Plasitc surgery experience in JW Plastic Surgery Korea by Emily (English speaking consultant, International Dept).
My name is Emily and I’m responsible for English speaking customers for the International Department of JW Plastic Surgery. I wish to tell you about my rhinoplasty, fat graft and ptosis correction plastic surgery experience.
Face Fat Graft Surgery with Dr. Kang
In my forties I noticed I had lost a lot of ‘face fat’, which resulted in a ‘tired face’ look. I decided to get a facial fat graft by Dr. Kang a year and a half ago. The surgery time was about one and a half hours and was done while I was sedated. The fact that the surgery does not leave any scars was appealing to me. Fat was harvested (liposuctioned) from the back of my thighs and injected into my forehead, temples, under the eyes, middle face, chin and nasolabial folds. Immediately following the surgery my face looked overly large (like an alien) due to the injected fat and swelling. A month after the surgery the fat had settled in and my face looked natural. I was completely satisfied with a face that looked natural, youthful, and bright.
Ptosis Correction Surgery with Dr. Choi and Revision Rhinoplasty by Dr. Suh
Recently my eyelids felt very heavy (ptosis). This caused my eyes to feel tried all day long. My upper eyelids had become sunken due to fat loss (aging) which made me look tired and caused discomfort whenever I opened them. Eyelid Ptosis runs in my family. My mother had ptosis correction when she was in her mid forties while my brother is considering the same surgery now. Twenty years ago I had my asymmetric eyes corrected with non-incision double eyelid surgery; and had been very satisfied since then. I began to consider ptosis correction because I noticed a lot of satisfied customers from having the surgery done by our doctors.
I appreciate the fact that our doctors only perform two to three eye and nose surgeries each day in order to ensure quality. They also directly manage their patients follow ups. Because our surgeons have more than 20 years experience their surgery results are natural and rarely have unwanted side effects. Our anesthesiologist, Dr. Lee with 18 years experience, ensures the safety and comfort of all patients. Many of our patients have multiple surgeries on the same day which can result in a single session spanning many hours. Dr. Lee ensures these ‘back to back’ operations are conducted safely; she does this while maintaining a cheerful demeanor that eases nervous patients. I’m also a JW patient, and considered all these facts before making a decision to have surgery.
After much consideration I decided to get nose surgery as well in order to improve a droopy nasal tip. I always tell my clients not to worry before surgery, but I could not help but feel nervous before my surgery. Eye surgery was done in the morning (2.5 hours) by Dr. Choi followed by nose surgery (2 hours) by Dr Suh.
I was awake about half the time during the eye surgery. Dr Choi checked the shape of my eyes while opening & closing during the surgery. Thanks to the local anesthesia I did not feel any pain. Dr Lee always checks if patients breathe properly, ensuring a safe environment.
Dr. Choi strenghtened my drooping upper eyelid muscles and cut off the excess sagging skin to make my eyes open wider and less droopy. He made an incision along the exsiting double eyelid crease so that my impression does not change too much after surgery. For nose, since I had a nasal bridge augmentation with a silicone implant only 20 years ago, Dr. Suh replaced the old implant with Innofit implant– customized silicone implant. He lifted the tip of my nose slightly using ear cartilage and septum cartilage to make it more defined naturally. He also lenghtened my nose a bit. Innofit silicone implant is a new technology nasal silicone implant that is manufactured to the shape of each patient’s nose bridge curves based on the patient’s CT scan images (CT scan is done at JW). Therefore, the shape of the implant is more accurate and stable than the pre-made implant because the Innofit implant is manufactured after the patient’s design (simulation) and confirmation by the rhinoplasty surgeon.
Although there was almost not pain after the eye and nose surgery it was very uncomfortable due to nasal packing in my nostrils for two days. The purpose of nasal packing is to reduce bleeding. Because of the nasal packing I could not breath through my nose. Breathing through my mouth made me very thirsty and I could not sleep well. Two days after the surgery bruising and swelling was very apparent, but subsided quickly. The first two to three days following the surgery was very tough, but after that the recovery was more comfortable.
My nose was very stuffy after the surgery because I had a runny nose. Blowing my nose was not possible because it would cause damaging pressure to it. In order to remove mucus I would stick some tissue inside the nostrils. Five days after the surgery my noise became very itchy due to the bandages.
Seven days following the surgery the stitches and bandages were removed and I felt much more comfortable. My nose appeared over large like the alien’s in the Avatar movie. For a moment, I wondered if my nose was too big and felt worried and regretful. My co-worker assured me not to worry about that.
My face looked weird because the swelling did not occur evenly; but it was useless to worry about this. Following the surgery I was immersed in my work and did not pay much attention to my eyes and nose. As the weeks and months passed my nose and eyes that before looked asymmetrical naturally became beautiful and symmetric. Now I feel less tired and refreshed every time I open my eyes.
JW’s customer’s ages vary from 20s to 70s, and there are many multinational patients because our doctors have experience in various surgeries and races. JW surgery result is very natural. I agree. I am very happy whenever I see my face.