim was very patient, listened to all my concerns, and spent a lot of time explaining what he would do. I was quite impressed because he saw me after 6pm on a Saturday, presumably after a day of doing surgeries, and yet did not seem to be in a hurry and took his time with me.
He seemed to be on the same page with me in many respects: he said he could remove my implant but then I would have to accept having a less defined bridge, he agreed my nose should be made shorter, that my nose tip was too pointy and droopy, and said I could have functional surgery (septoplasty and turbinoplasty) if I wished (like Dr Jin, he could tell my septum was deviated without a CT scan, just by poking inside my nose). He seemed pretty honest about the limitations of surgery – for example, he said that it would be impossible to correct all of my nose asymmetry because some of it was caused by facial asymmetry. I also asked him about alar base reduction but he did not recommend it because my nostrils were not suitable for that procedure, said it would likely make my nostrils look weird.
I was delighted to hear that he did not think rib was necessary (because he thought it too stiff and should only be a last resort). He poked inside my nose with a stick and said that he could harvest enough septal cartilage and also use some ear cartilage. The other doctors I saw in the past (in 2018 and Dr Jin) said I did not have any septal left because I did 2 jaw; Dr Kim said he has experience doing rhinoplasty on people who have had 2 jaw before and said that in those cases, there is still remaining septal.
Dr Kim said that if I decided to do surgery with him, I would get my CT scan taken so that he could more accurately diagnose my functional issues. This is different from other clinics where you take the CT right away; I personally think it’s a good practice to not make people take a CT scan for the initial consult, before they can know whether or not they are serious about a clinic, as CT scans expose you to radiation (ugh, I took 7 CT scans during my trip to Korea, all within a month). The consultation fee was 10 000 krw. I decided I would consult a few more clinics and then come back again for another consult, to clarify some things and ask more questions.
Consult at Hanabi:
This is also a one doctor ENT clinic. This clinic was so posh, they clearly put a lot of effort into making their clinic look fancy. My consultation with Dr Chang was delayed for an hour because he was doing surgery and had to go overtime. This was a good sign to me, as that meant he doesn’t rush his surgeries. Dr Chang spoke English fluently and there was an English translator in the room. He looked at my nose and CT scan and then told me he would fix my hump and deviation. I told him all the things that bothered me about my nose and showed him a picture of what I wanted – he agreed to do everything I wanted. Overall, I felt that unlike Dr Jin and Dr Kim, Dr Chang tended to just agree with me on everything without talking about the limitations of surgery and the disadvantages of certain procedures.
The price was 9 mil krw if I wanted rib, and 7 mil krw if I didn’t want rib. Dr Chang did not mention he could use my septal cartilage until I asked (I guess most doctors assume I don’t have enough left because I already did rhino once, but the thing is, my septal was never harvested for the primary rhino). Unlike Dr Jin, he was honest about the downsides of rib by saying that it tends to be stiff, so he said I did not have to get it if I didn’t want to.
Though Dr Chang gave me the impression that he could fix all the issues that bothered me and could give me the type of nose I like, I was hesitant because most of his pictures were quite different from my preference – that is, many of his noses are quite prominent. For rhinoplasty (as with all surgeries, but especially rhino), it is important to like the style of nose the doctor does – often doctors will act like they are flexible and can deliver what you want but in reality, they will just do what they normally do (not saying this is always the case, but I couldn’t take any chances this time). I also read a review on purseforum about someone saying that Dr Chang added too much to their nose and it felt like it was going to burst – that was my greatest fear, there was too much added to my nose during the last surgery and this time, I knew I wanted a smaller nose with not much added. The consultation fee and CT scan were each 10 000 krw.
Consult at Graceonyoung:
This clinic was the worst out of all the clinics I have been to during this trip. I shouldn’t even have gone there as the rhinoplasty doctor, Lee Kyu Ho, isn’t an ENT. I just felt I should get the opinion of at least one plastic surgeon, to see if their aesthetics are any better than ENT doctors. I used a translator from Gangnam Medical Tour Center for this consultation and my next one. She made a lot of effort to help me – before the consults, she translated all the concerns I had with my nose and typed them up to show them to the doctor, in order to save time. Unfortunately, Dr Lee did not like that – he seemed to think I was giving him instructions on how to do the surgery when in reality, they were just the things I disliked about my nose and I wanted his opinion. Dr Lee said that the patient’s only job is to choose the right doctor and the doctor decides everything else. This was a red flag for me – of course it is not good when a doctor just agrees with everything the patient wants, but they can’t just do what they think looks good on the patient; after all, looks are subjective (especially when it comes to noses).
Dr Lee was the only doctor that said I may still need a silicone implant, while all of the other doctors said I don’t have to have one; he also said I would probably need rib. He clearly didn’t care about any of my own preferences and just photoshopped what he thought looked good – which was a very pointy and dramatic looking nose, pretty much the opposite of what I wanted. Some of his plans were plain bizarre, like he said he would pull down my nostrils. When I showed him a picture of what I liked, he got annoyed and just left the room. What is more, he was so unprofessional and kept sneering at me during the consult.
My Korean friend said this doctor is renowned and I can’t see why at all; maybe Korean patients can tolerate this kind of behaviour, but I could not just blindly go with what the doctor says when it does not make sense to me. People said Dr Jin is arrogant, but Dr Lee Kyu Ho makes Dr Jin look like a paradigm of humility. The price I was quoted was 9 mil krw. I had also taken a CT scan here which was over 30 000 krw (can’t remember the exact price).
Consult at Conopi:
Right after my consult at Graceonyoung, I consulted Conopi and used the same translator. This doctor was a lot better than the last one and did not seem annoyed at the list prepared by the translator. However, the consult was kind of rushed and he left the room before I finished asking all my questions. I also didn’t like his plan for my nose: he said he was going to pull the columella down to increase the angle, and not lift my nose tip - this was the strangest plan I had ever heard from a surgeon. His plan would’ve likely made my nose worse than it already was. Moreover, this clinic doesn’t seem to have English-speaking patients and thus no English reviews. I felt more comfortable going to places I had heard a lot of, like 1st Button, Jin, or Hanabi. The price quoted wasn’t bad, around 5.5 mil krw.
Second consult at 1st Button:
After my consult at Conopi, I went to consult 1st Button again because I had a good feeling about the doctor from my initial consult: Dr Kim seemed confident that he could harvest enough septal and thus rib would not need to be even contemplated, he seemed to understand better than the other doctors that I did not want much added to my nose this time, and he was the only one who said my nose tip was too pointy without me having to mention it. Furthermore, his pictures were more in line with my goals than those of the other doctors. I just needed to clarify some things before I could decide for sure.
For this second consult, I had a CT scan taken (I asked Dr Kim on kakao if I could have it taken for the consult); it was examined by Dr Kim and he recommended septoplasty and turbinoplasty. During the first consult, I mainly listened to his recommendations and explanations of how he would fix things; for this consult, I talked more about the kind of nose I wanted and asked about issues with my nose that I had forgotten to bring up last time. He patiently answered all my questions and his responses made me feel confident he could deliver something I would be happy with; to be honest, I felt kind of bad because I was slightly repetitive with my questions, but I couldn’t help it as I was extremely nervous about this revision.
Again, I liked how honest Dr Kim was – for instance, he told me that some people regretted getting surgery with him as they wanted a more dramatic, prominent nose; he tends to create very natural looking noses. He quoted me 5500 USD for the rhinoplasty and said I could get a surgery date within a week. However, when I got home, he sent a message to me on kakao saying that he realized there was a spot open the next morning. I decided to take it because that would mean I could return home on the date I originally planned to – earlier I had been thinking I would need to extend and buy another plane ticket.
Just like the night before my surgery at TFD, I had another sleepless night. I didn’t think I could handle having to get another plastic surgery revision after this trip; I know everyone hates having to get revisions, but I have already had to go through more revisions than most people and tend to have higher than average levels of anxiety. It’s not that I didn’t trust the doctor, but no matter how good the doctor is, surgery is always risky and there is an element of luck; I have had so many experiences where my luck was below that of most people. Nonetheless, I was quite excited, as I thought this may be my last major surgery ever.
Surgery at 1st Button:
I went to 1st button at 10:30 am on May 21st and had one last pre-surgery meeting with Dr Kim. We went through everything he would do, I asked my remaining questions, and I showed him a picture of what I wanted – he said he understands my tastes and would try his best. Specifically, my procedures were: septoplasty, turbinoplasty, implant removal, hump removal, deviation correction, and tiplasty.
Afterwards, the consultant came in so that I could pay the surgery fee. I was quite embarrassed because my visa kept getting denied, even though I definitely had enough money in the account. Later, I realized it was probably because I had just transferred the money to my visa and it needed some time to go through. Dr Kim came in and said I need to go to the surgery room now, he said I can pay the rest of the money on another day. He said he trusted me and knows I won’t just leave before paying. It was nice of him, but I still felt really bad; fortunately, I was able to just wire transfer the rest the next day.
When I got to the surgery room, the nurses injected the anesthesia into me (I think it was twilight) and I feel asleep immediately. I woke up shortly after the surgery ended. A nurse took me into a recovery room and I lay there for about an hour or so. I couldn’t breathe through my nose because there was nasal packing in my nostrils, I had to breathe through my mouth which resulted in an exceedingly dry mouth and throat. Dr Kim came in and told me the surgery was successful. He showed me a few pictures he had took of my nose after the surgery was over, and, despite the evident swelling, I could see lots of improvement. He mentioned that he was able to harvest enough septal cartilage and did not even need to harvest my remaining ear cartilage (I think he just reused some of the ear cartilage used for my last surgery); this was a relief as I prefer septal and did not want much added to my nose. The clinic gave me my medications, ointment, ice packs, and a box of pumpkin juice. Dr Kim also sent me a list of post op instructions.
Post-Op:
The first day after my rhino was quite uncomfortable because of the nasal packing in my nose. Since I did my surgery on a Saturday, if I wanted the packing removed at the clinic, I would have to wait till Monday. Dr Kim said I can remove it myself on Sunday if I want. Since I didn’t think I could do it myself, my mom pulled them out for me. It was so painful because the packings were stuck to my nostrils due to the fact that the blood had dried. Initially, after the nasal packing was removed, I could breathe better than before, the functional surgery definitely made a difference! But later, my nose filled with fluids and were completely blocked again (which is normal from what I have heard; after rhinoplasty you will have a stuffy nose and won’t be able to blow it).
On Monday, I told Dr Kim about my blocked nose and he said I could come to the clinic to get it cleaned. When I got there, he used a suction device to clean up the insides of my nose, which allowed me to breathe through my nose again. I got my cast off 6 days after the surgery – usually, it comes off after 7 days, but I had to leave Korea on the 28th and Dr Kim wanted to check my nose a day after the cast removal. He said he takes it off for some patients after 5 or 6 days and there has been no issue thus far; there is no hard and fast rule that it has to be 7 days, but 5 days is the minimum. He did not think it was worth buying another plane ticket just to stay a few extra days.
I was quite nervous about the cast removal – with the cast on, I liked how my nose looked, but I couldn’t be sure of how it would really look like. I know people always say you cannot judge the results upon the removal of the cast, for your nose will be distorted by the swelling, which can take months, if not a year, to fully subside. So I braced myself and did not expect much at this early stage. However, when I got the cast off, I was pleasantly surprised and quite liked my new nose. It was indeed distorted by the swelling, which made it look kind of bulbous, but I could tell the shape was what I asked for. This was so different from how my nose looked upon my cast removal in 2018 – that time, it wasn’t only ugly because of the swelling, the whole shape was wrong. After my cast removal, one of the ladies at the front desk gave me a mug as a souvenir from 1st Button; it was nice because I like free stuff! Later, Dr Kim messaged me and said he hopes I am satisfied with my new nose. I always got the impression that he genuinely cares about his patients, which is rare.
The day after my cast removal (my departure date), I had a last check-up with Dr Kim; he told me everything looked good and I could fly on that day. Each time I went to 1st Button, Dr Kim used a suction device to clean my nose. I wish I stayed in Korea longer just so that I could get my nose cleaned.
As a perpetual worrywart, I still had concerns and questions once I left Korea. Dr Kim was always very responsive on kakao and I felt I could always contact him if I had an issue – several times, I became scared that I affected my results by being careless, so I messaged him and he explained why I didn’t need to worry, putting me at ease.
I am liking my new nose more and more as the swelling dissipates, and have no regrets about my choice (only wish I could’ve done it sooner!). My nose looks so much cuter and softer now, I no longer have a hump, my nose tip and columella are higher and thus no longer droopy, and the asymmetry and deviation were improved a lot. Of course, my nose isn’t perfectly straight or symmetrical, I think that’s impossible and one needs to be realistic and aware of the limitations of cosmetic surgery. At least now, the straightness and symmetry are at a level that I am comfortable with, unlike before. Additionally, my nose looks very natural now but also very different (that is, much better) from what I had before (from the nose I had after my primary rhino and from my natural nose).
Furthermore, I am so glad I did not get an implant again - even without one, my bridge looks very smooth and not low at all. I thought my nose might be very low after this revision, since the Jewelry doctor altered my original structure and I wanted my hump shaved this time. I was willing to accept a low bridge because I have a strong aversion to implants, but fortunately, that was not an issue at all, in fact some girls on kakao said my current bridge looks high. Additionally, since my turbinates were fixed and my septum was straightened, I believe my breathing will be much better (I had some congestion during the first 12 days after the surgery, which is normal from what I have heard; now it's beginning to subside). This is such a contrast from the first time I did my nose: Dr Kim did exactly what I asked for; with the previous doctor, it seemed my requests just went through one ear and came out the other.
I think Dr Kim is a really skilled and professional doctor who will try to deliver what you want if it is realistic and doesn’t make you look weird. During my consults, I found many doctors were either too rigid and intent on imposing what they thought was right on you, or yes-men who just agree with you on every point; I think good doctors should be somewhere in between those two extremes. I found Dr Kim to be quite flexible, but at the same time, unwilling to accede to requests that are unrealistic or not good for the patient. Furthermore, he has a very friendly demeanour and never makes you feel bad for asking silly questions (some doctors find it annoying and may even be affronted); he reminded me of Dr Lee (TFD) in that he always asks if you have any more questions instead of just leaving. I rarely meet doctors who are as patient and accommodating. Additionally, I quite liked the staff at 1st Button, they were always warm and pleasant when I went to the clinic.
I should also mention that the fact that Dr Kim spoke English was a huge advantage for me. As I mentioned in my JW review, I found the translators (whether they be the clinic’s in-house translator or ones from Gangnam Medical Tour Center) to be subpar for they often mistranslated and didn’t even translate everything. Perhaps this is not a big deal if your surgery is simple, but as someone who needs to emphasize and clarify a lot of details, I could never feel comfortable only going through a translator and not being able to communicate directly with the doctor. The translators could never explain things as well as the doctors who spoke English could; my mom even said that listening to them was torture for her due to the amount of terms they mixed up.
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading this review. I hope it is of some use to people. I was filled with misery and regret after my experience at Jewelry, and kept berating myself for my choice and lack of careful consideration. This time, I was exceedingly careful and thorough when choosing clinics and making my final decision. I am so grateful to Dr Kim for giving me so much more confidence. I like how I look now and feel like a big burden has been lifted off my shoulders. This plastic surgery experience has been extremely stressful and painful, and I hope now I can live a life free from worrying about appearance.
Because of how my primary rhino turned out, I became very depressed and even when I got over the depression, I avoided seeing people for many years (unless I had a mask on); I could not tolerate having people see me with this obviously operated upon and overly defined nose that did not fit my Asian face. I did two other surgeries during my trip to Korea (which I posted about), but planning my rhinoplasty revision was the most stressful because of how self-conscious my nose made me and the fact that rhinoplasty is known as the most difficult plastic surgery to get right.
I consulted the following clinics: Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic, 1st button, Hanabi, Graceonyoung, and Conopi. Other than Graceonyoung, all of these clinics were ENT clinics. My preference was an ENT as I had functional issues. As I mentioned in my JW review, my mom accompanied me during the consultation and surgery process, and her help was invaluable (she is very clever and was useful as an extra set of ears to listen to the doctors’ explanations).
Consult at Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic:
Dr Jin’s Premium Nose Clinic is a clinic with 2 ENT surgeons; the main surgeon is Dr Jin. Even though I wasn’t too impressed by Dr Jin’s pictures, I decided to consult because I heard he is considered an expert in revision rhinoplasty. I was able to get an appointment right away and when I got to the clinic, I saw that there were quite a few people in the waiting room. Dr Jin saw me right away (I didn’t need to speak to a consultant first) and his English was fluent. He asked me what bothered me about my nose and I told him I wanted my implant removed, wanted my tip to be less pointy and droopy, wanted my deviation corrected, and so on. He agreed to most of what I asked for, and had me take an x-ray in order to examine my functional issues (as he had poked inside my nose with a stick and noticed my septum was deviated). However, he didn’t look at the x-ray much and didn’t explain it to me, which I thought was a bit strange.
Dr Jin gave me two options: he would use either donated fascia or rib cartilage. If the former, the price would be 9000 USD; if the latter, the price would be 12000 USD. Dr Jin wasn’t bad, but I didn’t feel his results justified that price. Also, I heard he doesn’t change the tip much during surgery, which was my main concern. Worst of all, the two options he gave me, donated fascia or rib, were both tremendously unappealing. I have seen people say he is arrogant, I could see it a bit but overall he seemed like a nice doctor. The consultation fee and x-ray were each over 30 000 krw (can’t remember the exact price anymore).
Consult at 1st Button:
1st Button is a clinic with one ENT surgeon, Dr Kim Tae Hwan/Chris Kim. Dr Kim replies directly on kakao and is fluent in English, so no translator is needed. When I messaged him, he asked me to send pictures of my nose and told me the issues he noticed. I was able to get a consultation with him within a few days. I was quite nervous before the consultation, because I had a lot of hope for this doctor. Based on his before and after pictures, his style suited my preferences the best – his noses looked natural and soft and he did not seem to over-project the tip, like so many Korean doctors do.
Like the previous nose clinic I consulted, you do not need to talk to a consultant first before seeing the doctor (which was a relief because I find that practice so pointless). During my consultation, Dr Kim was very patient, listened to all my concerns, and spent a lot of time explaining what he would do. I was quite impressed because he saw me after 6pm on a Saturday, presumably after a day of doing surgeries, and yet did not seem to be in a hurry and took his time with me.
He seemed to be on the same page with me in many respects: he said he could remove my implant but then I would have to accept having a less defined bridge, he agreed my nose should be made shorter, that my nose tip was too pointy and droopy, and said I could have functional surgery (septoplasty and turbinoplasty) if I wished (like Dr Jin, he could tell my septum was deviated without a CT scan, just by poking inside my nose). He seemed pretty honest about the limitations of surgery – for example, he said that it would be impossible to correct all of my nose asymmetry because some of it was caused by facial asymmetry. I also asked him about alar base reduction but he did not recommend it because my nostrils were not suitable for that procedure, said it would likely make my nostrils look weird.
I was delighted to hear that he did not think rib was necessary (because he thought it too stiff and should only be a last resort). He poked inside my nose with a stick and said that he could harvest enough septal cartilage and also use some ear cartilage. The other doctors I saw in the past (in 2018 and Dr Jin) said I did not have any septal left because I did 2 jaw; Dr Kim said he has experience doing rhinoplasty on people who have had 2 jaw before and said that in those cases, there is still remaining septal.
Dr Kim said that if I decided to do surgery with him, I would get my CT scan taken so that he could more accurately diagnose my functional issues. This is different from other clinics where you take the CT right away; I personally think it’s a good practice to not make people take a CT scan for the initial consult, before they can know whether or not they are serious about a clinic, as CT scans expose you to radiation (ugh, I took 7 CT scans during my trip to Korea, all within a month). The consultation fee was 10 000 krw. I decided I would consult a few more clinics and then come back again for another consult, to clarify some things and ask more questions.
Consult at Hanabi:
This is also a one doctor ENT clinic. This clinic was so posh, they clearly put a lot of effort into making their clinic look fancy. My consultation with Dr Chang was delayed for an hour because he was doing surgery and had to go overtime. This was a good sign to me, as that meant he doesn’t rush his surgeries. Dr Chang spoke English fluently and there was an English translator in the room. He looked at my nose and CT scan and then told me he would fix my hump and deviation. I told him all the things that bothered me about my nose and showed him a picture of what I wanted – he agreed to do everything I wanted. Overall, I felt that unlike Dr Jin and Dr Kim, Dr Chang tended to just agree with me on everything without talking about the limitations of surgery and the disadvantages of certain procedures.
The price was 9 mil krw if I wanted rib, and 7 mil krw if I didn’t want rib. Dr Chang did not mention he could use my septal cartilage until I asked (I guess most doctors assume I don’t have enough left because I already did rhino once, but the thing is, my septal was never harvested for the primary rhino). Unlike Dr Jin, he was honest about the downsides of rib by saying that it tends to be stiff, so he said I did not have to get it if I didn’t want to.
Though Dr Chang gave me the impression that he could fix all the issues that bothered me and could give me the type of nose I like, I was hesitant because most of his pictures were quite different from my preference – that is, many of his noses are quite prominent. For rhinoplasty (as with all surgeries, but especially rhino), it is important to like the style of nose the doctor does – often doctors will act like they are flexible and can deliver what you want but in reality, they will just do what they normally do (not saying this is always the case, but I couldn’t take any chances this time). I also read a review on purseforum about someone saying that Dr Chang added too much to their nose and it felt like it was going to burst – that was my greatest fear, there was too much added to my nose during the last surgery and this time, I knew I wanted a smaller nose with not much added. The consultation fee and CT scan were each 10 000 krw.
Consult at Graceonyoung:
This clinic was the worst out of all the clinics I have been to during this trip. I shouldn’t even have gone there as the rhinoplasty doctor, Lee Kyu Ho, isn’t an ENT. I just felt I should get the opinion of at least one plastic surgeon, to see if their aesthetics are any better than ENT doctors. I used a translator from Gangnam Medical Tour Center for this consultation and my next one. She made a lot of effort to help me – before the consults, she translated all the concerns I had with my nose and typed them up to show them to the doctor, in order to save time. Unfortunately, Dr Lee did not like that – he seemed to think I was giving him instructions on how to do the surgery when in reality, they were just the things I disliked about my nose and I wanted his opinion. Dr Lee said that the patient’s only job is to choose the right doctor and the doctor decides everything else. This was a red flag for me – of course it is not good when a doctor just agrees with everything the patient wants, but they can’t just do what they think looks good on the patient; after all, looks are subjective (especially when it comes to noses).
Dr Lee was the only doctor that said I may still need a silicone implant, while all of the other doctors said I don’t have to have one; he also said I would probably need rib. He clearly didn’t care about any of my own preferences and just photoshopped what he thought looked good – which was a very pointy and dramatic looking nose, pretty much the opposite of what I wanted. Some of his plans were plain bizarre, like he said he would pull down my nostrils. When I showed him a picture of what I liked, he got annoyed and just left the room. What is more, he was so unprofessional and kept sneering at me during the consult.
My Korean friend said this doctor is renowned and I can’t see why at all; maybe Korean patients can tolerate this kind of behaviour, but I could not just blindly go with what the doctor says when it does not make sense to me. People said Dr Jin is arrogant, but Dr Lee Kyu Ho makes Dr Jin look like a paradigm of humility. The price I was quoted was 9 mil krw. I had also taken a CT scan here which was over 30 000 krw (can’t remember the exact price).
Consult at Conopi:
Right after my consult at Graceonyoung, I consulted Conopi and used the same translator. This doctor was a lot better than the last one and did not seem annoyed at the list prepared by the translator. However, the consult was kind of rushed and he left the room before I finished asking all my questions. I also didn’t like his plan for my nose: he said he was going to pull the columella down to increase the angle, and not lift my nose tip - this was the strangest plan I had ever heard from a surgeon. His plan would’ve likely made my nose worse than it already was. Moreover, this clinic doesn’t seem to have English-speaking patients and thus no English reviews. I felt more comfortable going to places I had heard a lot of, like 1st Button, Jin, or Hanabi. The price quoted wasn’t bad, around 5.5 mil krw.
Second consult at 1st Button:
After my consult at Conopi, I went to consult 1st Button again because I had a good feeling about the doctor from my initial consult: Dr Kim seemed confident that he could harvest enough septal and thus rib would not need to be even contemplated, he seemed to understand better than the other doctors that I did not want much added to my nose this time, and he was the only one who said my nose tip was too pointy without me having to mention it. Furthermore, his pictures were more in line with my goals than those of the other doctors. I just needed to clarify some things before I could decide for sure.
For this second consult, I had a CT scan taken (I asked Dr Kim on kakao if I could have it taken for the consult); it was examined by Dr Kim and he recommended septoplasty and turbinoplasty. During the first consult, I mainly listened to his recommendations and explanations of how he would fix things; for this consult, I talked more about the kind of nose I wanted and asked about issues with my nose that I had forgotten to bring up last time. He patiently answered all my questions and his responses made me feel confident he could deliver something I would be happy with; to be honest, I felt kind of bad because I was slightly repetitive with my questions, but I couldn’t help it as I was extremely nervous about this revision.
Again, I liked how honest Dr Kim was – for instance, he told me that some people regretted getting surgery with him as they wanted a more dramatic, prominent nose; he tends to create very natural looking noses. He quoted me 5500 USD for the rhinoplasty and said I could get a surgery date within a week. However, when I got home, he sent a message to me on kakao saying that he realized there was a spot open the next morning. I decided to take it because that would mean I could return home on the date I originally planned to – earlier I had been thinking I would need to extend and buy another plane ticket.
Just like the night before my surgery at TFD, I had another sleepless night. I didn’t think I could handle having to get another plastic surgery revision after this trip; I know everyone hates having to get revisions, but I have already had to go through more revisions than most people and tend to have higher than average levels of anxiety. It’s not that I didn’t trust the doctor, but no matter how good the doctor is, surgery is always risky and there is an element of luck; I have had so many experiences where my luck was below that of most people. Nonetheless, I was quite excited, as I thought this may be my last major surgery ever.
Surgery at 1st Button:
I went to 1st button at 10:30 am on May 21st and had one last pre-surgery meeting with Dr Kim. We went through everything he would do, I asked my remaining questions, and I showed him a picture of what I wanted – he said he understands my tastes and would try his best. Specifically, my procedures were: septoplasty, turbinoplasty, implant removal, hump removal, deviation correction, and tiplasty.
Afterwards, the consultant came in so that I could pay the surgery fee. I was quite embarrassed because my visa kept getting denied, even though I definitely had enough money in the account. Later, I realized it was probably because I had just transferred the money to my visa and it needed some time to go through. Dr Kim came in and said I need to go to the surgery room now, he said I can pay the rest of the money on another day. He said he trusted me and knows I won’t just leave before paying. It was nice of him, but I still felt really bad; fortunately, I was able to just wire transfer the rest the next day.
When I got to the surgery room, the nurses injected the anesthesia into me (I think it was twilight) and I feel asleep immediately. I woke up shortly after the surgery ended. A nurse took me into a recovery room and I lay there for about an hour or so. I couldn’t breathe through my nose because there was nasal packing in my nostrils, I had to breathe through my mouth which resulted in an exceedingly dry mouth and throat. Dr Kim came in and told me the surgery was successful. He showed me a few pictures he had took of my nose after the surgery was over, and, despite the evident swelling, I could see lots of improvement. He mentioned that he was able to harvest enough septal cartilage and did not even need to harvest my remaining ear cartilage (I think he just reused some of the ear cartilage used for my last surgery); this was a relief as I prefer septal and did not want much added to my nose. The clinic gave me my medications, ointment, ice packs, and a box of pumpkin juice. Dr Kim also sent me a list of post op instructions.
Post-Op:
The first day after my rhino was quite uncomfortable because of the nasal packing in my nose. Since I did my surgery on a Saturday, if I wanted the packing removed at the clinic, I would have to wait till Monday. Dr Kim said I can remove it myself on Sunday if I want. Since I didn’t think I could do it myself, my mom pulled them out for me. It was so painful because the packings were stuck to my nostrils due to the fact that the blood had dried. Initially, after the nasal packing was removed, I could breathe better than before, the functional surgery definitely made a difference! But later, my nose filled with fluids and were completely blocked again (which is normal from what I have heard; after rhinoplasty you will have a stuffy nose and won’t be able to blow it).
On Monday, I told Dr Kim about my blocked nose and he said I could come to the clinic to get it cleaned. When I got there, he used a suction device to clean up the insides of my nose, which allowed me to breathe through my nose again. I got my cast off 6 days after the surgery – usually, it comes off after 7 days, but I had to leave Korea on the 28th and Dr Kim wanted to check my nose a day after the cast removal. He said he takes it off for some patients after 5 or 6 days and there has been no issue thus far; there is no hard and fast rule that it has to be 7 days, but 5 days is the minimum. He did not think it was worth buying another plane ticket just to stay a few extra days.
I was quite nervous about the cast removal – with the cast on, I liked how my nose looked, but I couldn’t be sure of how it would really look like. I know people always say you cannot judge the results upon the removal of the cast, for your nose will be distorted by the swelling, which can take months, if not a year, to fully subside. So I braced myself and did not expect much at this early stage. However, when I got the cast off, I was pleasantly surprised and quite liked my new nose. It was indeed distorted by the swelling, which made it look kind of bulbous, but I could tell the shape was what I asked for. This was so different from how my nose looked upon my cast removal in 2018 – that time, it wasn’t only ugly because of the swelling, the whole shape was wrong. After my cast removal, one of the ladies at the front desk gave me a mug as a souvenir from 1st Button; it was nice because I like free stuff! Later, Dr Kim messaged me and said he hopes I am satisfied with my new nose. I always got the impression that he genuinely cares about his patients, which is rare.
The day after my cast removal (my departure date), I had a last check-up with Dr Kim; he told me everything looked good and I could fly on that day. Each time I went to 1st Button, Dr Kim used a suction device to clean my nose. I wish I stayed in Korea longer just so that I could get my nose cleaned.
As a perpetual worrywart, I still had concerns and questions once I left Korea. Dr Kim was always very responsive on kakao and I felt I could always contact him if I had an issue – several times, I became scared that I affected my results by being careless, so I messaged him and he explained why I didn’t need to worry, putting me at ease.
I am liking my new nose more and more as the swelling dissipates, and have no regrets about my choice (only wish I could’ve done it sooner!). My nose looks so much cuter and softer now, I no longer have a hump, my nose tip and columella are higher and thus no longer droopy, and the asymmetry and deviation were improved a lot. Of course, my nose isn’t perfectly straight or symmetrical, I think that’s impossible and one needs to be realistic and aware of the limitations of cosmetic surgery. At least now, the straightness and symmetry are at a level that I am comfortable with, unlike before. Additionally, my nose looks very natural now but also very different (that is, much better) from what I had before (from the nose I had after my primary rhino and from my natural nose).
Furthermore, I am so glad I did not get an implant again - even without one, my bridge looks very smooth and not low at all. I thought my nose might be very low after this revision, since the Jewelry doctor altered my original structure and I wanted my hump shaved this time. I was willing to accept a low bridge because I have a strong aversion to implants, but fortunately, that was not an issue at all, in fact some girls on kakao said my current bridge looks high. Additionally, since my turbinates were fixed and my septum was straightened, I believe my breathing will be much better (I had some congestion during the first 12 days after the surgery, which is normal from what I have heard; now it's beginning to subside). This is such a contrast from the first time I did my nose: Dr Kim did exactly what I asked for; with the previous doctor, it seemed my requests just went through one ear and came out the other.
I think Dr Kim is a really skilled and professional doctor who will try to deliver what you want if it is realistic and doesn’t make you look weird. During my consults, I found many doctors were either too rigid and intent on imposing what they thought was right on you, or yes-men who just agree with you on every point; I think good doctors should be somewhere in between those two extremes. I found Dr Kim to be quite flexible, but at the same time, unwilling to accede to requests that are unrealistic or not good for the patient. Furthermore, he has a very friendly demeanour and never makes you feel bad for asking silly questions (some doctors find it annoying and may even be affronted); he reminded me of Dr Lee (TFD) in that he always asks if you have any more questions instead of just leaving. I rarely meet doctors who are as patient and accommodating. Additionally, I quite liked the staff at 1st Button, they were always warm and pleasant when I went to the clinic.
I should also mention that the fact that Dr Kim spoke English was a huge advantage for me. As I mentioned in my JW review, I found the translators (whether they be the clinic’s in-house translator or ones from Gangnam Medical Tour Center) to be subpar for they often mistranslated and didn’t even translate everything. Perhaps this is not a big deal if your surgery is simple, but as someone who needs to emphasize and clarify a lot of details, I could never feel comfortable only going through a translator and not being able to communicate directly with the doctor. The translators could never explain things as well as the doctors who spoke English could; my mom even said that listening to them was torture for her due to the amount of terms they mixed up.
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading this review. I hope it is of some use to people. I was filled with misery and regret after my experience at Jewelry, and kept berating myself for my choice and lack of careful consideration. This time, I was exceedingly careful and thorough when choosing clinics and making my final decision. I am so grateful to Dr Kim for giving me so much more confidence. I like how I look now and feel like a big burden has been lifted off my shoulders. This plastic surgery experience has been extremely stressful and painful, and I hope now I can live a life free from worrying about appearance.
Last edited:
